Bill Sharman led the Los Angeles Lakers during their 33-game winning streak in 1972.
The streak belonged to the remarkable 1971–72 Lakers, a team built around Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Gail Goodrich. It began with a victory over the Baltimore Bullets on November 5, 1971, reached 33 consecutive wins with a January 7 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, and ended two nights later when the Milwaukee Bucks won 120–104.
Sharman had replaced Joe Mullaney as head coach before the season. His Lakers finished the regular season 69–13, then defeated the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals to win the franchise’s first championship since moving from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. Sharman was also named NBA Coach of the Year.
A common mix-up is confusing Sharman with Red Auerbach, who coached him during his Boston Celtics playing career. Pat Riley and Phil Jackson led later Lakers teams, including the famous Showtime and early-2000s championship eras, not the 1972 streak.