Records are made to be broken, but there are some in NBA history that feel untouchable.
During the 1971-72 season, the Lakers set an NBA record that stands to this day by winning 33 straight games. Only one team has come close to breaking it in a single season in the 50-plus years since — the 2012-13 Heat, who won 27 consecutive games.
Forget 30 games. Winning 20 straight is difficult enough. The Lakers and Heat are two of five teams to have reached that mark in a single season. The Royals join them as the only other team to have won 20 or more straight games over two seasons.
With that in mind, here are the longest winning streaks in NBA history.
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What are the longest winning streaks 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 that have won 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 consecutive games between the end of the 2014-15 season and the start of the 2015-16 season. The Washington Capitols did the same by 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 straight games.
| Rank | Team | Season(s) | Streak |
| 1. | Lakers | 1971-72 | 33 |
| 2. | Warriors* | 2014-15, 2015-16 | 28 (4 + 24) |
| 3. | Heat | 2012-13 | 27 |
| 4. | Rockets | 2007-08 | 22 |
| 5. | Capitols* | 1947-48, 1948-49 | 20 (5 + 15) |
| Bucks | 1970-71 | 20 | |
| 7. | Lakers | 1999-00 | 19 |
| Celtics | 2008-09 | 19 | |
| Spurs | 2013-14 | 19 | |
| Hawks | 2014-15 | 19 | |
| 11. | Royals* | 1949-50, 1950-51 | 18 (15 + 3) |
| 76ers* | 1965-66, 1966-67 | 18 (11 + 7) | |
| Knicks | 1969-70 | 18 | |
| Celtics | 1981-82 | 18 | |
| Bulls | 1995-96 | 18 | |
| Bucks | 2019-20 | 18 | |
| Suns | 2021-22 | 18 |
* Winning streak spanned over two seasons
The 2022-23 Bucks recorded their 16th straight win with a victory over the Magic on March 1. They'll look to make it 17 in a row on Saturday, March 4 when they face Joel Embiid's 76ers on ABC.
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