1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers season
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1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers season
| 1971–72 Los Angeles Lakers season | |
|---|---|
| Sixth NBA Championship | |
| Head coach | Bill Sharman |
| Owner(s) | Jack Kent Cooke |
| Arena | The Forum |
| Results | |
| Record | 69–13 (.841) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | NBA Champions |
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Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com |
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| Local media | |
| Television | KTLA |
| Radio | KABC |
| Los Angeles Lakers seasons | |
| < 1970–71 | 1972–73 > |
The highlight of the Los Angeles Lakers season was winning their first NBA title since moving to Los Angeles. The Lakers beat 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. During the regular season, they would also go on to win a current-standing NBA record 33 straight games.
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Contents
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Offseason
- The Lakers hired Bill Sharman as the new head coach.
NBA Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Jim Cleamons | Guard |  United States |
Ohio State |
Roster
Depth chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Wilt Chamberlain | LeRoy Ellis | ||
| PF | Happy Hairston | John Trapp | ||
| SF | Jim McMillian | Pat Riley | Keith Erickson | |
| SG | Jerry West | Jim Cleamons | ||
| PG | Gail Goodrich | Flynn Robinson |
Regular season
Since 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.
Early in the 1971-72 season, the Lakers lost Elgin Baylor to retirement. Shortly thereafter, the Lakers strung together a record 33-game win streak under Coach of the Year Bill Sharman. The streak ended on January 9, 1972 against the Milwaukee Bucks. [1]
Season standings
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Lakers | 69 | 13 | .841 | - |
| Golden State Warriors | 51 | 31 | .622 | 18 |
| Seattle SuperSonics | 47 | 35 | .573 | 22 |
| Houston Rockets | 34 | 48 | .415 | 35 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 18 | 64 | .220 | 51 |
Season schedule
| 1971–72 season game log | |
|---|---|
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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 13–4 (Home: 7–1; Road: 5–2; Neutral: 1–1)
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March 12–2 (Home: 8–1; Road: 3–1; Neutral: 1–0)
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| Season Schedule | |
Playoffs
| 1971–72 playoff game log | |
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Conference Semifinals 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
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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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| Playoff Schedule | |
Player stats
Regular Season
| 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 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
| 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 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
Game 1
Although 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
Knicks 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
DeBusschere 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
The 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 statistic of which he was immensely proud. Immediately speculation started along press row that he would play soft in the overtime. Instead, he 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
The 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
- 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)[2]
References
- ^ Numbelivable!, p.58, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
- ^ Numbelivable!, p.58, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
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| Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers seasons | ||||||||||
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