During the 1971–72 season, the Los Angeles Lakers won their first National Basketball Association (NBA) title since moving to Los Angeles. The Lakers defeated the New York Knicks in five games to win the title, after going 69–13 during the regular-season, a record that stood for 24 seasons until the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls went 72–10. During the regular season, they would also go on an NBA record 33-game winning streak. The team went on to win 81 regular season and playoff games overall, a record that would stand alone for 14 years until the Boston Celtics matched it in 1986. Widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball teams of all time, the 1971–72 Lakers were named as one of the Top 10 Teams in NBA History in 1996.
| 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
|---|---|
NBA champions | |
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Bill Sharman |
| Owners | Jack Kent Cooke |
| Arena | The Forum |
| Results | |
| Record | 69–13 (.841) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Champions (Defeated Knicks 4–1) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KTLA |
| Radio | KABC |
The Lakers defeated the Chicago Bulls in 4 games in the Western Conference Semifinals. The team then defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in a 6-game Western Conference Finals. The Lakers then got to the NBA Finals once again for the 14th time in league history. They faced the New York Knicks in a rematch of the 1970 NBA Finals. The Knicks were defeated in 5 games, the Lakers claimed their sixth title in team history and the first since 1954. Wilt Chamberlain won Finals MVP.
Offseason
edit- Traded a 1971 2nd round draft pick to the Cincinnati Royals for guard Flynn Robinson.
- Hired Bill Sharman as the new head coach to replace Joe Mullaney.
- Traded a 1972 2nd round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for center Leroy Ellis.
- Claimed forward John Q. Trapp off waivers from the Houston Rockets.
NBA draft
edit| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Jim Cleamons | Guard |  United States
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Ohio State |
Roster
edit| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Regular season
editSince moving to Los Angeles, the Lakers were repeatedly foiled by the Boston Celtics in their attempts to capture an NBA title. The Lakers lost the championship to them six times in eight years. In 1970, with the aging Celtics out of title contention, the Lakers lost in the NBA finals to the New York Knicks. In 1971, after losing Jerry West to a season-ending injury in February, they lost in the Western Conference finals to the powerful Milwaukee Bucks.
Going into the 1971–72 season, many experts thought the chance at a championship had passed for this aging team. Star players Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, and Jerry West were all in their 30s, and had all missed significant time due to injuries in the prior two seasons. The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, led by superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, appeared to be starting a new NBA dynasty. But new coach Bill Sharman still believed the Lakers had the talent to contend. He introduced strict conditioning drills and implemented a running fast break-based offense. He re-tooled Wilt Chamberlain's game to focus on defense, rebounding, and jump-starting the fast break with quick outlet passes to guards Jerry West and Gail Goodrich. The only casualty of this system was the aging Baylor, who could not physically handle the up-tempo practices and offense and retired 9 games into the season. He was replaced at small forward by Jim McMillian who played at a near all-star level.
Shortly thereafter, the Lakers strung together a record 33-game win streak. The streak ended on January 9, 1972, against the Milwaukee Bucks.[1] The Lakers and Bucks then staged a season-long race for the league's best record, with the Lakers setting a then NBA record with 69 wins (the Bucks had the second-best record at 63–19).
Season standings
edit| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 | – | 36–5 | 31–7 | 2–1 | 21–3 |
| x-Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 | 18 | 27–8 | 21–20 | 3–3 | 14–10 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 22 | 28–12 | 18–22 | 1–1 | 12–12 |
| Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 35 | 15–20 | 14–23 | 5–5 | 9–15 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 | 51 | 14–26 | 4–35 | 0–3 | 4–20 |
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
- z – clinched division title
- y – clinched division title
- x – clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
edit| 1971–72 NBA Records | |||||||||||||||||
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| Team | ATL | BAL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CIN | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | LAL | MIL | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA |
| Atlanta | — | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–5 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–4 |
| Baltimore | 4–2 | — | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 |
| Boston | 4–0 | 2–2 | — | 6–0 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 |
| Buffalo | 2–4 | 3–3 | 0–6 | — | 1–3 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 3–3 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 0–4 |
| Chicago | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | — | 3–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 6–0 | 2–3 |
| Cincinnati | 3–3 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 | — | 6–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–5 |
| Cleveland | 2–4 | 5–1 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 2–6 | — | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–4 |
| Detroit | 2–3 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 4–2 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 3–1 | — | 0–5 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–4 |
| Golden State | 2–3 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 5–0 | — | 5–1 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Houston | 4–1 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–5 | — | 1–5 | 0–5 | 0–5 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 |
| Los Angeles | 5–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 | — | 4–1 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 5–1 |
| Milwaukee | 3–2 | 5–0 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | — | 2–3 | 4–1 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 6–0 |
| New York | 1–3 | 4–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 1–4 | 3–2 | — | 3–3 | 1–4 | 3–1 | 3–2 |
| Philadelphia | 3–3 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 3–3 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 0–5 | 1–4 | 3–3 | — | 1–4 | 2–2 | 4–1 |
| Phoenix | 2–3 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–5 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 4–1 | 4–1 | — | 6–0 | 3–2 |
| Portland | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 4–2 | 0–6 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 0–6 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–6 | — | 0–6 |
| Seattle | 4–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 0–6 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 6–0 | — |
Game logs
editRegular season
edit| 1971–72 game log Total: 69–13 (Home: 36–5; Road: 33–8) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 6–3 (home: 1–2; road: 5–1)
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November: 14–0 (home: 9–0; road: 5–0)
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December: 16–0 (home: 7–0; road: 9–0)
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January: 8–4 (home: 4–1; road: 4–3)
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February: 12–3 (home: 7–1; road: 5–2)
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March: 11–2 (home: 8–1; road: 3–1)
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| 1971–72 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
edit| 1972 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Western Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
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Western Conference Finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
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NBA Finals: 4–1 (home: 2–1; road: 2–0)
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| 1972 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
editRegular season
edit| Player | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elgin Baylor | 9 | 26.6 | .433 | .815 | 6.3 | 2.0 | 11.8 |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 82 | 42.3 | .649 | .422 | 19.2 | 4.0 | 14.8 |
| Jim Cleamons | 38 | 5.3 | .350 | .778 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 2.6 |
| LeRoy Ellis | 74 | 14.6 | .460 | .695 | 4.2 | 0.6 | 4.6 |
| Keith Erickson | 15 | 17.5 | .482 | .857 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 5.7 |
| Gail Goodrich | 82 | 37.1 | .487 | .850 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 25.9 |
| Happy Hairston | 80 | 34.4 | .461 | .779 | 13.1 | 2.4 | 13.1 |
| Jim McMillian | 80 | 38.1 | .482 | .791 | 6.5 | 2.6 | 18.8 |
| Pat Riley | 67 | 13.8 | .447 | .743 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 6.7 |
| Flynn Robinson | 64 | 15.7 | .490 | .860 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 9.9 |
| John Q. Trapp | 58 | 13.1 | .443 | .699 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 5.7 |
| Jerry West | 77 | 38.6 | .477 | .814 | 4.2 | 9.7 | 25.8 |
Playoffs
edit| Player | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilt Chamberlain | 15 | 46.9 | .563 | .492 | 21.0 | 3.3 | 14.7 |
| Jim Cleamons | 6 | 2.8 | .571 | N/A | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 |
| LeRoy Ellis | 13 | 10.3 | .463 | .250 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 3.0 |
| Gail Goodrich | 15 | 38.3 | .445 | .898 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 23.8 |
| Happy Hairston | 15 | 38.5 | .440 | .794 | 13.1 | 2.1 | 13.5 |
| Jim McMillian | 15 | 41.6 | .447 | .857 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 19.1 |
| Pat Riley | 15 | 16.3 | .333 | .750 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 5.2 |
| Flynn Robinson | 7 | 10.3 | .463 | .700 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 6.4 |
| John Q. Trapp | 10 | 7.1 | .242 | .571 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 2.0 |
| Jerry West | 15 | 40.5 | .376 | .830 | 4.9 | 8.9 | 22.9 |
NBA Finals
editThe Los Angeles Lakers played against the New York Knicks in the NBA finals during the postseason.
Game 1
editAlthough without Willis Reed because of his knee injury. Jerry Lucas scored 26 points but was only one of several Knicks who was red hot. Bill Bradley hit 11 of 12 shots from the field as New York shot 53 percent for the game. The team took advantage of a nearly perfect first half to jump to a good lead and won easily, 114–92. Early in the second half, the Forum crowd began filing out dejectedly. It looked like another Los Angeles fold in the Finals.
Game 2
editKnicks forward Dave DeBusschere hurt his side and didn't play after the first half. Hairston scored 12 points in the second half, and Los Angeles evened the series with a 106–92 win.
Game 3
editDeBusschere attempted to play in the first half and missed all six of his field-goal attempts. He was hurting and elected not to play in the second half. DeBusschere explained, "I didn't feel I was helping the team." The Lakers danced out to a 22-point lead and regained the home-court advantage with a 107–96 win.
Game 4
editThe game went into overtime, but at the end of regulation, Wilt Chamberlain picked up his fifth foul. In 13 NBA seasons, he had never fouled out of a game, a history he was immensely proud of but also one that usually led to him playing less aggressively when he was on the verge of getting a 6th foul. As the press waited for Wilt to take the floor and hurt the Lakers by reverting to a passive style, he instead came out in a shotblocking fury that propelled the Lakers to a 116–111 win. At three games to one, their lead now seemed insurmountable.
Game 5
editThe Lakers won their sixth NBA championship by the score of 114–100. This was their first championship since moving to Los Angeles in 1960. Jerry West also won his first NBA championship after 12 years of waiting. Wilt Chamberlain scored 24 points and 29 rebounds and earned the NBA Finals MVP Award.
Award winners
edit- Bill Sharman, NBA Coach of the Year
- Jerry West, All-NBA First Team
- Jerry West, All-NBA Defensive First Team
- Wilt Chamberlain, All-NBA Defensive First Team
- Wilt Chamberlain, NBA Leader, Shooting Percentage (.649)[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.