10 longest winning streaks in NBA history
10 longest winning streaks in NBA history
The Detroit Pistons this season broke the NBA record for having the longest losing streak in NBA history with 28 games. The streak officially ended on Dec. 30 where they beat the Toronto Raptors 129-127.
In the midst of this losing streak, a lot of fans have been brushing up on their NBA history, looking back at the best and worst streaks ever. There is a long list of teams that have had epic winning streaks. The timeframe of these massive winning streaks ranges from the mid-2010s to the late 1940s when the NBA was called the BAA (Basketball Association of America). Here are the 10 longest winning streaks in NBA History.
10. 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks (19 games)
The 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks are one of four teams that have had a 19-game winning streak in NBA history. This team is also one of the more iconic teams of the 2010s and a probable shocker to a lot of people for having a winning streak this long.
This team started their winning streak on Dec. 27, 2014, in a 90-85 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and it ended on Feb. 2, 2015, in a 115-100 defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans. During this winning streak, they won 12 games against teams that made the playoffs and six of those teams were 50-win teams.
This winning streak for the Hawks wasn’t just them beating up on bad teams, they were winning games against teams that were competing to either, win the whole thing or make the playoffs.
The Hawks were very special this season because this team had four All-Stars even though no one had averaged more than 20 points per game. They did all their winning by running a 12-man rotation and playing team basketball which is why people named them “The Spurs of the East”.
One thing that cannot be overlooked is that the Hawks could have broken the record for longest the winning streak. Atlanta went 14-2 in their last 16 games before the winning streak. If the Hawks had won those two games, they could have had a 35-game winning streak.
They would finish the season at 60-22 and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Despite all their success they would fall short and were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
9. 2013-14 San Antonio Spurs (19 games)
The San Antonio Spurs has had one of the winningest players in NBA history in Tim Duncan, so it shouldn’t be surprising that one of his teams has made it onto this list. But the 2013-14 Spurs may be the most surprising out of all Duncan’s team.
The streak for the Spurs started on Feb. 26, 2014, in a 120-110 win over the Detroit Pistons and ended on April 3, 2014, in a 106-64 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In this run, they beat eight teams that were in the playoffs.
During this stretch, the Spurs got a little lucky playing teams that were inferior to them. That doesn’t change the fact that in 14 of those games, San Antonio won by double-digits and blew out some great teams.
San Antonio were very similar to the 2014-15 Hawks. Both didn’t have a single player average more than 20 points per game. What may make it seem more impressive is that the only All-Star on the Spurs roster was Tony Parker.
The Spurs would finish the season with a league best 62-20 record and capped off the season with an NBA Championship. The Spurs record is what makes them ninth of this list, but it shouldn’t be a surprised that they have one of the longest winning streaks ever.
8. 2008-09 Boston Celtics (19 games)
The Boston Celtics are one of the most storied and winningest franchises in NBA history so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that they have one of the longest winning streaks in NBA history. That the streak came from a Celtics team that didn’t win the championship, may come as a surprise.
Boston started their winning streak on Nov. 15, 2008, in a 102-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and it ended on Dec. 25, 2008, in a 92-83 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. In this winning streak, they beat seven teams that were at or above .500 and beat eight that had made the playoffs.
The Celtics are another team that got lucky with their winning streak, playing against bad teams. Even so, winning 19 games in a row is hard. This winning streak would set them up for the rest of the season due to injury problems.
The 2009-09 season was supposed to be a building block off the Celtics 2008 championship run. Having the 19-game winning streak put the Celtics at 27-2 in their first 29 games. But they finished 35-18 after the streak because of Kevin Garnett’s injury problems.
Even with the injuries, the Celtics had three All-Stars in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. They would finish the season with a record of 62-20, second in the Eastern Conference, but the injury to Kevin Garnett would loom large as they lost in the playoffs to the Orlando Magic in the second round.
7. 1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers (19 games)
The Los Angeles Lakers are arguably the most storied franchise and winningest franchise ever and it should not be a surprise that they too have one of the longest winning streaks ever. The 1999-00 Lakers were the start of something special.
Their 19-game winning streak started on Feb. 4, 2000, in a 113-67 win over the Utah Jazz and ended on March 16, 2000, in a 109-102 loss to the Washington Wizards. In this run, they faced off against eight playoff teams and the majority were blowouts.
Another team that benefited from having an easy part to their schedule, but their winning streak is slightly different from the previous ones. Earlier in the season, this team went on a 16-game winning streak and the game after their 19-game winning streak ended, they won 11 straight.
Having three different stretches in the same season of winning 10 or more straight games is highly impressive. This allowed the Lakers to run through the league, finishing with a league best 67-15 record. This would also allow Shaquille O’Neal to win his first and only MVP and the first season that would begin a new Lakers dynasty. They would cap off the season with a championship to begin their three-peat.
6. 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20 games)
The Milwaukee Bucks hit the jackpot in 1969 when they had the right to select Lew Alcindor, now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, in the draft. He was one of the most sought-after prospects ever and became a generational talent who helped the Bucks tremendously in the 1970-71 season.
Their 20-game win streak started on Feb. 6, 1971, in a 111-85 win over the San Francisco Warriors, and ended on March 9, 1971, in a 110-103 loss to the Chicago Bulls. At this time, the NBA had only 17 teams and would play every team a lot more frequently. Despite that, the Bucks still won 14 games against teams that had a record above .500 during that stretch.
The impressiveness of this winning streak may vary to some because there were just 17 teams in the league. But since the Bucks played good teams multiple times, it’s just a testament to how dominant they were this year.
They finished the season with a 66-16 record, which was 14 wins more than the next-best record. Then they would dominate the playoffs, beating the Warriors, Lakers, and Bullets, going 12-2 in the playoffs, and winning their first-ever NBA Championship.
The Bucks also had a 16-game winning streak to start off the season, so having multiple winning streaks above 15 games is also extremely impressive. This season would also mark the first of six MVP seasons from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and would mark one of the best one-season wonder teams in NBA history.
5. 1947-48 and 1948-49 Washington Capitols (20 games)
There is a lot to explain with this winning streak because yes, there was a basketball team called the Capitols that was in the Basketball Association of America or the BAA. Secondly, the NBA does count winning streaks that transfer over from the prior regular season which is why there are two years here.
Their winning streak started on March 13, 1948, in an 86-69 win over the St. Louis Bombers and ended on December 7, 1948, in a 94-78 loss to the Indianapolis Jets. Their winning streak began in the last five games of the 1947-48 regular season and ended after winning the first 15 games of the 1948-49 regular season.
They were still able to beat 12 playoff teams during this stretch but the legitimacy of this streak is skewed. The league was in its first three seasons and wasn’t even called the NBA yet.
Even with the winning streak coming very early in NBA history, winning 20 games is hard to do as only four other teams had won more. It would end up taking 12 years for someone to tie the record and 13 to break the record.
Both seasons, their leading scorer was Bob Feerick. In the 1948 season, they lost in the first round to the Chicago Stag and in 1949 they lost in the BAA finals to the Minneapolis Lakers.
4. 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22 games)
The 2007-08 Houston Rockets is probably the biggest surprise team that has come on this list so far. All the previous teams, besides the Captiols and Hawks, had at least one superstar on their team and this team doesn’t really hold any historical significance.
Their 22-game winning streak started on Jan. 29, 2008, in a 111-107 win over the Golden State Warriors and their streak ended on March 18, 2008, in a 94-74 loss to the Boston Celtics. At the time this happened, it was the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. The Rockets would beat 10 teams that were above .500 and 12 teams that had made the playoffs.
Even though more than half the teams they beat were below .500, it is incredibly hard to win 22 straight games and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Before this winning streak started, the Rockets were 24-20 and were just the 10th seed. By the end of the streak, they were 46-21 and were tied for the No. 1 seed.
This is one of the more unlikely teams to win more than 20 straight games in a season. The Rockets finished the season as the No. 5 seed with a 55-27 record. Not only is their record not the same as the others ahead of them on this list, but Yao Ming, the team’s only All-Star, got hurt 12 games into that winning streak and missed the rest of the season.
Even though this team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz, their ability to win 22 straight games after struggling to be above .500 and losing their best player for the rest of the season in the middle of that winning streak, is highly impressive.
3. 2012-13 Miami Heat (27 games)
The 2012-13 season was incredible for the Miami Heat, with LeBron James having one of the most dominant seasons in the history of the NBA and the Heat becoming one of the greatest teams of all time. Their 27-game winning streak was a big part of that.
Miami began their winning streak on Feb. 3, 2013, in a 100-85 win over the Toronto Raptors and it ended on March 27, 2013, in a 101-97 loss to the Chicago Bulls. In this run, they beat 12 playoff teams and won 17 games by double digits.
It doesn’t really matter how they win or who they beat, winning 27 straight games is impressive to do. When the Heat did this, it broke the 2008 Rockets’ record and became the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, but was soon broken.
This winning streak came late into the season, and after their 27-game winning streak, the Heat went 10-2 in their last 12 games. There was a possibility that the Heat could have won 39 games in a row to end the season and could have broken the current record.
The 27-game winning streak would help enter the 2012-13 Miami Heat into the greatest team of all time conversation. They would finish the season 66-16, the best in the NBA, and would win the championship. The winning streak also helped solidify LeBron James’ MVP case and he would go on to win his fourth MVP in five seasons.
2. 2014-15 and 2015-16 Golden State Warriors (28 games)
The Golden State Warriors are in a similar position as the Washington Capitols because they have a winning streak from the end of the regular season and the beginning of the next season. Their winning streak would prove to be one of the most important things in NBA history.
The Warriors would win their last four games of the 2015 regular season and would win their first 24 games of the 2016 regular season. Their 28-game winning streak began on April 9, 2015, in a 116-105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers and would end Dec. 12, 2015, in a 108-95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. During the streak, 13 of their wins were against playoff teams and 14 were against teams above .500.
It is impressive that the Warriors were able to do this over two seasons, considering that they had won the championship. Usually, the team that wins the championship doesn’t have a better regular season the next year. The fact that the Warriors went 67-15 in 2015, won the championship, and started off the next season winning their first 24 games is extraordinary.
The most valuable thing that came was the 24 straight wins to start the 2015-16 season. This would be the start of what would become the greatest regular season team ever. The Warriors would go on to finish the season with a 73-9 record, the best in NBA history, and didn’t lose back-to-back games the whole season.
The 2016 season and that start was the beginning of Stephen Curry becoming the first-ever unanimous MVP in the history of the NBA. Their winning streak was the start of the Warriors dominating for a half-decade, bringing a new playstyle and fanbase to the NBA.
Even though this winning streak is one of the most important in NBA history, there is still one team that would have more consecutive wins.
1. 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33 games)
The Los Angeles Lakers have had the most star players in NBA history, tied for the most championships in NBA history, the most In-Season Tournament championships, and even have the longest winning streak in NBA history.
The 1971-72 Lakers 33-game winning streak began on Nov. 5, 1971, in a 110-106 win over the Baltimore Bullets and ended on Jan. 9, 1972, in a 120-104 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. During this stretch, they won 23 games by double-digits, so not only were they winning, but they were also blowing teams out.
It doesn’t matter that much if they were beating good teams or not, winning 33 games in a row is impressive in every sport. The fact that the Lakers did this 52 years ago and no other team has even won 30 straight games, shows you just how impressive this accomplishment is.
The Lakers were able to do this with an aging Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 12.5 points but also 20 rebounds in this stretch and Elgin Baylor retiring right before the streak happened.
This winning streak would help the Lakers finish with a 69-13 record, the best in NBA history at the time, which meant they won almost half of their games in that stretch. The Lakers would finish the job by beating the Knicks in the NBA finals.