Here are some grim historical facts that provide a foreboding to the Lakers third straight championship run.
You probably already heard that none of Phil Jackson’s 11 championship teams have ever lost 4 in a row. You can also add that no Los Angeles Laker team has ever lost 4 in a row and won an NBA championship in the same season.
You have to go back to 1954 to find the last time a Laker team lost 4 in a row in an NBA championship; that’s 56 years ago and back when the Lakers called Minneapolis home!
That bit of history is harrowing for the Lakers and fans alike. If the Lakers are to break out of this slump and contend for their 3rd straight championship title they will not only have to fight those teams contending to take the title from them but 56 years of Laker history as well.
While Phil Jackson’s coaching career and the Lakers’ team history with losing 4 in a row provide a gloomy outlook, the history of the NBA provides much rosier possibilities.
It was just 4 years ago (2006) that the Miami Heat won an NBA championship despite having a losing streak of 4 games in the regular season.
Of the 64 NBA championship teams, 14 of them have had losing streaks of 4 or more games in the regular season. That would equate to the phenomenon occurring once every 5 years, which actually would make more common than a phenomenon by definition.
The 2004 Detriot Piston team, which beat the Lakers “Reloaded” team of Shaq, Kobe, Malone and Payton in the finals, had not only a 4 game losing streak but one of 6 as well.
Next: That Stat You Keep Hearing About Phil Jackson and Losing 4 Straight