1961–62 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 19, 1961 – March 14, 1962 March 16 – April 5, 1962 (Playoffs) April 7–18, 1962 (Finals) |
Number of games | 80 |
Number of teams | 9 |
TV partner(s) | NBC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Walt Bellamy |
Picked by | Chicago Packers |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Boston Celtics |
Season MVP | Bill Russell ( Boston) |
Top scorer | Wilt Chamberlain ( Philadelphia) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
Eastern runners-up | Philadelphia Warriors |
Western champions | Los Angeles Lakers |
Western runners-up | Detroit Pistons |
Finals | |
Champions | Boston Celtics |
Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
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.
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 |
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 |
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
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||
E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 | |||||||||||
W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
W3 | Detroit | 3 | W3 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||
W2 | Cincinnati | 1 | |||||||||||
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.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (December 2021) |
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]