I remember the 33-game streak quite vividly as my brother's favorite team was the Lakers, with West being "his guy". If I am correct, I believe the streak started after a loss to Milwaukee and ended at the hands of those very same Bucks. I still enjoy watching those black n' white (and color) reruns of those Lakers and my then-favorite team, the Frazier-Bradley Knicks. Can't say for certain but I believe you previously touched on yet another individual's personal winning streak, Bill Walton (RIP). Prior to their loss to Notre Dame in 1974, ironically, the Bruins' streak began (I believe) after a loss to the same school, Notre Dame. Some teams (even the great ones) have your number.
You are correct that the streak was stopped by the Bucks in Milwaukee. But the streak started after a 109 - 105 loss to the Warriors on October 31, 1971.
You are correct about the start/stop of the UCLA streak. I have an article in my archives about both of those games.
Thanks for reading The Sports Time Traveler. Please let me know if you have any requests.
Len: Great reading your story about Jerry West's 41 game personal winning streak that I was not aware of until reading your story. How ironic that this winning streak was apparently enabled and preceded by the retirement of teammate, Elgin Baylor, one of the all-time great NBA players, who formed one of the all-time great NBA scoring tandems with Jerry West. Thanks for bringing Jerry West's incredible 41 game personal winning streak achievement to our attention with your lofty prose. Rest in peace, Jerry.
Jeffrey, Thanks so much for your feedback and comments. I do want to ensure no one thinks that Baylor's departure is what enabled the streak. Baylor wasn't playing poorly when he retired. His shooting percentage in those first 9 games of the 1971-72 season was .433 which was actually higher than all but one of his first 9 seasons when he was in his prime and was a scoring machine. But Elgin had to go to the bench because 23 year old Jim McMillian looked like a budding superstar. In the first 4 games of the season, with West playing point, McMillian averaged 26 points on 65% shooting from the field. A player like that has to start. And Elgin, just didn't want to be a bench player, so he retired. Now when West went down with the injury, McMillian's production fell off badly in the next 5 games. He averaged 13 points and shot well under 40%. Then in game 10 of the season, when West came back, McMillian immediately returned to form. So it was West's presence that fueled McMillian and the streak, not the removal of Baylor.
Some fans and media can't decide if Jerry West was a point guard or as a shooting guard. Jim McMillian's play with and without West is a good indicator of West's skill at the point, though I prefer to think of him as a guard, period.
West was not considered a point guard until Sharman installed him as point guard for the 1971-72 season. With West playing point, and Gail Goodrich as shooting guard, they went on the greatest winning streak in history. I recall that back in the early 1970s there was not so much made of the distinction between guard positions. I don't feel like it was until the late 1970s that most teams had a defined "point guard."
It was as you say you were a "guard, period."
I grew up in the NY area in the early 1970s, and although Walt Frazier was clearly playing what we today call a "point guard," I don't ever remember anyone calling him a point guard.
You have raised a really interesting point, so I did some very quick research in the newspaper archives. I did a search on the term "point guard" in 1971 and another in 1979.
In 1971, there were 896 matches on "point guard." In 1979 there were 19,506 matches.
So it really is the case that the guard position was just a "guard, period," until sometime later in the 1970s.
I remember the 33-game streak quite vividly as my brother's favorite team was the Lakers, with West being "his guy". If I am correct, I believe the streak started after a loss to Milwaukee and ended at the hands of those very same Bucks. I still enjoy watching those black n' white (and color) reruns of those Lakers and my then-favorite team, the Frazier-Bradley Knicks. Can't say for certain but I believe you previously touched on yet another individual's personal winning streak, Bill Walton (RIP). Prior to their loss to Notre Dame in 1974, ironically, the Bruins' streak began (I believe) after a loss to the same school, Notre Dame. Some teams (even the great ones) have your number.
Lawrence,
You are correct that the streak was stopped by the Bucks in Milwaukee. But the streak started after a 109 - 105 loss to the Warriors on October 31, 1971.
You are correct about the start/stop of the UCLA streak. I have an article in my archives about both of those games.
Thanks for reading The Sports Time Traveler. Please let me know if you have any requests.
Len
Len: Great reading your story about Jerry West's 41 game personal winning streak that I was not aware of until reading your story. How ironic that this winning streak was apparently enabled and preceded by the retirement of teammate, Elgin Baylor, one of the all-time great NBA players, who formed one of the all-time great NBA scoring tandems with Jerry West. Thanks for bringing Jerry West's incredible 41 game personal winning streak achievement to our attention with your lofty prose. Rest in peace, Jerry.
Jeffrey, Thanks so much for your feedback and comments. I do want to ensure no one thinks that Baylor's departure is what enabled the streak. Baylor wasn't playing poorly when he retired. His shooting percentage in those first 9 games of the 1971-72 season was .433 which was actually higher than all but one of his first 9 seasons when he was in his prime and was a scoring machine. But Elgin had to go to the bench because 23 year old Jim McMillian looked like a budding superstar. In the first 4 games of the season, with West playing point, McMillian averaged 26 points on 65% shooting from the field. A player like that has to start. And Elgin, just didn't want to be a bench player, so he retired. Now when West went down with the injury, McMillian's production fell off badly in the next 5 games. He averaged 13 points and shot well under 40%. Then in game 10 of the season, when West came back, McMillian immediately returned to form. So it was West's presence that fueled McMillian and the streak, not the removal of Baylor.
Some fans and media can't decide if Jerry West was a point guard or as a shooting guard. Jim McMillian's play with and without West is a good indicator of West's skill at the point, though I prefer to think of him as a guard, period.
Barron, Thanks so much for your comment.
West was not considered a point guard until Sharman installed him as point guard for the 1971-72 season. With West playing point, and Gail Goodrich as shooting guard, they went on the greatest winning streak in history. I recall that back in the early 1970s there was not so much made of the distinction between guard positions. I don't feel like it was until the late 1970s that most teams had a defined "point guard."
It was as you say you were a "guard, period."
I grew up in the NY area in the early 1970s, and although Walt Frazier was clearly playing what we today call a "point guard," I don't ever remember anyone calling him a point guard.
You have raised a really interesting point, so I did some very quick research in the newspaper archives. I did a search on the term "point guard" in 1971 and another in 1979.
In 1971, there were 896 matches on "point guard." In 1979 there were 19,506 matches.
So it really is the case that the guard position was just a "guard, period," until sometime later in the 1970s.