Winning in any sport can be contagious. It's the great teams that set themselves apart by making winning a habit, doing it so consistently that they look and feel unbeatable.

So, it comes as no surprise that the teams that own the five longest winning streaks in NBA history were all contenders in their respective seasons. 

While three of these five franchises went on to clinch the NBA title, injuries to key players and a historic NBA Finals comeback prevented the other two from doing the same. 

MORE: NBA's notable unbreakable records

That said, here's a closer look at the five longest winning streaks in NBA history.

1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers - 33 games

Heading into the 1971-72 season, the Lakers had lost in seven of the previous 10 NBA Finals. However, that 1971-72 season went perfectly. 

After a 6-3 start, the Lakers went on an NBA record 33-game winning streak that lasted over two months (66 days - Nov. 5, 1971 to Jan. 9, 1972). Their streak was snapped in Milwaukee by the then reigning champions in the Bucks — the team that defeated the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals of the 1971 playoffs.

Led by their stars in Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Gail Goodrich, the Lakers rode the streak's momentum to a then-NBA best 69-13 record and subsequently the 1972 championship - the franchise's first in Los Angeles and first since 1954.

Since then, their 69 wins have been surpassed twice but it still remains tied for the third-most wins in a single NBA season. The Lakers won their 33 games by an average margin of 16.0 points with 17 of them coming at home. 

2012-13 Miami Heat - 27 games

The only team to legitimately pose a threat to the Lakers' win streak was the 2012-13 Heat. 

As the reigning champions, the Heat pulled off 27 straight victories (13 road; 14 home), which lasted 55 days (Feb. 3, 2013 - March 27, 2013). As part of the streak, which included 17 double-digits victories and seven wins where double-digit deficits were erased, the Heat defeated 20 different teams.

The Heat cooled off after that streak, which was snapped by the feisty short-handed Chicago Bulls, but Miami did enough to defend its title and win back-to-back championships by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals. 

For more on the Heat's historic streak, click here.

2015-16 Golden State Warriors - 24 games

The Warriors' 24-game winning streak (Oct. 27, 2015 - Dec. 11, 2015) might rank third all-time but it is the most consecutive wins to start a season. And like the Lakers in 1971, their streak also ended in Milwaukee. What's remarkable about this streak is that 14 of the 24 wins came on the road and 15 of the 24 came by a double-digit margin.

Coming off a championship, the Warriors - led by a superhuman Stephen Curry - rattled off these victories under interim head coach Luke Walton after head coach Steve Kerr missed the first 43 games of the season. 

This squad went on to win an NBA record of 73 games, breaking the 72-win mark by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. However, the Dubs couldn't wrap up a magical season as they were on the wrong side of the only 3-1 comeback in the NBA Finals, courtesy of the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

2007-08 Houston Rockets - 22 games

Although the Rockets' 22-game streak (Jan. 29, 2008 - March 16, 2008) is the fourth-best, it's often considered the most impressive and remarkable one in NBA history.

They are the only team of these five who weren't defending champions going into the year of their streak or didn't go on to win the title, but considering the talent on the rosters of these five teams, this one does stand out. 

Led by two All-Stars in Tracy McGrady and 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming, the Rockets won 12 straight before receiving the news of Yao's broken foot. And yet, the squad rallied to win another 10 on the trot with him on the bench. 

In one of the tightest Western Conference playoff races, the Rockets finished with a 55-27 record as the fifth seed. Their run ended early in the playoffs, courtesy of a six-game loss to the Utah Jazz. 

1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks - 20 games

In just their third season in the NBA, the Bucks - led by young superstar center Lew Alcindor and veteran star point guard Oscar Robertson, who they acquired in the 1970 offseason - won 66 games and rode their way to the NBA title. 

The 66-16 record includes two winning streaks of at least 16 games with the 20-game unbeaten run from Feb. 6, 1971 - March 9, 1971 being the fifth-best in NBA history.

It was, at that time, the best in NBA history. 

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