On January 9, 1972, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 120-104, ending the longest winning streak in major professional sports history at 33 games, a record that still stands more than 50 years later.
On January 9, 1972, the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 120-104, ending the longest winning streak in major professional sports history at 33 games, a record that still stands more than 50 years later.
On January 9, 1972, before 10,746 fans at Milwaukee Arena, the Milwaukee Bucks ended the Los Angeles Lakers' historic 33-game winning streak with a 120-104 victory. The streak, which began on November 5, 1971, had lasted 65 days and seen the Lakers win by an average margin of 17 points per game.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar dominated with 39 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists, while the Lakers struggled from the field. Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Jim McMillian shot a combined 17-for-55. Lakers coach Bill Sharman had kept a dog-eared speech in his coat pocket for when the streak finally ended, but after the loss, he told the Los Angeles Times, "Oh, I had a couple of corny things written, but I didn't read them today."
Source: ESPN
The winning streak began unassumingly. Just four days before the first win, Elgin Baylor announced his retirement, saying he was depriving Jim McMillian of playing time. McMillian moved into the starting lineup, and coach Bill Sharman named Wilt Chamberlain team captain. That night, the Lakers squeaked by Baltimore 110-106, beginning a run that would rewrite NBA history.
Sharman credits the foundation of the streak to a controversial decision he made before the season: instituting morning shootarounds. Management warned him that Chamberlain might resist, but when Sharman took the big man to lunch, Chamberlain agreed. "I don't like getting up early in the morning," Chamberlain said, "but if you think it'll help the team, then I'll do it."
The Lakers' starting five averaged 98.4 points per game during the season. West and Goodrich combined for 51.7 points per game, the most ever by a backcourt tandem. West won the assists title with 9.7 per game while Goodrich averaged 25.9 points. Chamberlain, now 35 years old, had reinvented his game to focus on defense, rebounding, and quick outlet passes to start the fast break.
Source: ESPN
The first major test came against Phoenix on December 10, 1971, when the Lakers aimed for their 20th straight win to tie Milwaukee's record from the previous season. Playing their third game in three nights, the Lakers needed overtime but prevailed 126-117 thanks to Goodrich's seven points in the extra period.
Two nights later, on December 12, they broke the record against Atlanta in their fourth game in five nights. Leading 96-95 with 61 seconds remaining, Goodrich found Chamberlain for a crucial dunk with 39 seconds left. They won 104-95 to set the new mark at 21 straight.
The Lakers kept rolling, winning 12 more games to reach 33 consecutive victories. Their record stood at 39-3 when they traveled to Milwaukee to face the defending champions.
Source: History.com
The Bucks were ready. As defending champions with a 66-13 record the previous season, they matched up well with the Lakers. Milwaukee coach Larry Costello boldly predicted before the game, "We'll beat them. We're the champs, and all they have is the streak."
The Lakers held a slim 28-25 lead after the first quarter, but Milwaukee fought back to take a 51-45 halftime advantage. Abdul-Jabbar was unstoppable, and an incident in the second quarter when he knocked out Lakers forward Happy Hairston seemed to energize the Bucks even more. The Lakers turned the ball over 24 times and shot just 39.3 percent from the field.
After the game, McMillian said simply, "We lost it. Milwaukee didn't win it." West, who had been injured early in the season and missed the first three losses, suffered his first defeat after 39 consecutive wins.
Source: Andscape
With the streak over, the Los Angeles Times stopped sending a beat reporter on the road, declaring "Why should we cover losers?" But the Lakers had more history to make. They finished the regular season 69-13, breaking the NBA record of 68 wins set by the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers.
In the playoffs, the Lakers swept Chicago in four games, then defeated Milwaukee in six games in the Western Conference Finals. In the NBA Finals, they beat the New York Knicks in five games to capture their first championship since moving to Los Angeles in 1960. Chamberlain was named Finals MVP.
The 33-game winning streak remains unmatched in NBA history. Since 1972, only two teams have reached even halfway to 33: the Celtics won 18 straight in 1982, and the Bulls won 18 during their 72-win season in 1995-96. In all major American professional sports, no team has come close to the Lakers' mark.
As McMillian predicted after the streak ended, "We just finished a streak that I don't believe any other team is going to break." More than 50 years later, his words still ring true.
Source: ESPN
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