By Jordan Long
We all know that the NBA is on hold for the rest of the season due to the Coronavirus. They hope to finish the year out with a team winning an NBA Championship. With that it is time for this date in history. On this day the 1971-72 Lakers won their 69th game of the year, finishing the regular season at 69-13. At the time it was the most wins in NBA history until the Chicago Bulls went 70-12 in 1996. That was beaten by the Golden State Warriors who ended 2016 at 73-9.
The ‘72 Lakers started the NBA season 4-0 but were 6-3 after a 109-105 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Halloween. That loss sparked them to win an impressive 33 games straight which still stands as an NBA record.
L.A. went into the last game of the year on March 26th, 1972, at 68-13 facing the Seattle Super Sonics. The Super Sonics were no match for the Lakers who drummed them 124-98 to earn their 69th win of the year.
The Lakers would go on to win the NBA Championship that year. The team was stacked with some of the all-time greats including Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Pat Riley. Baylor, Chamberlain, West, and Riley are all inducted in The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
There are some people who believe the ‘72 Lakers might have been the top team to ever play in the NBA. It certainly helped to set a record of winning 69 games in an NBA season on this date . They set the standard that day.
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