The Lakers’ NBA-Record 33-Game Winning Streak Started 50 Years Ago

In the summer of 1971—the offseason before they would make history with the longest winning streak by a team in one of the four major men’s sports, a mark that remains unsurpassed 50 years later—the Lakers had a lot going on.

First there was the issue of who was in charge. Six weeks after losing to the Bucks 4–1 in the Western Conference finals, Los Angeles canned coach Joe Mullaney. “I am shocked,” said point guard Jerry West, who was, at the time, ranked fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list—and third among the Lakers. The two ahead of him, Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor, were nearing the end of their careers and struggling with injuries. The 37-year-old Baylor had played only two games in 1970–71, and Chamberlain, 35, had missed almost all of the previous season. West was 33 and had been largely healthy—until a knee injury sidelined him for the 1971 postseason. The three had played just 14 games together in Mullaney’s two seasons, yet he had taken L.A. on two strong playoff runs.