10 longest winning streaks in NBA history

5. 1947-48 and 1948-49 Washington Capitols (20 games)

There is a lot to explain with this winning streak because yes, there was a basketball team called the Capitols that was in the Basketball Association of America or the BAA. Secondly, the NBA does count winning streaks that transfer over from the prior regular season which is why there are two years here.

Their winning streak started on March 13, 1948, in an 86-69 win over the St. Louis Bombers and ended on December 7, 1948, in a 94-78 loss to the Indianapolis Jets. Their winning streak began in the last five games of the 1947-48 regular season and ended after winning the first 15 games of the 1948-49 regular season.

They were still able to beat 12 playoff teams during this stretch but the legitimacy of this streak is skewed. The league was in its first three seasons and wasn't even called the NBA yet.

Even with the winning streak coming very early in NBA history, winning 20 games is hard to do as only four other teams had won more. It would end up taking 12 years for someone to tie the record and 13 to break the record.

Both seasons, their leading scorer was Bob Feerick. In the 1948 season, they lost in the first round to the Chicago Stag and in 1949 they lost in the BAA finals to the Minneapolis Lakers.