1961β62 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 19, 1961 β March 14, 1962 March 16 β April 5, 1962 (Playoffs) April 7β18, 1962 (Finals) |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 9 |
TV partner(s) | NBC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Walt Bellamy |
Picked by | Chicago Packers |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Boston Celtics |
Season MVP | Bill Russell ( Boston) |
Top scorer | Wilt Chamberlain ( Philadelphia) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia Warriors |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Detroit Pistons |
Finals | |
Champions | Boston Celtics |
Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
The 1961β62 NBA season was the 16th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 4th straight NBA title, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1960β61 coach | 1961β62 coach |
Chicago Packers | Expansion | Jim Pollard |
New York Knicks | Carl Braun | Eddie Donovan |
Philadelphia Warriors | Neil Johnston | Frank McGuire |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
St. Louis Hawks | Paul Seymour |
Andrew Levane Bob Pettit |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Boston Celtics | 60 | 20 | .750 | β | 23β5 | 26β12 | 11β3 | 26β10 |
x- Philadelphia Warriors | 49 | 31 | .613 | 11 | 18β11 | 19β19 | 12β1 | 18β18 |
x- Syracuse Nationals | 41 | 39 | .513 | 19 | 18β10 | 11β19 | 12β10 | 17β19 |
New York Knicks | 29 | 51 | .363 | 31 | 19β15 | 2β23 | 8β13 | 11β25 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 26 | .675 | β | 26β5 | 18β13 | 10β8 | 33β13 |
x- Cincinnati Royals | 43 | 37 | .538 | 11 | 18β13 | 14β16 | 11β8 | 29β17 |
x- Detroit Pistons | 37 | 43 | .463 | 17 | 16β14 | 8β17 | 13β12 | 24β22 |
St. Louis Hawks | 29 | 51 | .363 | 25 | 19β16 | 7β27 | 3β8 | 16β30 |
Chicago Packers | 18 | 62 | .225 | 36 | 15-23 | 3-39 | 0β0 | 10β30 |
x β clinched playoff spot
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||
E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 | |||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
W3 | Detroit | 3 | W3 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||
W2 | Cincinnati | 1 | |||||||||||
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | 4,029 |
Rebounds | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | 2,052 |
Assists | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals | 899 |
FG% | Walt Bellamy | Chicago Packers | .519 |
FT% | Dolph Schayes | Syracuse Nationals | .899 |
Note: Prior to the 1969β70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (December 2021) |
The 1961β62 season is notable for having some of the most impressive individual season statistics ever. A number of records were set this season, some of which still stand to this day. Below is a table showcasing some of the most significant individual per game statistics of the season.
Player | Team | GP | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia | 80 | 48.5 | 50.4 | 25.7 | 2.4 |
Bill Russell | Boston | 76 | 45.2 | 18.9 | 23.6 | 4.5 |
Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati | 79 | 44.3 | 30.8 | 12.5 | 11.4 |
Elgin Baylor | Los Angeles | 44 | 44.4 | 38.3 | 18.6 | 4.6 |
Bob Pettit | St Louis | 78 | 42.1 | 31.1 | 18.7 | 3.7 |
Jerry West | Los Angeles | 75 | 41.2 | 30.8 | 7.9 | 5.4 |
Richie Guerin | New York | 78 | 42.9 | 29.5 | 6.4 | 6.9 |
Walt Bellamy | Chicago | 79 | 42.3 | 31.6 | 19.0 | 2.7 |
Cliff Hagan | St Louis | 77 | 36.2 | 22.9 | 8.2 | 4.8 |
Willie Naulls | New York | 75 | 39.7 | 25.0 | 11.6 | 2.6 |
Red Kerr | Syracuse | 80 | 34.6 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 3.0 |
When comparing these players to the 2014β15 NBA league leaders, 7 of these players would win the scoring title, 5 would win the rebounding title and 1 would win the assist title. [2]
1961β62 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 19, 1961 β March 14, 1962 March 16 β April 5, 1962 (Playoffs) April 7β18, 1962 (Finals) |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 9 |
TV partner(s) | NBC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Walt Bellamy |
Picked by | Chicago Packers |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Boston Celtics |
Season MVP | Bill Russell ( Boston) |
Top scorer | Wilt Chamberlain ( Philadelphia) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia Warriors |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Detroit Pistons |
Finals | |
Champions | Boston Celtics |
Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
The 1961β62 NBA season was the 16th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 4th straight NBA title, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1960β61 coach | 1961β62 coach |
Chicago Packers | Expansion | Jim Pollard |
New York Knicks | Carl Braun | Eddie Donovan |
Philadelphia Warriors | Neil Johnston | Frank McGuire |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
St. Louis Hawks | Paul Seymour |
Andrew Levane Bob Pettit |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Boston Celtics | 60 | 20 | .750 | β | 23β5 | 26β12 | 11β3 | 26β10 |
x- Philadelphia Warriors | 49 | 31 | .613 | 11 | 18β11 | 19β19 | 12β1 | 18β18 |
x- Syracuse Nationals | 41 | 39 | .513 | 19 | 18β10 | 11β19 | 12β10 | 17β19 |
New York Knicks | 29 | 51 | .363 | 31 | 19β15 | 2β23 | 8β13 | 11β25 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Los Angeles Lakers | 54 | 26 | .675 | β | 26β5 | 18β13 | 10β8 | 33β13 |
x- Cincinnati Royals | 43 | 37 | .538 | 11 | 18β13 | 14β16 | 11β8 | 29β17 |
x- Detroit Pistons | 37 | 43 | .463 | 17 | 16β14 | 8β17 | 13β12 | 24β22 |
St. Louis Hawks | 29 | 51 | .363 | 25 | 19β16 | 7β27 | 3β8 | 16β30 |
Chicago Packers | 18 | 62 | .225 | 36 | 15-23 | 3-39 | 0β0 | 10β30 |
x β clinched playoff spot
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||
E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 | |||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
W3 | Detroit | 3 | W3 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||
W2 | Cincinnati | 1 | |||||||||||
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | 4,029 |
Rebounds | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | 2,052 |
Assists | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals | 899 |
FG% | Walt Bellamy | Chicago Packers | .519 |
FT% | Dolph Schayes | Syracuse Nationals | .899 |
Note: Prior to the 1969β70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (December 2021) |
The 1961β62 season is notable for having some of the most impressive individual season statistics ever. A number of records were set this season, some of which still stand to this day. Below is a table showcasing some of the most significant individual per game statistics of the season.
Player | Team | GP | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia | 80 | 48.5 | 50.4 | 25.7 | 2.4 |
Bill Russell | Boston | 76 | 45.2 | 18.9 | 23.6 | 4.5 |
Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati | 79 | 44.3 | 30.8 | 12.5 | 11.4 |
Elgin Baylor | Los Angeles | 44 | 44.4 | 38.3 | 18.6 | 4.6 |
Bob Pettit | St Louis | 78 | 42.1 | 31.1 | 18.7 | 3.7 |
Jerry West | Los Angeles | 75 | 41.2 | 30.8 | 7.9 | 5.4 |
Richie Guerin | New York | 78 | 42.9 | 29.5 | 6.4 | 6.9 |
Walt Bellamy | Chicago | 79 | 42.3 | 31.6 | 19.0 | 2.7 |
Cliff Hagan | St Louis | 77 | 36.2 | 22.9 | 8.2 | 4.8 |
Willie Naulls | New York | 75 | 39.7 | 25.0 | 11.6 | 2.6 |
Red Kerr | Syracuse | 80 | 34.6 | 16.3 | 14.7 | 3.0 |
When comparing these players to the 2014β15 NBA league leaders, 7 of these players would win the scoring title, 5 would win the rebounding title and 1 would win the assist title. [2]