When the Los Angeles Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night (10 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App), the team and the NBA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Lakers' 33-game winning streak in the 1971-72 season, regarded as one of the most unbreakable records in NBA history. It was Jan. 7, 1972, when the Lakers beat the Hawks 134-90 to run the streak to 33 games before falling in Milwaukee two nights later.
In the 75-year history of the NBA, there have only been five 20-game winning streaks within one season, an indication of just how rare such a run is.