On Thursday night, the premiere of “33 Str8” was shown in Los Angeles, documenting the 1971-72 Lakers’ team that reeled off 33 straight wins on the road to the franchise’s seventh NBA title.
The '71-'72 title team in a Q&A after the premiere of "33 STR8" documenting the greatest streak in sports history. pic.twitter.com/yFo0NQPFNu
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 7, 2014
The streak ranks among the best in all of sports history and still stands as the most consecutive wins in NBA history. But in the grand scheme of sports, where does it rank among the greatest streaks?
Among the obvious contenders for greatest streaks include Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games played and Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. and UCLA’s 88-consecutive wins over three years between 1971-74.
It’s nearly impossible to make arguments AGAINST the records listed. Maybe UCLA played some inferior competition. Maybe DiMaggio was facing pitchers not nearly as good as ones today. Maybe Ripken played some games injured when he shouldn’t have.
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What can be made, however, is the argument for the Lakers. Consider that this record still stands over 40 years later. The record gained notoriety when the Heat closed in on breaking it during the 2012-13 season, eventually losing out to the Bulls after 27 straight wins.
The next closest since they bar was set? 22 wins by the Houston Rockets in the 2007-08 season, which they did in spite of Yao Ming, rallying around each other following the big man going down.
However, none of these could match the Lakers streak or even come close to it, really. Sure, the Heat were six games away, but that’s still a good amount of games. Considering how much pressure the Heat were under and how crazed the media grew, it’d be unbelievable for a team to eclipse the 33 games mark.
In the Lakers streak, they didn’t just beat pushovers. They defeated the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, their future Finals opponent New York Knicks, their future first-round playoff opponent Chicago Bulls, and best yet, beat the Celtics three times during that streak.
Their average margin of victory during the streak was 16.2 points. In all 33 games, they eclipsed the 100-point mark, averaging 123.3 points per contest. The three-headed monster of Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlain were playing their best basketball together and little, if anything, could stop them.
Does it all add up to the greatest streak in sports history? The argument certainly is there, but do you think it ranks at the top? Let us know below!
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