This article relies largely or entirely on a
single source. (December 2022) |
1971β72 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 12, 1971 β March 26, 1972 March 28 β April 23, 1972 (Playoffs) April 26 β May 7, 1972 (Finals) |
Number of games | 82 |
Number of teams | 17 |
TV partner(s) | ABC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Austin Carr |
Picked by | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Los Angeles Lakers |
Season MVP | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( Milwaukee) |
Top scorer | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( Milwaukee) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | New York Knicks |
Eastern runners-up | Boston Celtics |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Milwaukee Bucks |
Finals | |
Champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Runners-up | New York Knicks |
Finals MVP | Wilt Chamberlain ( L.A. Lakers) |
The 1971β72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
As the 25th anniversary of the founding of the modern NBA, the league unveiled a new logo, inspired by the logo of Major League Baseball, to commemorate the occasion. It features the white silhouette of a basketball player dribbling, framed by red and blue. Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers was used as the model for the logo. Coincidentally, Jerry West would win the only NBA Championship of his career during the season.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1970β71 coach | 1971β72 coach |
Los Angeles Lakers | Joe Mullaney | Bill Sharman |
San Diego/Houston Rockets | Alex Hannum | Tex Winter |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Buffalo Braves | Dolph Schayes | Johnny McCarthy |
Detroit Pistons |
Bill Van Breda Kolff Terry Dischinger |
Earl Lloyd |
The Los Angeles Lakers came into the season returning a veteran squad from their playoff run a year before. Nine games into the season, aging and oft injured Elgin Baylor announced his retirement after 13 seasons. He was replaced at the starting small forward spot by Jim McMillian, who would go on to average 18 points per game, third best on the team. Despite Baylor's retirement, the Lakers went on a 33-game winning streak. The Lakers completed two undefeated months, going 14β0 in November and 16β0 in December. After winning their first three games in January, the Lakers lost 120β104 to the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 20, 1972, the Lakers beat Golden State by a record 63 points (162β99), a mark that would stand until 1991, when Cleveland beat Miami by 68 points (148β80) and later was broken in 2021 when Memphis beat Oklahoma City by 73 points (152β79). The Lakers finished the season with a record 69 wins, which would stand until the 1995β96 season when the Chicago Bulls won 72 regular season games and later was also broken by the 2015β16 Golden State Warriors won an NBA record 73 regular season games. [1]
The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks won 63 games on the play of renamed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, formerly Lew Alcindor, and Oscar Robertson. The Celtics, led by second year center Dave Cowens, point guard Jo Jo White and 32-year-old swingman John Havlicek won the Atlantic Division with 56 wins. Boston had recovered from the retirement of Bill Russell, K. C. Jones and Sam Jones by winning 12 more games than the previous season.
In the first round, the Lakers swept the Bulls and Milwaukee defeated Golden State. New York eliminated the Bullets and Boston won against the Atlanta Hawks. In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers lost game 1 versus the defending champion Bucks at The Forum 93β72, a game that saw the Lakers score only 8 points in the third quarter. However, the Lakers led by assist champion Jerry West, leading scorer Gail Goodrich and veteran Wilt Chamberlain would win 4 of the next 5 games and beat Milwaukee in six games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, New York defeated the top-seed Celtics in five games. [1]
In the NBA Finals, New York won game 1 very easily, but Los Angeles won game 2 106β92 to even the series. In game 3, the Lakers jumped out to a 22-point lead and regained home-court advantage with a 107β96 win. In game 4, the Knicks forced overtime. At the end of regulation, Wilt Chamberlain was called for his fifth foul. In his first 12 seasons, he had never fouled out of a game. Chamberlain did not foul out and led the Lakers to a 116β111 victory, but he broke his wrist in the overtime period. The Lakers held a 3β1 series lead going into game 5 in Los Angeles. In game 5, Chamberlain played despite his injury. The score was tied at 53 in the first half, but the Lakers outscored the Knicks 61β47 in the second half to win the game and the NBA Championship, 114β100. [1]
1971 |
To
Baltimore Bullets Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth, 1973 first-round pick, 1976 second-round and first-round picks |
To
New York Knicks Earl Monroe |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | β | 32β9 | 21β16 | 3β1 | 15β3 |
x- New York Knicks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 8 | 27β14 | 20β19 | 1β1 | 11β7 |
Philadelphia 76ers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 26 | 14β23 | 14β26 | 2β3 | 6β12 |
Buffalo Braves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 34 | 13β27 | 8β31 | 1β2 | 4β14 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Baltimore Bullets | 38 | 44 | .463 | β | 18β15 | 16β24 | 4β5 | 9β9 |
x- Atlanta Hawks | 36 | 46 | .439 | 2 | 22β19 | 13β26 | 1β1 | 9β9 |
Cincinnati Royals | 30 | 52 | .366 | 8 | 20β18 | 8β32 | 2β2 | 11β9 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 | 15 | 13β28 | 8β30 | 2β1 | 9β11 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Milwaukee Bucks | 63 | 19 | .768 | β | 31β5 | 27β12 | 5β2 | 13β5 |
x- Chicago Bulls | 57 | 25 | .695 | 6 | 29β12 | 26β12 | 2β1 | 12β6 |
Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 | 14 | 30β11 | 19β20 | 0β2 | 7β11 |
Detroit Pistons | 26 | 56 | .317 | 37 | 16β25 | 9β30 | 1β1 | 4β14 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 | β | 36β5 | 31β7 | 2β1 | 21β3 |
x- Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 | 18 | 27β8 | 21β20 | 3β3 | 14β10 |
Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 22 | 28β12 | 18β22 | 1β1 | 12β12 |
Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 35 | 15β20 | 14β23 | 5β5 | 9β15 |
Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 | 51 | 14β26 | 4β35 | 0β3 | 4β20 |
# | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | |
1 | z- Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 |
2 | y- Baltimore Bullets | 38 | 44 | .463 |
3 | x- New York Knicks | 48 | 34 | .585 |
4 | x- Atlanta Hawks | 36 | 46 | .439 |
5 | Philadelphia 76ers | 30 | 52 | .366 |
5 | Cincinnati Royals | 30 | 52 | .366 |
7 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 |
8 | Buffalo Braves | 22 | 60 | .268 |
# | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | |
1 | z- Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 |
2 | y- Milwaukee Bucks | 63 | 19 | .768 |
3 | x- Chicago Bulls | 57 | 25 | .695 |
4 | x- Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 |
5 | Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 |
6 | Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 |
7 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 |
8 | Detroit Pistons | 26 | 56 | .317 |
9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 |
Notes
Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
A1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||||||
C2 | Atlanta | 2 | ||||||||||||
A1 | Boston* | 1 | ||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
A2 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
C1 | Baltimore* | 2 | ||||||||||||
A2 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
A2 | New York | 1 | ||||||||||||
P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
M1 | Milwaukee* | 4 | ||||||||||||
P2 | Golden State | 1 | ||||||||||||
M1 | Milwaukee* | 2 | ||||||||||||
Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
M2 | Chicago | 0 |
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Milwaukee Bucks | 34.8 |
Rebounds per game | Wilt Chamberlain | Los Angeles Lakers | 19.2 |
Assists per game | Jerry West | Los Angeles Lakers | 9.7 |
FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | Los Angeles Lakers | .649 |
FT% | Jack Marin | Baltimore Bullets | .894 |
Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com or Basketball reference.com
This article relies largely or entirely on a
single source. (December 2022) |
1971β72 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 12, 1971 β March 26, 1972 March 28 β April 23, 1972 (Playoffs) April 26 β May 7, 1972 (Finals) |
Number of games | 82 |
Number of teams | 17 |
TV partner(s) | ABC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Austin Carr |
Picked by | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Los Angeles Lakers |
Season MVP | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( Milwaukee) |
Top scorer | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ( Milwaukee) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | New York Knicks |
Eastern runners-up | Boston Celtics |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Milwaukee Bucks |
Finals | |
Champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Runners-up | New York Knicks |
Finals MVP | Wilt Chamberlain ( L.A. Lakers) |
The 1971β72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
As the 25th anniversary of the founding of the modern NBA, the league unveiled a new logo, inspired by the logo of Major League Baseball, to commemorate the occasion. It features the white silhouette of a basketball player dribbling, framed by red and blue. Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers was used as the model for the logo. Coincidentally, Jerry West would win the only NBA Championship of his career during the season.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1970β71 coach | 1971β72 coach |
Los Angeles Lakers | Joe Mullaney | Bill Sharman |
San Diego/Houston Rockets | Alex Hannum | Tex Winter |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Buffalo Braves | Dolph Schayes | Johnny McCarthy |
Detroit Pistons |
Bill Van Breda Kolff Terry Dischinger |
Earl Lloyd |
The Los Angeles Lakers came into the season returning a veteran squad from their playoff run a year before. Nine games into the season, aging and oft injured Elgin Baylor announced his retirement after 13 seasons. He was replaced at the starting small forward spot by Jim McMillian, who would go on to average 18 points per game, third best on the team. Despite Baylor's retirement, the Lakers went on a 33-game winning streak. The Lakers completed two undefeated months, going 14β0 in November and 16β0 in December. After winning their first three games in January, the Lakers lost 120β104 to the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 20, 1972, the Lakers beat Golden State by a record 63 points (162β99), a mark that would stand until 1991, when Cleveland beat Miami by 68 points (148β80) and later was broken in 2021 when Memphis beat Oklahoma City by 73 points (152β79). The Lakers finished the season with a record 69 wins, which would stand until the 1995β96 season when the Chicago Bulls won 72 regular season games and later was also broken by the 2015β16 Golden State Warriors won an NBA record 73 regular season games. [1]
The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks won 63 games on the play of renamed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, formerly Lew Alcindor, and Oscar Robertson. The Celtics, led by second year center Dave Cowens, point guard Jo Jo White and 32-year-old swingman John Havlicek won the Atlantic Division with 56 wins. Boston had recovered from the retirement of Bill Russell, K. C. Jones and Sam Jones by winning 12 more games than the previous season.
In the first round, the Lakers swept the Bulls and Milwaukee defeated Golden State. New York eliminated the Bullets and Boston won against the Atlanta Hawks. In the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers lost game 1 versus the defending champion Bucks at The Forum 93β72, a game that saw the Lakers score only 8 points in the third quarter. However, the Lakers led by assist champion Jerry West, leading scorer Gail Goodrich and veteran Wilt Chamberlain would win 4 of the next 5 games and beat Milwaukee in six games. In the Eastern Conference Finals, New York defeated the top-seed Celtics in five games. [1]
In the NBA Finals, New York won game 1 very easily, but Los Angeles won game 2 106β92 to even the series. In game 3, the Lakers jumped out to a 22-point lead and regained home-court advantage with a 107β96 win. In game 4, the Knicks forced overtime. At the end of regulation, Wilt Chamberlain was called for his fifth foul. In his first 12 seasons, he had never fouled out of a game. Chamberlain did not foul out and led the Lakers to a 116β111 victory, but he broke his wrist in the overtime period. The Lakers held a 3β1 series lead going into game 5 in Los Angeles. In game 5, Chamberlain played despite his injury. The score was tied at 53 in the first half, but the Lakers outscored the Knicks 61β47 in the second half to win the game and the NBA Championship, 114β100. [1]
1971 |
To
Baltimore Bullets Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth, 1973 first-round pick, 1976 second-round and first-round picks |
To
New York Knicks Earl Monroe |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 | β | 32β9 | 21β16 | 3β1 | 15β3 |
x- New York Knicks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 8 | 27β14 | 20β19 | 1β1 | 11β7 |
Philadelphia 76ers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 26 | 14β23 | 14β26 | 2β3 | 6β12 |
Buffalo Braves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 34 | 13β27 | 8β31 | 1β2 | 4β14 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Baltimore Bullets | 38 | 44 | .463 | β | 18β15 | 16β24 | 4β5 | 9β9 |
x- Atlanta Hawks | 36 | 46 | .439 | 2 | 22β19 | 13β26 | 1β1 | 9β9 |
Cincinnati Royals | 30 | 52 | .366 | 8 | 20β18 | 8β32 | 2β2 | 11β9 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 | 15 | 13β28 | 8β30 | 2β1 | 9β11 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Milwaukee Bucks | 63 | 19 | .768 | β | 31β5 | 27β12 | 5β2 | 13β5 |
x- Chicago Bulls | 57 | 25 | .695 | 6 | 29β12 | 26β12 | 2β1 | 12β6 |
Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 | 14 | 30β11 | 19β20 | 0β2 | 7β11 |
Detroit Pistons | 26 | 56 | .317 | 37 | 16β25 | 9β30 | 1β1 | 4β14 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
y- Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 | β | 36β5 | 31β7 | 2β1 | 21β3 |
x- Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 | 18 | 27β8 | 21β20 | 3β3 | 14β10 |
Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 22 | 28β12 | 18β22 | 1β1 | 12β12 |
Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 35 | 15β20 | 14β23 | 5β5 | 9β15 |
Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 | 51 | 14β26 | 4β35 | 0β3 | 4β20 |
# | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | |
1 | z- Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 |
2 | y- Baltimore Bullets | 38 | 44 | .463 |
3 | x- New York Knicks | 48 | 34 | .585 |
4 | x- Atlanta Hawks | 36 | 46 | .439 |
5 | Philadelphia 76ers | 30 | 52 | .366 |
5 | Cincinnati Royals | 30 | 52 | .366 |
7 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 |
8 | Buffalo Braves | 22 | 60 | .268 |
# | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | |
1 | z- Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 |
2 | y- Milwaukee Bucks | 63 | 19 | .768 |
3 | x- Chicago Bulls | 57 | 25 | .695 |
4 | x- Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 |
5 | Phoenix Suns | 49 | 33 | .598 |
6 | Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 |
7 | Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 |
8 | Detroit Pistons | 26 | 56 | .317 |
9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 |
Notes
Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
A1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||||||
C2 | Atlanta | 2 | ||||||||||||
A1 | Boston* | 1 | ||||||||||||
Eastern Conference | ||||||||||||||
A2 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
C1 | Baltimore* | 2 | ||||||||||||
A2 | New York | 4 | ||||||||||||
A2 | New York | 1 | ||||||||||||
P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
M1 | Milwaukee* | 4 | ||||||||||||
P2 | Golden State | 1 | ||||||||||||
M1 | Milwaukee* | 2 | ||||||||||||
Western Conference | ||||||||||||||
P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
P1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | ||||||||||||
M2 | Chicago | 0 |
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points per game | Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | Milwaukee Bucks | 34.8 |
Rebounds per game | Wilt Chamberlain | Los Angeles Lakers | 19.2 |
Assists per game | Jerry West | Los Angeles Lakers | 9.7 |
FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | Los Angeles Lakers | .649 |
FT% | Jack Marin | Baltimore Bullets | .894 |
Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com or Basketball reference.com