During the 1971–72 season, the Los Angeles Lakers won their first National Basketball Association (NBA) title since moving to Los Angeles. The Lakers defeated the New York Knicks in five games to win the title, after going 69–13 during the regular-season, a record that stood for 24 seasons until the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls went 72–10. During the regular season, they would also go on an NBA record 33-game winning streak. The team went on to win 81 regular season and playoff games overall, a record that would stand alone for 14 years until the Boston Celtics matched it in 1986. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball teams of all time, the 1971–72 Lakers were named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History in 1996.
The Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls in 4 games in the Western Conference Semifinals. The team then defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in a 6-game Western Conference Finals. The Lakers then got to the NBA Finals once again for the 14th time in league history. They faced the New York Knicks in a rematch of the 1970 NBA Finals. The Knicks were defeated in 5 games, the Lakers claimed their sixth title in team history and the first since 1954. Wilt Chamberlain won Finals MVP. Their record of outscoring opponents by 12.3 points per game in the regular season would eventually be broken by the 2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder, at 12.9 points per game.
Offseason Traded a 1971 2nd round draft pick to the Cincinnati Royals for guard Flynn Robinson. Hired Bill Sharman as the new head coach to replace Joe Mullaney. Traded a 1972 2nd round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for center Leroy Ellis. Claimed forward John Q. Trapp off waivers from the Houston Rockets.
NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 13 Jim Cleamons Guard Ohio State 4 64 Roger Brown Center Kansas 5 81 Lee Dedmon Forward UNC
Roster
Regular season Since moving to Los Angeles, the Lakers were repeatedly foiled by the Boston Celtics in their attempts to capture an NBA title. The Lakers lost the championship to them six times in eight years. In 1970, with the aging Celtics out of title contention, the Lakers lost in the NBA finals to the New York Knicks. In 1971, after losing Jerry West to a season-ending injury in February, they lost in the Western Conference finals to the powerful Milwaukee Bucks.
Going into the 1971–72 season, many experts thought the chance at a championship had passed for this aging team. Star players Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West were all in their 30s, and had all missed significant time due to injuries in the prior two seasons. The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, led by superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, appeared to be starting a new NBA dynasty. But new coach Bill Sharman still believed the Lakers had the talent to contend. He introduced strict conditioning drills and implemented a running fast break-based offense. He re-tooled Wilt Chamberlain's game to focus on defense, rebounding, and jump-starting the fast break with quick outlet passes to guards Jerry West and Gail Goodrich. The only casualty of this system was the aging Baylor, who could not physically handle the up-tempo practices and offense and retired 9 games into the season. He was replaced at small forward by Jim McMillian who played at a near all-star level.
Shortly thereafter, the Lakers strung together a record 33-game win streak. The streak ended on January 9, 1972, against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Lakers and Bucks then staged a season-long race for the league's best record, with the Lakers setting a then NBA record with 69 wins (the Bucks had the second-best record at 63–19).
Season standings
z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot
Game logs Regular season
| 1 | October 15 | @ Detroit | 132–103 | Wilt Chamberlain (26) | Wilt Chamberlain (15) | Jerry West (9) | Cobo Arena10,613 | 1–0 |- | 2 | October 16 | @ New York | W 119–104 | McMillian (28) | Chamberlain (19) | West (6) | Madison Square Garden19,296 | 2–0 |- | 3 | October 19 | @ Buffalo | 123–106 | Gail Goodrich (24) | Wilt Chamberlain (12) | Gail Goodrich (6) | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium9,127 | 3–0 |- | 4 | October 20 | @ Atlanta | W 126–104 | McMillian (39) | Chamberlain (25) | McMillian (6) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum5,543 | 4–0 |- | 5 | October 22 | Chicago | L 106–113 | Goodrich (26) | Chamberlain (18) | Hairston (6) | The Forum15,086 | 4–1 |- | 6 | October 24 | @ Houston | 113–103 | Gail Goodrich (31) | Chamberlain, Hairston (13) | Gail Goodrich (6) | Hofheinz Pavilion4,061 | 5–1 |- | 7 | October 29 | Cincinnati | 107–119 | Gail Goodrich (31) | Wilt Chamberlain (32) | Jim McMillian (7) | The Forum12,442 | 6–1 |- | 8 | October 30 | @ Seattle | 106–115 | Flynn Robinson (28) | Happy Hairston (13) | Gail Goodrich (7) | Seattle Center Coliseum13,138 | 6–2 |- | 9 | October 31 | Golden State | 109–105 | Gail Goodrich (38) | Wilt Chamberlain (24) | Wilt Chamberlain (6) | The Forum11,303 | 6–3
| 10 | November 5 | Baltimore | W 110–106 | Goodrich (31) | Chamberlain (25) | Chamberlain, West (6) | The Forum11,168 | 7–3 |- | 11 | November 6 | @ Golden State | 105–89 | Jerry West (28) | Wilt Chamberlain (17) | Jerry West (8) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena10,625 | 8–3 |- | 12 | November 7 | New York | W 103–96 | West (29) | Chamberlain (22) | West (8) | The Forum15,397 | 9–3 |- | 13 | November 9 | @ Chicago | W 122–109 | McMillian (28) | Chamberlain (20) | West (13) | Chicago Stadium9,082 | 10–3 |- | 14 | November 10 | @ Philadelphia | 143–103 | Gail Goodrich (34) | Wilt Chamberlain (14) | Jerry West (10) | Spectrum9,503 | 11–3 |- | 15 | November 12 | Seattle | 107–115 | Jerry West (28) | Wilt Chamberlain (22) | Jerry West (8) | The Forum16,550 | 12–3 |- | 16 | November 13 | @ Portland | 130–108 | LeRoy Ellis (27) | Wilt Chamberlain (13) | Jerry West (11) | Memorial Coliseum9,990 | 13–3 |- | 17 | November 14 | Boston | W 128–115 | Goodrich (36) | Chamberlain (31) | Chamberlain (10) | The Forum17,505 | 14–3 |- | 18 | November 16 | Cleveland | 90–108 | Jerry West (25) | Wilt Chamberlain (15) | Wilt Chamberlain (6) | The Forum10,475 | 15–3 |- | 19 | November 19 | Houston | 99–106 | Gail Goodrich (32) | Wilt Chamberlain (23) | Chamberlain, Goodrich, West (6) | The Forum11,484 | 16–3 |- | 20 | November 21 | Milwaukee | W 112–105 | Goodrich (27) | Chamberlain (26) | West (13) | The Forum17,505 | 17–3 |- | 21 | November 25 | @ Seattle | 139–115 | Jerry West (26) | Wilt Chamberlain (15) | Jerry West (13) | Seattle Center Coliseum13,170 | 18–3 |- | 22 | November 26 | Detroit | 113–132 | Wilt Chamberlain (31) | Wilt Chamberlain (31) | Jerry West (18) | The Forum17,101 | 19–3 |- | 23 | November 28 | Seattle | 111–138 | Jerry West (25) | Wilt Chamberlain (26) | Jerry West (8) | The Forum15,544 | 20–3
| 24 | December 1 | @ Boston | W 124–111 | West (45) | Chamberlain (20) | Chamberlain (6) | Boston Garden8,584 | 21–3 |- | 25 | December 3 | @ Philadelphia | 131–116 | Jim McMillian (41) | Wilt Chamberlain (25) | Jerry West (9) | Spectrum14,923 | 22–3 |- | 26 | December 5 | Portland | 107–123 | Hairston, West (20) | Wilt Chamberlain (27) | Jerry West (10) | The Forum17,505 | 23–3 |- | 27 | December 8 | @ Houston | 125–120 | Gail Goodrich (42) | Happy Hairston (15) | Jerry West (6) | Hofheinz Pavilion9,346 | 24–3 |- | 28 | December 9 | @ Golden State | 124–111 | Jerry West (38) | Wilt Chamberlain (15) | Jerry West (11) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena8,892 | 25–3 |- | 29 | December 10 | Phoenix | 117–126 (OT) | Gail Goodrich (32) | Wilt Chamberlain (28) | Jerry West (11) | The Forum17,505 | 26–3 |- | 30 | December 12 | Atlanta | W 104–95 | Gail Goodrich (32) | Chamberlain (24) | West (14) | The Forum17,505 | 27–3 |- | 31 | December 14 | @ Portland | 129–114 | Chamberlain, Goodrich (24) | Wilt Chamberlain (18) | Jerry West (15) | Memorial Coliseum9,048 | 28–3 |- | 32 | December 17 | Golden State | 99–129 | Gail Goodrich (25) | Wilt Chamberlain (18) | Jerry West (9) | The Forum15,552 | 29–3 |- | 33 | December 18 | @ Phoenix | 132–106 | Gail Goodrich (28) | Wilt Chamberlain (16) | Jerry West (7) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,534 | 30–3 |- | 34 | December 19 | Philadelphia | 132–154 | Wilt Chamberlain (32) | Wilt Chamberlain (34) | Jerry West (10) | The Forum17,505 | 31–3 |- | 35 | December 21 | @ Buffalo | 117–103 | Jerry West (33) | Wilt Chamberlain (22) | Jerry West (10) | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium10,602 | 32–3 |- | 36 | December 22 | @ Baltimore | W 127–120 | West (37) | Hairston (17) | West (9) | Baltimore Civic Center8,468 | 33–3 |- | 37 | December 26 | Houston | 115–137 | Jerry West (34) | Happy Hairston (21) | Jerry West (17) | The Forum17,505 | 34–3 |- | 38 | December 28 | Buffalo | 87–105 | Jerry West (24) | Happy Hairston (14) | Jerry West (8) | The Forum17,505 | 35–3 |- | 39 | December 30 | @ Seattle | 122–106 | Jim McMillian (34) | Wilt Chamberlain (24) | Jerry West (11) | Seattle Center Coliseum13,106 | 36–3
| 40 | January 2 | Boston | W 122–113 | Goodrich (40) | Hairston (19) | West (12) | The Forum17,505 | 37–3 |- | 41 | January 5 | @ Cleveland | 113–103 | Jim McMillian (29) | Happy Hairston (19) | Jerry West (14) | Cleveland Arena11,178 | 38–3 |- | 42 | January 7 | @ Atlanta | W 134–90 | Jim McMillian (26) | Chamberlain, Hairston (14) | West (13) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum7,192 | 39–3 |- | 43 | January 9 | @ Milwaukee | L 104–120 | West (20) | Hairston (18) | West (6) | MECCA Arena10,746 | 39–4 |- | 44 | January 11 | @ Detroit | 123–103 | Wilt Chamberlain (29) | Wilt Chamberlain (18) | Jerry West (9) | Cobo Arena10,050 | 40–4 |- | 45 | January 12 | @ Cincinnati | 107–108 | Wilt Chamberlain (24) | Happy Hairston (23) | Jerry West (7) | Cincinnati Gardens5,231 | 40–5 |- | 46 | January 14 | @ Philadelphia | 135–121 | Jerry West (30) | Wilt Chamberlain (20) | Jerry West (13) | Spectrum12,919 | 41–5 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- | 47 | January 21 | New York | L 101–104 | Chamberlain (28) | Chamberlain (19) | West (8) | The Forum17,505 | 41–6 |- | 48 | January 22 | @ Phoenix | 102–116 | Jerry West (26) | Wilt Chamberlain (20) | Jerry West (8) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,534 | 41–7 |- | 49 | January 25 | Phoenix | 119–129 | Gail Goodrich (33) | Wilt Chamberlain (18) | Jerry West (7) | The Forum17,505 | 42–7 |- | 50 | January 28 | Houston | 105–118 | Gail Goodrich (28) | Chamberlain, Hairston (18) | Jerry West (9) | The Forum16,183 | 43–7 |- | 51 | January 30 | Portland | 131–153 | Gail Goodrich (29) | Wilt Chamberlain (24) | Jerry West (14) | The Forum17,007 | 44–7
| 52 | February 4 | Milwaukee | W 118–105 | West (37) | Chamberlain (25) | West (13) | The Forum17,505 | 45–7 |- | 53 | February 5 | @ Golden State | 108–96 | Gail Goodrich (30) | Wilt Chamberlain (22) | Jerry West (14) | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena13,502 | 46–7 |- | 54 | February 6 | Baltimore | W 151–127 | Trapp (27) | Hairston (13) | West (10) | The Forum17,103 | 47–7 |- | 55 | February 8 | @ New York | W 107–102 | Goodrich (36) | Chamberlain (20) | West (7) | Madison Square Garden19,588 | 48–7 |- | 56 | February 9 | @ Atlanta | W 117–113 | West (31) | Hairston (11) | Goodrich, West (4) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum7,192 | 49–7 |- | 57 | February 11 | @ Boston | L 108–121 | West (25) | McMillian (10) | West (11) | Boston Garden15,315 | 49–8 |- | 58 | February 13 | N Baltimore | W 121–110 | McMillian (31) | Hairston (20) | West (11) | Cole Field House14,239 | 50–8 |- | 59 | February 15 | Cincinnati | 118–125 | Gail Goodrich (33) | Wilt Chamberlain (19) | Jerry West (13) | The Forum15,161 | 51–8 |- | 60 | February 16 | @ Phoenix | 109–110 | McMillian, West (26) | Wilt Chamberlain (21) | Jerry West (8) | Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum12,534 | 51–9 |- | 61 | February 18 | Portland | 114–125 | Gail Goodrich (34) | Happy Hairston (19) | Jerry West (10) | The Forum15,357