Top five NBA teams with the longest winning streaks
The Cleveland Cavaliers have launched the 2024/25 season with an unprecedented 13-0 start, igniting talk about historic winning streaks. To break into the NBA's top 15 all-time streaks, they need a few more wins. Notably, three of the top five teams went on to win the championship that season. We present the top five longest NBA winning streaks, and if they won the title.
Los Angeles Lakers - 1971-72, (33 wins)
The longest win streak in the NBA belongs to the 1971-72 Lakers championship-winning team who won 33 games in a row before having their streak snapped by the Milwaukee Bucks. The team finished with a 69-13 regular season record. The team defeated the Bucks in a 6-game Western Conference Finals, before beating the Knicks 4-1 in the finals. Wilt Chamberlain was the Finals MVP.
Miami Heat - 2012-13, (27 wins)
The Miami Heat sit in second after going 27 games undefeated in the 2012/13 season. They finished the season with a 66-16 record. the Heat defeated the Indiana Pacers in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals to become the first team since the 1998 Chicago Bulls to three-peat as Eastern Conference champions. Miami then defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the finals (4-3).
Golden State Warriors - 2015-16, (24 wins)
The Golden State Warriors are third on the list with 24 wins in 2015-16 and are one of the two teams in the top five to not convert their winning streak season into a championship. Coming in as the defending champions, the Warriors finished with a 73-9 record, setting the best regular-season record. However, they lost Lebron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games (3-4).
Houston Rockets - 2007-08, (22 wins)
The 2007-08 Rockets are the second team with one of the longest winning streak (22 wins) to not win the championship that season. They finished with a 55-27 record, fifth in the Western Conference. However, the Rockets were eliminated by the Utah Jazz in the first round (2-4). Unfortunately, this was the second consecutive season where Houston had their season ended by Utah.
Milwaukee Bucks - 1970-71, (20 games)
The 1970-71 Bucks are the fifth team with the longest winning streak, winning 20 games. Led by HC Larry Costello, the team finished with a 66-16 record, first in the Western Conference. Milwaukee made their way into the finals for the first time in NBA history in just their third year of existence. They faced the Baltimore Bullets and swept them in four games.
