1972 Los Angeles Lakers

Bill Sharman arrived as coach, installed morning shootarounds and a running game, and asked the aging stars to adapt. Elgin Baylor could not keep up with the new pace and retired nine games in. The Lakers then won 33 straight, the streak ending in January against Milwaukee.

Gail Goodrich led the team in scoring at nearly 26 a game, with Jerry West beside him in the backcourt. Jim McMillian stepped into Baylor's spot and played near an All-Star level. Chamberlain focused on the glass and the defensive end, sparking the break with outlet passes.

Los Angeles finished 69-13, beat Chicago and Milwaukee in the West, and then faced the Knicks in a rematch of the 1970 Finals. This time the Lakers won in five.

The title was the first since the Minneapolis years and the only one of West's playing career. The roster also held a reserve guard named Pat Riley, who would coach the Lakers to four titles a decade later.

The league was smaller than it is today, but the 1972 playoffs still required beating the best teams in the division and then the other side of the bracket. Title paths from this era are shorter on paper than a modern run, yet the Finals still decided the champion.

The starting five was Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Jim McMillian, Happy Hairston, and Wilt Chamberlain. Bill Sharman coached the group with Flynn Robinson as the primary bench scorer.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Pat Riley (reserve guard, later coached the Showtime Lakers); Keith Erickson (swingman); Leroy Ellis (backup big man).

By 1972 the NBA had expanded nationwide and the Finals were a national television event. The Los Angeles Lakers title run still required winning the East or West bracket, then taking the championship round.

The Los Angeles Lakers share a lineage with other banners from 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 1971-72 Lakers won 69 games, a record that stood for 24 years, and beat the Knicks in five for the franchise's first title in Los Angeles. In the middle of that season they won 33 games in a row, still the longest streak in major American team sports. Wilt Chamberlain, by then a defender and rebounder more than a scorer, was named Finals MVP.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Los Angeles Lakers titles, use the franchise hub linked below.