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1961–62 NBA season

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1961–62 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 19, 1961 – March 14, 1962
March 16 – April 5, 1962 (Playoffs)
April 7–18, 1962 (Finals)
Number of games80
Number of teams9
TV partner(s)NBC
Draft
Top draft pickWalt Bellamy
Picked byChicago Packers
Regular season
Top seedBoston Celtics
Season MVPBill Russell (Boston)
Top scorerWilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern championsBoston Celtics
  Eastern runners-upPhiladelphia Warriors
Western championsLos Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-upDetroit Pistons
Finals
ChampionsBoston Celtics
  Runners-upLos Angeles Lakers
NBA seasons

The 1961–62 NBA season was the 16th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 4th straight NBA title, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

  • The Chicago Packers entered the league, bringing the number of teams to nine.
  • The NBA schedule was expanded for the third consecutive season. This time it went from 79 games per team, to 80.
  • The Philadelphia Warriors played their final season before their transcontinental relocation to San Francisco for the following season. The NBA would return to Philadelphia in 1963.
  • The 1962 NBA All-Star Game was played in St. Louis, Missouri, with the West beating the East 150–130. Local favorite Bob Pettit won the game's MVP award.
  • In a game played in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain made history by scoring 100 points in the Philadelphia Warriors 169–147 win over the New York Knicks. It still stands as one of the greatest individual feats in sports history. Chamberlain would go on to average 50.4 points per game that season, another record.[1]
  • This year witnessed the first occurrence of a player averaging a triple-double throughout an entire season when Oscar Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 11.4 assists, and 12.5 rebounds per game.[1]
  • This was the last season of the NBA on NBC, the network would regain NBA coverage starting in the 1990–91 season.
Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1960–61 coach 1961–62 coach
Chicago Packers Expansion Jim Pollard
New York Knicks Carl Braun Eddie Donovan
Philadelphia Warriors Neil Johnston Frank McGuire
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
St. Louis Hawks Paul Seymour Andrew Levane
Bob Pettit

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Boston Celtics 60 20 .750 – 23–5 26–12 11–3 26–10
x-Philadelphia Warriors 49 31 .613 11 18–11 19–19 12–1 18–18
x-Syracuse Nationals 41 39 .513 19 18–10 11–19 12–10 17–19
New York Knicks 29 51 .363 31 19–15 2–23 8–13 11–25

Western Division

Western Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Los Angeles Lakers 54 26 .675 – 26–5 18–13 10–8 33–13
x-Cincinnati Royals 43 37 .538 11 18–13 14–16 11–8 29–17
x-Detroit Pistons 37 43 .463 17 16–14 8–17 13–12 24–22
St. Louis Hawks 29 51 .363 25 19–16 7–27 3–8 16–30
Chicago Packers 18 62 .225 36 15-23 3-39 0–0 10–30

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

This section is an excerpt from 1962 NBA playoffs § Bracket.[edit]
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia Warriors 4,029
Rebounds Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia Warriors 2,052
Assists Oscar Robertson Cincinnati Royals 899
FG% Walt Bellamy Chicago Packers .519
FT% Dolph Schayes Syracuse Nationals .899

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

NBA awards

Individual statistics

The 1961–62 season is notable for having some of the most impressive individual season statistics ever. A number of records were set this season, some of which still stand to this day. Below is a table showcasing some of the most significant individual per game statistics of the season.

Player Team GP MPG PPG RPG APG
Wilt Chamberlain Philadelphia 80 48.5 50.4 25.7 2.4
Bill Russell Boston 76 45.2 18.9 23.6 4.5
Oscar Robertson Cincinnati 79 44.3 30.8 12.5 11.4
Elgin Baylor Los Angeles 44 44.4 38.3 18.6 4.6
Bob Pettit St Louis 78 42.1 31.1 18.7 3.7
Jerry West Los Angeles 75 41.2 30.8 7.9 5.4
Richie Guerin New York 78 42.9 29.5 6.4 6.9
Walt Bellamy Chicago 79 42.3 31.6 19.0 2.7
Cliff Hagan St Louis 77 36.2 22.9 8.2 4.8
Willie Naulls New York 75 39.7 25.0 11.6 2.6
Red Kerr Syracuse 80 34.6 16.3 14.7 3.0

When comparing these players to the 2014–15 NBA league leaders, 7 of these players would win the scoring title, 5 would win the rebounding title and 1 would win the assist title.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Robertson, Oscar (December 24, 2011), "N.B.A. Should Honor Its History and Learn From It", The New York Times
  2. ^ "2014–15 NBA Leaders | Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 2, 2016.


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