Top 7 win streaks in the NBA

This season the Miami Heat had an incredible 27 game winning streak. At that time, it was debated if they could match or surpass the 33 game win streak of the 71/72 Lakers team. While the Heat came up short of that historic streak, they came awfully close. People discussed if the streak of the Heat would carry any meaning if they fizzled out in the playoffs. While sustaining a streak of over 25 games can be almost as difficult as winning a championship, it is considered to be less prestigious. The Heat silenced their critics in the postseason by winning the championship and also made a separate mark in the league with their win streak. In today’s league, it is not easy to sustain a streak of over 20 games. Here is a look at the top 7 win streaks of all time in the NBA.

33 — Los Angeles Lakers (1971-72)

The Lakers rode Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Gail Goodrich to set the longest win streak in the league. It all started on Nov. 5 and ended with a loss to the Bucks on Jan. 9. That Lakers team ended up finishing 69-13 and won the championship as well. Their mark of 69-13 was the best in the league until the Chicago Bulls went 72-10 in the 1995-96 season.

27 — Miami Heat (2012-13)

How good was this streak? This Heat team had 11 wins against opponents who were above .500. Their average margin of victory was a whooping 11.9 points. Their wins were not just a product of easy scheduling – 13 of those wins came on the road. The most telling stat, LeBron James averaged 57.5% shooting during the streak.

22 — Houston Rockets (2007-08)

A relatively recent streak by the Rockets, this was probably the most surprising win streak of all. This team started the season with a 15-17 start before ripping through the league en route to 22 straight wins. Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming were ably supported by “Skip to My Lou” Rafer Alston and Luis Scola. This team was unbeaten for seven magnificent weeks. Even when they lost Yao Ming after 12 games into the streak, they were able to pull off 10 more wins. This streak ended on March 18 in a 94-74 home loss to the Celtics.

20– San Antonio Spurs (2011-12)

The San Antonio Spurs have been a model of consistency for over a decade and a half. In the 2011-12 season, they ended the regular season on a 10-0 run. Not quite the run you expect from a Gregg Popovich team, as the coach prefers to keep his stars fresh heading into the postseason. This team won 10 straight games in the playoffs before losing Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals to the OKC Thunder. This team also pulled together two more 11 game win streaks in the regular season. They finished 50-16 for the regular season.

20 — Milwaukee Bucks (1970-71)

Before the 33 game win streak of the Lakers, the Bucks held the distinction of the longest win streak. Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then named Lew Alcindor) and Oscar Robertson, the Bucks amassed 20 wins in a row. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged a league-leading 31.7 points in the regular season, This team won the NBA title that season as well.

19 — Los Angeles Lakers (1999-2000)

How good could the Lakers had been if they had only managed to keep both Shaq and Kobe happy and together? In their prime, this duo was the most unstoppable one-two punch in the league. In the 1999-2000 regular season, the Lakers had separate win streaks of 16 and 19 games. This was the first season of Phil Jackson with the Lakers and they won the championship that season as well.

19 — Los Angeles Lakers (2000-01)

This is my personal favourite, because this streak was ended by Allen Iverson dropping 48 points on the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers won the last 8 games of the regular season and 11 straight in the playoffs. They were undefeated in the postseason except for the one loss handed to them by the Sixers.