Records are made to be broken, but there are some in NBA history that feel untouchable.
In the 1971-72 season, the Lakers set an NBA record of 33 consecutive wins that still stands today. Only one team has come close to doing so in a single season in the more than 50 years since – the 2012-13 Heat, which won 27 straight games.
Forget 30 games. Winning 20 times in a row is difficult enough. The Lakers and Heat are two of five teams to reach that mark in a single season. The Royals are the only other team to have won 20 or more straight games in two seasons.
With that in mind, here are the longest winning streaks in NBA history.
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What was the longest winning streak in NBA history?
The 1971-72 Lakers hold the record for the longest winning streak in NBA history with 33 games.
The only other teams to win 20 or more straight games in a single season are the 2012-13 Heat (27), 2015-16 Warriors (24), 2007-08 Rockets (22), and 1970-71 Bucks ( 20).
The Warriors won 28 straight games between the end of the 2014–15 season and the start of the 2015–16 season. The Washington Capitols did the same, winning 20 straight games between the end of the 1947-48 season and the start of the 1948-49 season.
A number of teams have won 19 and 18 games in a row.
| rank | team | season(s) | strand |
| 1. | lakers | 1971-72 | 33 |
| 2. | Warrior* | 2014-15, 2015-16 | 28 (4 + 24) |
| 3. | heat | 2012-13 | 27 |
| 4. | rockets | 2007-08 | 22 |
| 5. | Capital Cities* | 1947-48, 1948-49 | 20 (5 + 15) |
| dollar | 1970-71 | 20 | |
| 7. | lakers | 1999-00 | 19 |
| Celts | 2008-09 | 19 | |
| spores | 2013-14 | 19 | |
| hawks | 2014-15 | 19 | |
| 11. | Royal family* | 1949-50, 1950-51 | 18 (15 + 3) |
| 76* | 1965-66, 1966-67 | 18 (11 + 7) | |
| curtsy | 1969-70 | 18 | |
| Celts | 1981-82 | 18 | |
| cops | 1995-96 | 18 | |
| dollar | 2019-20 | 18 | |
| to sunbathe | 2021-22 | 18 |
* The winning streak spanned two seasons
The 2022-23 Bucks recorded their 16th straight win with a win over the Magic on March 1. They will be looking to get their 17th straight win on Saturday, March 4 when they take on Joel Embiid’s 76ers on ABC.
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