1971-72 LOS ANGELES LAKERS

Backstory
The Lakers booted coach Joe Mullaney after losing in the conference finals in 1971 in favor of Bill Sharman, whose Utah Stars just won the ABA title.

The regular season
If Elgin Baylor, who lost in the Finals eight times, needed any more evidence that he would never win a title, he got it nine games into the season. As Charley Rosen’s book “The Pivotal Season” recounts, players were growing tired of the “selfish and defenseless” Baylor. So Sharman held a “retirement party” for the 37-year-old Baylor to get him off the team. Immediately upon Baylor’s Nov. 5 “retirement,” the Lakers ran off 33 straight victories, a record that still stands. They didn’t just win -- they dominated. Only nine of those victories were by single digits. They won at Philadelphia by 40, and at Atlanta by 44. They were 30-0 in November and December.

The Lakers kept up the momentum, finishing a then-record 69-13. One key was Sharman convincing Wilt Chamberlain he should score less and play more like the center who vanquished him so often, Bill Russell.

Chamberlain dropped from 15 shots per game in 1971 to nine shots per game in 1972, averaging only 14.8 points. But he had a league-leading 19.2 rebounds, and his outlet passing helped fuel the Lakers’ fast-break game.

The postseason
The Lakers swept Chicago in the first round, got revenge against the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-led Bucks by a 4-2 margin in the conference final, and then took four out of five from the New York Knicks to win the NBA title. Not only was it the Lakers’ first title since moving to Los Angeles from Minneapolis in 1960, but also their first since George Mikan’s retirement in 1954.

Postscript
The Lakers were a one-year wonder, in part because of age. Baylor was old, but Chamberlain (35 in 1972) and Jerry West (33) were no kids either.

The greatest regular seasons ever Introduction 1934 Chicago Bears 1971-'72 Los Angeles Lakers 1972 Miami Dolphins 1976-'77 Montreal Canadiens 1979-'80 Philadelphia Flyers 1990-'91 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 1995 Nebraska Cornhuskers 1995-'96 Chicago Bulls 1997-'98 Tennessee Lady Vols 2001 Seattle Mariners 2003-04 Arsenal FC VOTE: Which was most impressive?

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