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.

1 Notable occurrences
2 Final standings
- 2.1 Eastern Conference
- 2.2 Western Conference
3 1971-72 NBA statistics leaders
4 NBA awards
5 See also

[edit] Notable occurrences

The San Diego Rockets relocate to Houston, Texas and become the Houston Rockets.
The San Francisco Warriors are renamed the Golden State Warriors as the team moves across the San Francisco Bay to Oakland.
The 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 wins the game's MVP award.
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.
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.

[edit] Final standings

[edit] Eastern Conference

**Atlantic Division**
Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	-
New York Knicks	48	34	.585	8
Philadelphia 76ers	30	52	.366	26
Buffalo Braves	22	60	.268	34

**Central Division**
Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Baltimore Bullets	38	44	.463	-
Atlanta Hawks	36	46	.439	2
Cincinnati Royals	30	52	.366	8
Cleveland Cavaliers	23	59	.280	15

[edit] Western Conference

**Midwest Division**
Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Milwaukee Bucks	63	19	.768	-
Chicago Bulls	57	25	.695	6
Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	14
Detroit Pistons	26	56	.317	37

**Pacific Division**
Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Los Angeles Lakers C	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

C - NBA Champions

[edit] 1971-72 NBA statistics leaders

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

[edit] 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 First Team:
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks
- Spencer Haywood, Seattle SuperSonics
- John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
- Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
- Walt Frazier, New York Knicks

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:

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

[edit] See also

v • d • e NBA seasons
Also this year: 1971 Draft • 1972 Playoffs • 1972 Finals • 1972 in sports
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