1972 Los Angeles Lakers Season

No one could have foreseen the team's domination the next season, however. Bill Sharman had been installed as the new head coach, and on the afternoon of November 9, 1971, just nine games into the season, the legendary Elgin Baylor retired, finally accepting that his injuries would no longer allow him to play professional basketball. That very evening, the Lakers proceeded to win the first of what would turn out to be a 33-game winning streak, before losing to the Bucks on January 9, 1972. The streak shattered the previous NBA record of 20, which happened to have been set by the Bucks the year before. To this day, the Lakers' 33-game winning streak remains the longest winning streak in the history of any major American professional sport.

The Lakers amassed 69 regular season wins that year, which was also an NBA record, one which stood for nearly a quarter of a century (Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls won 72 in 1995--96). The team led the league in scoring, rebounds, and assists, and Sharman was named Coach of the Year. Not only that, but the Lakers at long last shook the monkey off their back, conquering the Knicks in the 1972 NBA Finals to claim their first NBA title since 1954 and first since their move to Los Angeles.