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Miami Heat and the Longest Winning Streaks in NBA History
The Miami Heat Are Streaking Away with the East
The Miami Heat just cracked the list of top 20 longest winning streaks in NBA history with their 16th win in a row – a down-to-the-wire victory against the Orlando Magic. With three seconds left and down by one, LeBron James iced it with a layup.
Sounds good, 16 wins. But the Heat have a long way to go before catching 1971-72′s eventual champion, Wilt Chamberlain‘s Los Angeles Lakers. They ran off 33 games in a row, more than double Miami’s current streak.
The Heat’s streak is not even the longest streak of the season – the Los Angeles Clippers posted a 17-game run this November-December.
But, it’s still alive.
We’ll follow the Heat’s streak along and update the chart to see just how far in the rankings Miami will go. They might hit a roadblock this Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, but first the Heat will look for their 17th straight against the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night.
Do streaks signify anything? Are they harbingers of good things? Finals appearances? Titles, perhaps?
Minus the Heat’s and Clippers’ streaks from this undecided season, there are 22 listed below. Eleven represent NBA Finals champions (green) and another three represent NBA Finals losers (red). That’s 14 of 22, or a 64% chance of making the Finals (and a 50% chance of winning it all).
Will the Miami Heat and the L.A. Clippers meet in the 2013 NBA Finals, then? According to “streak-theory,” that pairing has a better chance than any other. The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs may have something to say about that. The Heat look unbeatable out of the East, though.
Follow @VinGetzLIST UPDATED: The Miami Heat’s winning streak ended at 27 on March 27th. They lost to the Chicago Bulls, 101-97. Amazing run.
| TEAM | STREAK | BEGIN | END | SEASON RESULT | |
| 1. | Los Angeles Lakers | 33 | Nov. 5, 1971 | Jan. 7, 1972 | WON NBA FINALS over New York Knicks (4-1) |
| 2. | Miami Heat | 27 | Feb. 3, 2013 | Mar. 27, 2013 | TBD |
| 3. | Houston Rockets | 22 | Jan. 29, 2008 | Mar. 16, 2008 | Lost Western Conference First Round to Utah Jazz (4-2) |
| 4. | Washington Capitols | 20 | Mar. 13, 1948 | Dec. 4, 1948 | 1948-49: LOST BAA FINALS to Minneapolis Lakers (4-2) |
| 4. | Milwaukee Bucks | 20 | Feb. 6, 1971 | Mar. 8, 1971 | WON NBA FINALS over Baltimore Bullets (4-0)* |
| 6. | Los Angeles Lakers | 19 | Feb. 4, 2000 | Mar. 13, 2000 | WON NBA FINALS over Indiana Pacers (4-2)** |
| 6. | Boston Celtics | 19 | Nov. 15, 2008 | Dec. 23, 2008 | Lost Eastern Conference Semifinals to Orlando Magic (4-3) |
| 8. | Rochester Royals | 18 | Feb. 17, 1950 | Nov. 11, 1950 | 1950-51: WON NBA FINALS over New York Knicks (4-3) |
| 8. | Philadelphia 76ers | 18 | Mar. 3, 1966 | Nov. 4, 1966 | 1966-67: WON NBA FINALS over San Francisco Warriors (4-2) |
| 8. | New York Knicks | 18 | Oct. 24, 1969 | Nov. 28, 1969 | WON NBA FINALS over Los Angeles Lakers (4-3) |
| 8. | Boston Celtics | 18 | Feb. 24, 1982 | Mar. 26, 1982 | Lost Eastern Conference Finals to Philadelphia 76ers (4-3) |
| 8. | Chicago Bulls | 18 | Dec. 29, 1995 | Feb. 2, 1996 | WON NBA FINALS over Seattle SuperSonics (4-2) |
| 13. | Washington Capitols | 17 | Nov. 16, 1946 | Dec. 30, 1946 | Lost BAA Semifinals to Chicago Stags (4-2) |
| 13. | Boston Celtics | 17 | Nov. 28, 1959 | Dec. 30, 1959 | WON NBA FINALS over St. Louis Hawks (4-3) |
| 13. | San Antonio Spurs | 17 | Feb. 29, 1996 | Mar. 31, 1996 | Lost Western Conference Semifinals to Utah Jazz (4-2) |
| 13. | Phoenix Suns | 17 | Dec. 29, 2006 | Jan. 28, 2007 | Lost Western Conference Semifinals to San Antonio Spurs (4-2) |
| 13. | Dallas Mavericks | 17 | Jan. 27, 2007 | Mar. 11, 2007 | Lost Western Conference First Round to Golden State Warriors (4-2) |
| 13. | Los Angeles Clippers | 17 | Nov. 28, 2012 | Dec. 30, 2012 | TBD |
| 19. | Boston Celtics | 16 | Dec. 19, 1964 | Jan. 22, 1965 | WON NBA FINALS over Los Angeles Lakers (4-1) |
| 19. | Milwaukee Bucks | 16 | Oct. 24, 1970 | Nov. 25, 1970 | WON NBA FINALS over Baltimore Bullets (4-0)* |
| 19. | Milwaukee Bucks | 16 | Feb. 28, 1973 | Oct. 13, 1973 | 1973-74: LOST NBA FINALS to Boston Celtics (4-3) |
| 19. | Los Angeles Lakers | 16 | Jan. 9, 1991 | Feb. 5, 1991 | LOST NBA FINALS to Chicago Bulls (4-1) |
| 19. | Portland Trail Blazers | 16 | Mar. 20, 1991 | Apr. 19, 1991 | Lost Western Conference Finals to Los Angeles Lakers (4-2) |
| 19. | Los Angeles Lakers | 16 | Dec. 11, 1999 | Jan. 12, 2000 | WON NBA FINALS over Indiana Pacers (4-2)** |
Notes: For streaks that span two seasons, the “season result” column reflects the year the streak ended. Also, these are all regular-season streaks. To see playoff winning streaks, check out Longest Winning Streaks in NBA Playoff History.
Longest losing streaks? Regular Season and Playoffs.
* The champion Milwaukee Bucks have two ranked streaks from 1970-71 (16, then 20)
** The champion L.A. Lakers have two ranked streaks from 1999-00 (16, then 19)
Thanks to basketball-reference.com‘s play index where this query will give you every winning streak ever.
Photo: nba.com
NCAA Basketball: Top 10 Longest Winning Streaks in College Basketball History (Division I)
Bill Walton, John Wooden and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) Won a Lot of Games in a Row at UCLA
Here are the top 10 longest winning streaks in men’s college basketball history.
John Wooden‘s UCLA Bruins of the late 1960s and early 1970s dominate. They appear three times and hold the all-time, and probably unbreakable, record – 88 games won in a row! No one even comes close to that today.
The most recent chartbusting streak was put on by Jerry Tarkanian‘s Runnin’ Rebels back over 20 years ago, in 1990-91.
For more college basketball lists, click here!
Follow @VinGetz| SCHOOL | STREAK | YEARS | COACH | |
| 1. | UCLA | 88 | 1971-74 | John Wooden |
| 2. | San Francisco | 60 | 1955-57 | Phil Woolpert |
| 3. | UCLA | 47 | 1966-68 | John Wooden |
| 4. | UNLV | 45 | 1990-91 | Jerry Tarkanian |
| 5. | Texas | 44 | 1913-17 | Theo Bellmont, Roy Henderson, Eugene Van Gent |
| 6. | LIU Brooklyn | 43 | 1935-37 | Clair Bee |
| 6. | Seton Hall | 43 | 1939-41 | Honey Russell |
| 8. | UCLA | 41 | 1968-69 | John Wooden |
| 9. | Marquette | 39 | 1970-71 | Al McGuire |
| 10. | North Carolina | 37 | 1957-58 | Frank McGuire |
| 10. | Cincinnati | 37 | 1962-63 | Ed Jucker |
Source data courtesy NCAA.org.
Photo: washingtonpost.com
Highest Winning Percentage in College Basketball History
Kentucky Has the Best Winning Percentage of All Time, Amongst Other Records
The Kentucky Wildcats not only have the most wins in college basketball history and in NCAA Tournament history, and the most NCAA tournament appearances, they have the best overall W-L percentage, too.
These are the top 20 NCAA basketball teams with the best winning percentages of all time – for major schools with at least 1,000 games played.
It’s a cast of the usual suspects through the top eight, but then a couple surprises rounding out the top 10: Western Kentucky and St. John’s.
Follow @VinGetz| SCHOOL | G | W | L | W-L PCT | |
| 1. | Kentucky Wildcats | 2,752 | 2,098 | 653 | .763 |
| 2. | North Carolina Tar Heels | 2,808 | 2,072 | 736 | .738 |
| 3. | Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels | 1,356 | 979 | 377 | .722 |
| 4. | Kansas Jayhawks | 2,884 | 2,077 | 807 | .720 |
| 5. | Duke Blue Devils | 2,814 | 1,980 | 834 | .704 |
| 6. | Syracuse Orange | 2,678 | 1,855 | 822 | .693 |
| 7. | UCLA Bruins | 2,513 | 1,737 | 776 | .691 |
| 8. | Memphis Tigers | 1,715 | 1,150 | 565 | .671 |
| 9. | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers | 2,489 | 1,660 | 829 | .667 |
| 10. | St. John’s (NY) Red Storm | 2,709 | 1,790 | 919 | .661 |
| 11. | Louisville Cardinals | 2,535 | 1,670 | 865 | .659 |
| 12. | Illinois Fighting Illini | 2,575 | 1,676 | 899 | .651 |
| 13. | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 2,675 | 1,733 | 941 | .648 |
| 14. | Temple Owls | 2,780 | 1,797 | 983 | .646 |
| 15. | Utah Utes | 2,597 | 1,676 | 921 | .645 |
| 15. | Arizona Wildcats | 2,480 | 1,599 | 880 | .645 |
| 17. | Arkansas Razorbacks | 2,412 | 1,541 | 871 | .639 |
| 18. | Indiana Hoosiers | 2,658 | 1,696 | 962 | .638 |
| 18. | Purdue Boilermakers | 2,607 | 1,664 | 943 | .638 |
| 18. | Villanova Wildcats | 2,468 | 1,574 | 894 | .638 |
| 18. | Connecticut Huskies | 2,383 | 1,520 | 863 | .638 |
Thanks to sports-reference.com.
Photo: blog.zap2it.com
