The 1972 Los Angeles Lakers are considered by many to be one of the greatest teams ever assembled in the history of the NBA.
Led by Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, and Wilt Chamberlain, the team was able to withstand the sudden retirement of all-time great Elgin Baylor and still reel off an NBA record 33 consecutive wins.
On March 26, 1972, this amazing team capped off one of the greatest regular seasons of all-time. With their 124-98 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics, the Lakers would finish the season with a 69-13 record, the best record in the history of the NBA at the time.
The Lakers would finish off the job that season by defeating the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals to win the franchise’s first championship in the city of Los Angeles.
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This was a monumental run for a number of reasons. It is extremely difficult to achieve that type of dominant play throughout the entire season. There are always dead periods for most teams, but the Lakers were able to minimize those in order to achieve the highest goal.
The year before, the team won only 48 games, so to jump up 21 wins is an outstanding accomplishment. And the Lakers regular season record for victories stood over 20 years until the 1996 Chicago Bulls won 72 games.
This week, we celebrate the 1972 Lakers team for finishing their 69-win season, an NBA record at the time, with a 124-98 win over the SuperSonics.
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