1962–63 NBA season
1962–63 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | St. Louis Hawks |
Finals | |
Champions | Boston Celtics |
Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
The 1962–63 NBA season was the 17th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 5th straight NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
History
- The Warriors move from Philadelphia to San Francisco, California. They play their first seasons in the Cow Palace in Daly City.
- The Chicago Zephyrs.
- The Bill Russell of the Boston Celticswon the game's MVP award.
- SNI begins televising NBA games, which they would do until the end of the 1963–64 season, when long time NBA broadcast partner ABC would begin televising games. The NBA on SNI only televised two games this season: the All-Star Game and Game 6 of the Finals.
- The NBA starts naming an NBA All-Rookie Team as part of its regular season awards.
Notable occurrences
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1961–62 coach | 1962–63 coach |
Chicago Packers/Zephyrs | Jim Pollard | Jack McMahon |
Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors | Frank McGuire | Bob Feerick |
St. Louis Hawks
|
Bob Pettit | Harry Gallatin |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Chicago Packers/Zephyrs | Jack McMahon | Bobby Leonard |
Season recap
Offseason
In the spring of 1962, Cleveland Pipers owner George Steinbrenner of the new American Basketball League signed Jerry Lucas to a player-management contract worth $40,000.[1] With the Lucas signing, Steinbrenner had a secret deal with NBA commissioner Maurice Podoloff. The Pipers would merge with the Kansas City Steers and join the NBA. A schedule was printed for the 1963–64 NBA season with the Pipers playing the New York Knicks in the first game.[1] But Steinbrenner and partner George McKean fell behind in payments to the NBA and the deal was cancelled.
Preseason
The season began with a franchise shift, as the
The existence of the rival
Leading teams
Setting the pace in the Eastern Division, the defending champion Celtics won a league high 58 of 80 NBA games, leading the league in both
Celtics
On the court, the powerful Boston Celtics were building a dynasty. Bill Russell led Red Auerbach's club from the middle with his shot blocking and rebounding, where he ranked a huge second place in the NBA. He was also seventh in the NBA in assists, remarkable for a center.
Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers were now in their third year in California. The Lakers were led by super forward Elgin Baylor, whose high-flying drives, surprising strength and all-around game awed many again this season. Baylor's 34 points per game rated him second in the NBA only to Wilt Chamberlain. He was also fifth in rebounds and sixth in assists. No slouch on defense either, Baylor did it all for the Lakers. He was also freed of his military commitments, which limited his availability during the previous season.
Third year star Jerry West battled injuries but continued to grow as a player also. He added 27 points per game and six assists for coach Fred Schaus, also his former college coach. The Lakers won 53 games and the NBA's West Division, looking forward to their matchup with Boston.
Nationals
The
Hawks
The
Royals
The
Wilt Chamberlain
Wilt Chamberlain's first season in San Francisco had his usual incredible stats, but the club failed to win half their games. Wilt's 44 points per game easily ranked him ahead of Baylor in the scoring column. He was also first in the NBA in rebounds, blocked shots, shooting accuracy, number of shots tried and made from the floor, and free throws tried. As a player, he was still all by himself.
Postseason
Six of the NBA's nine teams made the playoffs, three in each division. The second and third place teams met first, with each division winner meeting the winner in the second round before the NBA Finals.
East
Boston got a huge scare from the Cincinnati Royals, who shocked Syracuse with an overtime win in Syracuse to win Game Five and that series. Cincinnati ownership was shocked too. They had booked
West
In the West, St. Louis topped Don Ohl, Bailey Howell, Ray Scott and the Detroit Pistons three games to one to meet the Lakers in the second round. Detroit's rookie Dave DeBusschere had a strong series off the bench as well in the losing effort. The Lakers and Hawks went the full seven games as well, with Baylor and Pettit trading big offensive games and rebounds. The difference were Laker guards West and Dick Barnett, the former ABL star.
Finals
The balance and depth of Boston would be too much for Baylor and West in the Finals despite their best efforts. The series went six games, with Boston winning the final one 112-109 in Los Angeles. Boston's Bill Russell, who averaged over 20 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and several blocks per game for his 13 playoff games, was the difference again in the middle for his star-studded team.
Final standings
Eastern Division
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-Boston Celtics | 58 | 22 | .725 | – | 25–5 | 21–16 | 12–1 | 25–11 |
x-Syracuse Nationals | 48 | 32 | .600 | 10 | 23–5 | 13–19 | 12–8 | 21–15 |
x-Cincinnati Royals | 42 | 38 | .525 | 16 | 23–10 | 15–19 | 4–9 | 20–16 |
New York Knicks | 21 | 59 | .263 | 37 | 12–22 | 5–28 | 4–9 | 6–30 |
Western Division
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-Los Angeles Lakers | 53 | 27 | .663 | – | 27–7 | 20–17 | 6–3 | 33–13 |
x-St. Louis Hawks | 48 | 32 | .600 | 5 | 30–7 | 13–18 | 5–7 | 29–17 |
x-Detroit Pistons | 34 | 46 | .425 | 19 | 14–16 | 8–19 | 12–11 | 19–27 |
San Francisco Warriors | 31 | 49 | .388 | 22 | 13–20 | 11–25 | 7–4 | 18–28 |
Chicago Zephyrs | 25 | 55 | .313 | 28 | 17–17 | 3–23 | 5–15 | 13–27 |
x – clinched playoff spot
Playoff bracket
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
E3 | Cincinnati | 3 | E3 | Cincinnati | 3 | ||||||||
E2 | Syracuse | 2 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 2 | |||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
W3 | Detroit | 1 | W2 | St. Louis | 3 | ||||||||
W2 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Statistics leaders
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors |
3,586 |
Rebounds | Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors | 1,946 |
Assists | Guy Rodgers | San Francisco Warriors | 825 |
FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | San Francisco Warriors | .528 |
FT% | Larry Costello | Syracuse Nationals |
.881 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
- Chicago Zephyrs
- All-NBA First Team:
- F – St. Louis Hawks
- F – Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers
- C – Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
- G – Cincinnati Royals
- G – Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
- F –
- All-NBA Second Team:
- F – Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics
- F – Bailey Howell, Detroit Pistons
- C – San Francisco Warriors
- G – Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
- G – Syracuse Nationals
- NBA All-Rookie First Team:
- Zelmo Beaty, St. Louis Hawks
- Dave DeBusschere, Detroit Pistons
- Terry Dischinger, Chicago Zephyrs
- John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
- Chet Walker, Syracuse Nationals
See also
References
- 1962–63 NBA Season Summary basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-169031-0