Which NBA Teams Are Undefeated When Tyler, the Creator Drops?
On Tuesday (October 29), Reddit user u/_Yordle_ posted in the r/washingtonwizards subreddit, claiming the Washington Wizards are undefeated when Tyler, the Creator releases a new album:
Unless I’m missing anything, we’re 4-0 on days Tyler drops
February 14th, 2011 (Yonkers): Wizards defeated the Cavs 115-100
April 2nd, 2013 (Wolf): Wizards defeated the Bulls 90-86
April 12th, 2015 (Cherry Bomb): Wizards defeated the Hawks 108-99
October 28th, 2024 (Chromakopia): Wizards defeated the Hawks 121-119
Can we convince him to drop a project every night the Wizards play?
Unfortunately for _Yordle_, his date for the release of Tyler’s Cherry Bomb album was off by a day (it was actually released on April 13th, 2013). Additionally, Yonkers was a single and not part of an album release, making it ineligible to be counted as a “drop” date. (He also missed Tyler’s Music Inspired by Illumination & Dr. Seuss' The Grinch EP, which was released on November 16, 2018—a day the Wizards lost 115-104 to the Brooklyn Nets. To his credit, he also didn’t mention a Wizards win over the Miami Heat on the day the Wolf Instrumentals album dropped [April 7, 2023]).
But despite the small errors in our friend’s calculations, his post got me thinking: have there been teams who were unstoppable on days when the LA-bred multi-hyphenate released a new album?
I turned to basketball-reference.com to find out if any NBA teams consistently won on Tyler’s release dates
Tyler, The Creator Full-Length Studio Albums
Goblin — May 10, 2011
Wolf — April 2, 2013
Cherry Bomb — April 13, 2015
Flower Boy — July 21, 2017
Igor — May 17, 2019
Call Me If You Get Lost — June 25, 2021
Chromakopia — October 28, 2024
NBA Game Results On Those Dates
May 10, 2011 (Goblin)
Chicago Bulls 95, Atlanta Hawks 83
April 2, 2013 (Wolf)
LA Lakers 101, Dallas Mavericks 81
New York Knicks 102, Miami Heat 90
Washington Wizards 90, Chicago Bulls 86
April 13, 2015 (Cherry Bomb)
New York Knicks 112, Atlanta Hawks 108
Chicago Bulls 113, Brooklyn Nets 86
Houston Rockets 100, Charlotte Hornets 90
Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Detroit Pistons 97
Golden State Warriors 111, Memphis Grizzlies 107
LA Clippers 110, Denver Nuggets 103
Miami Heat 103, Orlando Magic 93
New Orleans Pelicans 100, Minnesota Timberwolves 88
Oklahoma City Thunder 101, Portland Trail Blazers 90
Milwaukee Bucks 107, Philadelphia 76ers 97
Sacramento Kings 102, LA Lakers 92
Utah Jazz 109, Dallas Mavericks 92
July 21, 2017 (Flower Boy)
No NBA games.
May 17, 2019 (Igor)
Milwaukee Bucks 125, Toronto Raptors 103
June 25, 2021 (Call Me If You Get Lost)
Milwaukee Bucks 125, Atlanta Hawks 91
October 28, 2024 (Chromakopia)
Washington Wizards 121, Atlanta Hawks 119
Boston Celtics 119, Milwaukee Bucks 108
Dallas Mavericks 110, Utah Jazz 102
Chicago Bulls 126, Memphis Grizzlies 123
Miami Heat 106, Detroit Pistons 98
Cleveland Cavaliers 110, New York Knicks 104
Orlando Magic 119, Indiana Pacers 115
Phoenix Suns 109, LA Lakers 105
Sacramento Kings 111, Portland Trail Blazers 98
Houston Rockets 106, San Antonio Spurs 101
Denver Nuggets 127, Toronto Raptors 105
(While not used in final tabulations, here are the Grinch EP results)
November 16, 2018
Boston Celtics 123, Toronto Raptors 116
Indiana Pacers 99, Miami Heat 91
Memphis Grizzlies 112, Sacramento Kings 104
Milwaukee Bucks 123, Chicago Bulls 104
Minnesota Timberwolves 112, Portland Trail Blazers 96
New Orleans Pelicans 129, New York Knicks 124
Philadelphia 76ers 113, Utah Jazz 107
Brooklyn Nets 115, Washington Wizards 104
Final Win/Loss Records
Atlanta Hawks: 0 wins, 4 losses
Boston Celtics: 1 win, 0 losses
Brooklyn Nets: 0 wins, 1 loss
Charlotte Hornets: 0 wins, 1 loss
Chicago Bulls: 3 wins, 1 loss
Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 wins, 0 losses
Dallas Mavericks: 1 win, 2 losses
Denver Nuggets: 1 win, 1 loss
Detroit Pistons: 0 wins, 2 losses
Golden State Warriors: 1 win, 0 losses
Houston Rockets: 2 wins, 0 losses
Indiana Pacers: 0 wins, 1 loss
Los Angeles Clippers: 1 win, 0 losses
Los Angeles Lakers: 1 win, 2 losses
Memphis Grizzlies: 0 wins, 2 losses
Miami Heat: 2 wins, 1 loss
Milwaukee Bucks: 3 wins, 1 loss
Minnesota Timberwolves: 0 wins, 1 loss
New Orleans Pelicans: 1 win, 0 losses
New York Knicks: 2 wins, 1 loss
Oklahoma City Thunder: 1 win, 0 losses
Orlando Magic: 1 win, 1 loss
Philadelphia 76ers: 0 wins, 1 loss
Phoenix Suns: 1 win, 0 losses
Portland Trail Blazers: 0 wins, 2 losses
Sacramento Kings: 2 wins, 0 losses
San Antonio Spurs: 0 wins, 1 loss
Toronto Raptors: 0 wins, 2 losses
Utah Jazz: 1 win, 1 loss
Washington Wizards: 2 wins, 0 losses
Winners and Losers
The undefeated teams are…
Cleveland Cavaliers: 2 wins, 0 losses
Houston Rockets: 2 wins, 0 losses
Sacramento Kings: 2 wins, 0 losses
Washington Wizards: 2 wins, 0 losses
Boston Celtics: 1 win, 0 losses
Golden State Warriors: 1 win, 0 losses
Los Angeles Clippers: 1 win, 0 losses
New Orleans Pelicans: 1 win, 0 losses
Oklahoma City Thunder: 1 win, 0 losses
Phoenix Suns: 1 win, 0 losses
Congrats to the Cavs, Rockets, Kings, and Wiz for winning multiple “Tyler” games without taking an L.
It’s worth noting how close the Bucks were to joining the undefeated list. Had the Bucks won on Monday (October 28) against the Celtics, they would’ve been 4-0 all-time on Tyler, The Creator album release dates – and 5-0 if we included the Christmas album! Blame the Celtics for ruining a fun storyline and ending Milwaukee’s Tyler drop-win streak.
On the flip side, the Hawks have never won on a Tyler drop date. Ouch—zero wins and four losses. Is it possible the capital of southern hip-hop can’t stomach a West Coast juggernaut?
