Winning is hard. Winning 33 games in a row is statistically impossible. Yet, if you look back at the Los Angeles Lakers 1971 72 season, you'll see a team that didn't just break the rules of logic; they basically rewrote the manual on how professional basketball should be played. Most modern fans obsess over the 73-win Warriors or Jordan’s 72-10 Bulls, but there’s a legitimate argument that this specific Lakers squad was the most dominant force to ever lace up sneakers. They weren't just talented. They were a perfect storm of veteran desperation and tactical genius.
Think about the context for a second. The Lakers were the "Buffalo Bills" of the NBA back then. They had reached the Finals seven times in the 1960s and lost every single one of them. Mostly to the Celtics. It was a psychodrama. By the time 1971 rolled around, Jerry West was contemplating retirement because his legs—and his soul—were shot. Elgin Baylor was essentially playing on one leg. Wilt Chamberlain was aging. The narrative wasn't about a dynasty; it was about a group of legends who were destined to be the greatest "almost" team in history.
Then Bill Sharman walked through the door.
The unexpected chemistry of the Los Angeles Lakers 1971 72 season
Sharman changed everything. Seriously. He introduced the "shootaround," which players actually hated at first. They thought it was busy work. But Sharman realized that this veteran roster needed rhythm more than they needed grueling three-hour practices. He also did the unthinkable: he convinced Wilt Chamberlain to stop worrying about scoring 50 points a night.
Wilt was the ultimate alpha. To get him to buy into being a defensive anchor and outlet passer was like asking a lead guitarist to play the triangle. But it worked. During the Los Angeles Lakers 1971 72 season, Wilt averaged "only" 14.8 points per game, but he grabbed 19.2 rebounds and shot a ridiculous 64.9% from the field. He became the sun that the rest of the offense orbited around.
The real tragedy—or perhaps the catalyst—of the season happened early on. Elgin Baylor, one of the top five players to ever touch a basketball at that point, retired just nine games into the season. His knees finally gave out. It was heartbreaking. But here is the weird part of sports history: the very next day, the Lakers started a winning streak.
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They didn't lose again for over two months.
33 games: A streak that refuses to die
We need to talk about the 33-game win streak because people throw that number around without realizing how insane it is. Between November 5, 1971, and January 7, 1972, the Lakers forgot how to lose. They won in blowouts. They won in overtime. They won on the road in back-to-backs.
Jerry West was playing some of the most efficient basketball of his career, leading the league in assists. Gail Goodrich, who is often the "forgotten" star of this era, was actually the team's leading scorer at 25.9 points per game. He was a lightning bolt. Jim McMillian, the guy who stepped into Baylor’s starting spot, proved to be the perfect glue guy.
The streak finally ended in Milwaukee against a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) and the Bucks. But by then, the Lakers had already etched themselves into the record books. To put this in perspective, no team has even come within striking distance of 33 since. The 2013 Miami Heat got to 27. The 2016 Warriors got to 24 (if you count the end of the previous season).
Thirty-three. It’s a ghost that haunts every hot team in the modern NBA.
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Beyond the streak: Why the playoffs were the real test
Regular season records are great for trivia, but the Los Angeles Lakers 1971 72 season would have been a failure if they hadn't finished the job. Remember, they had the "choker" label firmly attached to their jerseys.
They swept the Chicago Bulls in the first round. Easy. But the Western Conference Finals against Milwaukee was the "real" Finals. It was Wilt vs. Kareem. The old lion against the young king. It was physical, ugly, and brilliant. Wilt, at 35 years old and with a broken hand in the final game, played some of the best defense of his life. He blocked shots that shouldn't have been reachable. He out-hustled players ten years younger than him.
When they finally got to the Finals against the New York Knicks, there was this sense of "here we go again." They lost Game 1. Fans panicked. The ghosts of the 60s started rattling their chains. But this team was different. They rattled off four straight wins.
Jerry West finally got his ring.
I think that's why this season resonates so much with historians. It wasn't just about a 69-13 record. It was about the catharsis of Jerry West finally holding that trophy. "The Logo" had suffered more than any superstar in history, and the 1972 title was the universe finally paying its debt.
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Lessons from the 1971-72 Lakers for today's game
If you’re looking for actionable takeaways from how this team operated, look at the transition game. Bill Sharman realized that with Wilt’s rebounding and West’s vision, the Lakers could play "Showtime" before the term even existed. They averaged 121 points per game. In 1972! There was no three-point line. Think about the pace required to score 121 points without the benefit of the arc.
- Sacrifice is the prerequisite for greatness. Wilt stopped being a scorer to become a champion. If your best player isn't willing to change his game for the team, you're capped at "good."
- System over superstardom. When Baylor retired, the system didn't break; it accelerated. The Lakers proved that a well-defined hierarchy beats a collection of talent every time.
- Recovery and rhythm. Sharman's invention of the shootaround proved that professional athletes aren't machines. They need mental calibration as much as physical exertion.
How to study this era further
If you want to go deeper into the Los Angeles Lakers 1971 72 season, don't just look at the box scores. You have to understand the shift in basketball philosophy that happened that year.
- Watch the limited footage of Wilt vs. Kareem. Notice how Wilt positions his body. He wasn't jumping higher; he was playing smarter.
- Read "The Rivalry" by John Taylor. It gives the best insight into the psychological warfare between the Lakers and Celtics that set the stage for the '72 breakthrough.
- Analyze the scoring distribution. See how many players averaged double figures. This wasn't a "one-man show." It was a five-headed monster.
The Lakers ended that year with a 69-13 record. It was a mark that stood until Jordan's Bulls went 72-10 in 1996. But even those Bulls didn't win 33 in a row. They didn't have to carry the weight of a decade of failure on their shoulders while doing it. That’s why the '72 Lakers stay at the top of the list. They didn't just win; they finally found peace.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
To truly appreciate the dominance of the 1971-72 Lakers, compare their point differential (+12.3) to the modern era's greatest teams. You'll find that only a handful of squads in the history of the sport ever controlled the flow of the game as thoroughly as West, Wilt, and Goodrich did during that winter in Los Angeles. Study the "Outlet Pass" mechanics—modern teams like the Nuggets with Nikola Jokic are actually using the blueprint Wilt perfected during this specific season.