This article relies largely or entirely on a
single source. (December 2007) |
1964β65 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 16, 1964 β March 21, 1965 March 24 β April 15, 1965 (Playoffs) April 18β25, 1965 (Finals) |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 9 |
TV partner(s) | ABC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Jim Barnes |
Picked by | New York Knicks |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Boston Celtics |
Season MVP | Bill Russell ( Boston) |
Top scorer |
Wilt Chamberlain ( San Francisco/ Philadelphia) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia 76ers |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Baltimore Bullets |
Finals | |
Champions | Boston Celtics |
Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
The 1964β65 NBA season was the 19th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 7th straight NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
The season marked real change for the league. NBA Commissioner Maurice Podoloff, who had held the office since the formation of the league (as the Basketball Association of America) in 1946, retired. Walter Kennedy took over his position. Bob Cousy, the Boston Celtic star, had retired also.
Red Auerbach's loaded Boston Celtics won 62 of 80 games in the nine team league. The balanced Celts had seven ten-point scorers plus the defense and rebounding of Bill Russell. Boston led the league in both of those team stats.
Four other teams won half their games or better. The Los Angeles Lakers won the West Division with 49 wins in 80 games behind superstars Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. The Cincinnati Royals won 48 of 80 games with their own two superstars, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. The St. Louis Hawks had seven ten-point scorers also and won 45 of 80 games, but lost star Bob Pettit to knee injury. The Philadelphia 76ers won half of their 80 games while working Wilt Chamberlain into their scheme. Chamberlain joined the team in mid-season right after the all-star game, a move which instantly made the new 76ers contenders.
The NBA had six playoff teams that year, with the second and third place teams from each division, East and West, meeting in the first round. The winners of this play-in round would then meet the division winners to decide the finalists.
Cincinnati, which had no real center, could not deal with Chamberlain, so Philadelphia advanced three games to one. But the 76ers, despite three All Stars alongside their giant star, could not unseat the champion Celtics, who held off Philly by a single point in Game 7 when John Havlicek stole the ball in the final seconds.
In the West, which produced no NBA champions from 1959 to 1970, Baltimore upset the injured St. Louis Hawks to meet Los Angeles. The Lakers overcame the Bullets' three 20-point scorers to meet Boston in the Finals.
It was the fourth time the two teams had met in the Finals since 1958. Laker star Elgin Baylor was lost to a knee injury just five minutes into the playoffs. The Lakers had no answer for Bill Russell inside as well. But Laker star Jerry West courageously tried to keep his team alive by averaging over 40 points through the Lakers 11 playoff games. The balance and depth of Boston was too much for that.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1963β64 coach | 1964β65 coach |
Baltimore Bullets | Bobby Leonard | Buddy Jeannette |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Detroit Pistons | Charles Wolf | Dave DeBusschere |
New York Knicks | Eddie Donovan | Harry Gallatin |
St. Louis Hawks | Harry Gallatin | Richie Guerin |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Boston Celtics | 62 | 18 | .775 | β | 27β3 | 27β11 | 8β4 | 20β10 |
x- Cincinnati Royals | 48 | 32 | .600 | 14 | 25β7 | 17β21 | 6β4 | 16β14 |
x- Philadelphia 76ers | 40 | 40 | .500 | 22 | 13β12 | 9β21 | 18β7 | 14β16 |
New York Knicks | 31 | 49 | .388 | 31 | 15β20 | 9β21 | 7β8 | 10β20 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Los Angeles Lakers | 49 | 31 | .613 | β | 25β13 | 21β16 | 3β2 | 25β15 |
x- St. Louis Hawks | 45 | 35 | .563 | 4 | 26β4 | 15β17 | 4β4 | 28β12 |
x- Baltimore Bullets | 37 | 43 | .463 | 12 | 23β14 | 12β19 | 2β10 | 22β18 |
Detroit Pistons | 31 | 49 | .388 | 18 | 13β17 | 11β20 | 7β12 | 18β22 |
San Francisco Warriors | 17 | 63 | .213 | 32 | 10β26 | 5β31 | 2β6 | 7β33 |
x β clinched playoff spot
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||
E2 | Cincinnati | 1 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 1 | |||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
W3 | Baltimore | 3 | W3 | Baltimore | 2 | ||||||||
W2 | St. Louis | 1 | |||||||||||
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors/ Philadelphia 76ers | 2,534 |
Rebounds | Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | 1,878 |
Assists | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals | 861 |
FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors/Philadelphia 76ers | .510 |
FT% | Larry Costello | Philadelphia 76ers | .877 |
Note: Prior to the 1969β70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
This article relies largely or entirely on a
single source. (December 2007) |
1964β65 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 16, 1964 β March 21, 1965 March 24 β April 15, 1965 (Playoffs) April 18β25, 1965 (Finals) |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 9 |
TV partner(s) | ABC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Jim Barnes |
Picked by | New York Knicks |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Boston Celtics |
Season MVP | Bill Russell ( Boston) |
Top scorer |
Wilt Chamberlain ( San Francisco/ Philadelphia) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia 76ers |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Baltimore Bullets |
Finals | |
Champions | Boston Celtics |
Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
The 1964β65 NBA season was the 19th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 7th straight NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
The season marked real change for the league. NBA Commissioner Maurice Podoloff, who had held the office since the formation of the league (as the Basketball Association of America) in 1946, retired. Walter Kennedy took over his position. Bob Cousy, the Boston Celtic star, had retired also.
Red Auerbach's loaded Boston Celtics won 62 of 80 games in the nine team league. The balanced Celts had seven ten-point scorers plus the defense and rebounding of Bill Russell. Boston led the league in both of those team stats.
Four other teams won half their games or better. The Los Angeles Lakers won the West Division with 49 wins in 80 games behind superstars Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. The Cincinnati Royals won 48 of 80 games with their own two superstars, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. The St. Louis Hawks had seven ten-point scorers also and won 45 of 80 games, but lost star Bob Pettit to knee injury. The Philadelphia 76ers won half of their 80 games while working Wilt Chamberlain into their scheme. Chamberlain joined the team in mid-season right after the all-star game, a move which instantly made the new 76ers contenders.
The NBA had six playoff teams that year, with the second and third place teams from each division, East and West, meeting in the first round. The winners of this play-in round would then meet the division winners to decide the finalists.
Cincinnati, which had no real center, could not deal with Chamberlain, so Philadelphia advanced three games to one. But the 76ers, despite three All Stars alongside their giant star, could not unseat the champion Celtics, who held off Philly by a single point in Game 7 when John Havlicek stole the ball in the final seconds.
In the West, which produced no NBA champions from 1959 to 1970, Baltimore upset the injured St. Louis Hawks to meet Los Angeles. The Lakers overcame the Bullets' three 20-point scorers to meet Boston in the Finals.
It was the fourth time the two teams had met in the Finals since 1958. Laker star Elgin Baylor was lost to a knee injury just five minutes into the playoffs. The Lakers had no answer for Bill Russell inside as well. But Laker star Jerry West courageously tried to keep his team alive by averaging over 40 points through the Lakers 11 playoff games. The balance and depth of Boston was too much for that.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1963β64 coach | 1964β65 coach |
Baltimore Bullets | Bobby Leonard | Buddy Jeannette |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Detroit Pistons | Charles Wolf | Dave DeBusschere |
New York Knicks | Eddie Donovan | Harry Gallatin |
St. Louis Hawks | Harry Gallatin | Richie Guerin |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Boston Celtics | 62 | 18 | .775 | β | 27β3 | 27β11 | 8β4 | 20β10 |
x- Cincinnati Royals | 48 | 32 | .600 | 14 | 25β7 | 17β21 | 6β4 | 16β14 |
x- Philadelphia 76ers | 40 | 40 | .500 | 22 | 13β12 | 9β21 | 18β7 | 14β16 |
New York Knicks | 31 | 49 | .388 | 31 | 15β20 | 9β21 | 7β8 | 10β20 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x- Los Angeles Lakers | 49 | 31 | .613 | β | 25β13 | 21β16 | 3β2 | 25β15 |
x- St. Louis Hawks | 45 | 35 | .563 | 4 | 26β4 | 15β17 | 4β4 | 28β12 |
x- Baltimore Bullets | 37 | 43 | .463 | 12 | 23β14 | 12β19 | 2β10 | 22β18 |
Detroit Pistons | 31 | 49 | .388 | 18 | 13β17 | 11β20 | 7β12 | 18β22 |
San Francisco Warriors | 17 | 63 | .213 | 32 | 10β26 | 5β31 | 2β6 | 7β33 |
x β clinched playoff spot
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | E3 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||
E2 | Cincinnati | 1 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 1 | |||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
W3 | Baltimore | 3 | W3 | Baltimore | 2 | ||||||||
W2 | St. Louis | 1 | |||||||||||
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors/ Philadelphia 76ers | 2,534 |
Rebounds | Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | 1,878 |
Assists | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals | 861 |
FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors/Philadelphia 76ers | .510 |
FT% | Larry Costello | Philadelphia 76ers | .877 |
Note: Prior to the 1969β70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.