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1971–72 NBA season

1971–72 NBA season

The 1971–72 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.

1971–72 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 12, 1971 – March 26, 1972
March 28–April 23, 1972 (Playoffs)
April 26–May 7, 1972 (Finals)
Number of games82
Number of teams17
TV partner(s)ABC
Draft
Top draft pickAustin Carr
Picked byCleveland Cavaliers
Regular season
Season MVPKareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee)
Top scorerKareem Abdul-Jabbar (Milwaukee)
Playoffs
Eastern championsNew York Knicks
  Eastern runners-upBoston Celtics
Western championsLos Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-upMilwaukee Bucks
Finals
ChampionsLos Angeles Lakers
  Runners-upNew York Knicks
Finals MVPWilt Chamberlain (L.A. Lakers)

Notable occurrences

  • The San Diego Rockets relocated to Houston, Texas and became the Houston Rockets.[1]

  • The San Francisco Warriors were renamed the Golden State Warriors and the team moved across the San Francisco Bay to Oakland.[1]

  • The 1972 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Forum in Inglewood, California, with the West beating the East 112–110. To the delight of the home crowd, Jerry West of the Lakers won the game's MVP award, making a basket at the buzzer to win the game.

  • The Lakers' 69 wins set a new record for most regular season wins in NBA history. This mark would stand for 24 seasons, until it was bettered by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.[1]

  • The Lakers' Elgin Baylor announced his retirement nine games into the season. That night, the Lakers began a winning streak that would last for two months, totaling 33 games. That streak still stands as the longest winning streak in the history of major American professional team sports.[1]

  • The current NBA logo, which features the silhouette of Jerry West, made its debut. The blue/red pattern was adopted from the Major League Baseball logo.

  • This was the first season the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers did not make the playoffs.

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team1970–71 coach1971–72 coach
Los Angeles LakersJoe MullaneyBill Sharman
San Diego/Houston RocketsAlex HannumTex Winter
In-season
TeamOutgoing coachIncoming coach
Detroit PistonsBill Van Breda Kolff
Terry Dischinger
Earl Lloyd

Regular season

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 14–0 in November and 16–0 in December. After winning their first three games in January, the Lakers lost 120–104 to the Milwaukee Bucks. On March 20, 1972, the Lakers beat Golden State by a record 63 points (162–99), a mark that would stand until 1991, when Cleveland beat Miami by 68 points (148–80). The Lakers finished the season with a record 69 wins, which would stand until the 1995–96 season when the Chicago Bulls won 72 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.

Playoffs

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 93–72, 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 2 106–92 to even the series. In game 3, the Lakers jumped out to a 22-point lead and regained home-court advantage with a 107–96 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 116–111 victory, but he broke his wrist in the overtime period. The Lakers held a 3–1 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 61–47 in the second half to win the game and the NBA Championship, 114–100.[1]

Notable trades

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

Final standings

By division

Atlantic DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadNeutralDiv
y-Boston Celtics5626.68332–921–163–115–3
x-New York Knicks4834.585827–1420–191–111–7
Philadelphia 76ers3052.3662614–2314–262–36–12
Buffalo Braves2260.2683413–278–311–24–14
Central DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadNeutralDiv
y-Baltimore Bullets3844.46318–1516–244–59–9
x-Atlanta Hawks3646.439222–1913–261–19–9
Cincinnati Royals3052.366820–188–322–211–9
Cleveland Cavaliers2359.2801513–288–302–19–11
Midwest DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadNeutralDiv
y-Milwaukee Bucks6319.76831–527–125–213–5
x-Chicago Bulls5725.695629–1226–122–112–6
Phoenix Suns4933.5981430–1119–200–27–11
Detroit Pistons2656.3173716–259–301–14–14
Pacific DivisionWLPCTGBHomeRoadNeutralDiv
y-Los Angeles Lakers6913.84136–531–72–121–3
x-Golden State Warriors5131.6221827–821–203–314–10
Seattle SuperSonics4735.5732228–1218–221–112–12
Houston Rockets3448.4153515–2014–235–59–15
Portland Trail Blazers1864.2205114–264–350–34–20

By conference

Eastern Conference
TeamWLPCT
1z-Boston Celtics5626.683
2y-Baltimore Bullets3844.463
3x-New York Knicks4834.585
4x-Atlanta Hawks3646.439
5Philadelphia 76ers3052.366
5Cincinnati Royals3052.366
7Cleveland Cavaliers2359.280
8Buffalo Braves2260.268

Western Conference
TeamWLPCT
1z-Los Angeles Lakers6913.841
2y-Milwaukee Bucks6319.768
3x-Chicago Bulls5725.695
4x-Golden State Warriors5131.622
5Phoenix Suns4933.598
6Seattle SuperSonics4735.573
7Houston Rockets3448.415
8Detroit Pistons2656.317
9Portland Trail Blazers1864.220

Notes

  • z, y – division champions

  • x – clinched playoff spot

Playoff bracket

Conference SemifinalsConference FinalsNBA Finals
1LA Lakers4
3Chicago0
1LA Lakers4
Western Conference
2Milwaukee2
2Milwaukee4
4Golden State1
W1LA Lakers4
E3New York1
1Boston4
4Atlanta2
1Boston1
Eastern Conference
3New York4
2Baltimore2
3New York4

Finals

GameDateWinnerScoreSite
Game 1April 26 (Wed.)New York Knicks114–92at Los Angeles
Game 2April 30 (Sun.)Los Angeles Lakers106–92at Los Angeles
Game 3May 3 (Wed.)Los Angeles Lakers107–96at New York
Game 4May 5 (Fri.)Los Angeles Lakers116–111at New York
Game 5May 7 (Sun.)Los Angeles Lakers114–100at Los Angeles

Lakers win series 4–1

Statistics leaders

CategoryPlayerTeamStat
Points per gameKareem Abdul-JabbarMilwaukee Bucks34.8
Rebounds per gameWilt ChamberlainLos Angeles Lakers19.2
Assists per gameJerry WestLos Angeles Lakers9.7
FG%Wilt ChamberlainLos Angeles Lakers.649
FT%Jack MarinBaltimore Bullets.894

NBA awards

  • Most Valuable Player: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks

  • Rookie of the Year: Sidney Wicks, Portland Trail Blazers

  • Coach of the Year: Bill Sharman, Los Angeles Lakers

  • All-NBA Team:

  • First Team: C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks PF Spencer Haywood, Seattle SuperSonics SF John Havlicek, Boston Celtics PG Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers SG Walt Frazier, New York Knicks

  • Second Team: Archie Clark, Baltimore Bullets Bob Love, Chicago Bulls Billy Cunningham, Philadelphia 76ers Nate Archibald, Cincinnati Royals Wilt Chamberlain, Los Angeles Lakers

  • All-NBA Rookie Team: Sidney Wicks, Portland Trail Blazers Clifford Ray, Chicago Bulls Austin Carr, Cleveland Cavaliers Elmore Smith, Buffalo Braves Phil Chenier, Baltimore Bullets

  • NBA All-Defensive Team:

  • First Team: Dave DeBusschere, New York Knicks John Havlicek, Boston Celtics Wilt Chamberlain, Los Angeles Lakers Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers Walt Frazier, New York Knicks (tie) Jerry Sloan, Chicago Bulls (tie)

  • Second Team: Paul Silas, Phoenix Suns Bob Love, Chicago Bulls Nate Thurmond, Golden State Warriors Norm Van Lier, Chicago Bulls Don Chaney, Boston Celtics

*Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com [11] or Basketball reference.com [12] *

See also

  • 1972 NBA Finals

  • 1972 NBA Playoffs

  • 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers season

  • 1971–72 ABA season

References

[1]
Citation Linkwww.nba.com"NBA.com history". Retrieved 2009-06-24.
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[2]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Oct. 25, 1971) – NBA Mighty Matchups & Preview
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[3]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Nov. 15, 1971) – The Best Team Ever – Milwaukee Bucks
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[4]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Dec. 13, 1971) – Los Angeles on Top
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[5]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Jan. 17, 1972) – Derailing the Laker Express
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[6]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Feb. 7, 1972) – Celtics over Knicks
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[7]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (April 10, 1972) – NBA Playoffs – Another Knockdown Coming
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[8]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (April 24, 1972) – Los Angeles Scrambles Back
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[9]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (May 1, 1972) – Meanwhile, Back at the other game...
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[10]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (May 15, 1972) – Los Angeles Champions At Last
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[11]
Citation Linkwww.nba.comNBA.com
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[12]
Citation Linkwww.basketball-reference.comBasketball reference.com
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[13]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Oct. 25, 1971) – NBA Mighty Matchups & Preview
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[14]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Nov. 15, 1971) – The Best Team Ever – Milwaukee Bucks
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[15]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Dec. 13, 1971) – Los Angeles on Top
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[16]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Jan. 17, 1972) – Derailing the Laker Express
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[17]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (Feb. 7, 1972) – Celtics over Knicks
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[18]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (April 10, 1972) – NBA Playoffs – Another Knockdown Coming
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[19]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (April 24, 1972) – Los Angeles Scrambles Back
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM
[20]
Citation Linkwww.si.comSports Illustrated (May 1, 1972) – Meanwhile, Back at the other game...
Sep 26, 2019, 4:04 AM