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1972-73 NBA Season Summary

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League Champion: New York Knicks

Most Valuable Player: Dave Cowens (20.5/16.2/4.1)
Rookie of the Year: Bob McAdoo (18.0/9.1/1.7)

PPG Leader: Tiny Archibald (34.0)
RPG Leader: Wilt Chamberlain (18.6)
APG Leader: Tiny Archibald (11.4)
WS Leader: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (21.9)

League Standings

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*) ▪ Click conference name for conference standings
Eastern Conference W L W-L% GB PS/G PA/G SRS
Atlantic Division              
Boston Celtics* (1) 68 14 .829 — 112.7 104.5 7.35
New York Knicks* (3) 57 25 .695 11.0 105.0 98.2 6.07
Buffalo Braves (7) 21 61 .256 47.0 103.3 112.5 -8.85
Philadelphia 76ers (8) 9 73 .110 59.0 104.1 116.2 -11.51
Central Division              
Baltimore Bullets* (2) 52 30 .634 — 105.0 101.6 2.85
Atlanta Hawks* (4) 46 36 .561 6.0 112.4 112.3 -0.16
Houston Rockets (5) 33 49 .402 19.0 112.8 114.5 -1.81
Cleveland Cavaliers (6) 32 50 .390 20.0 102.7 105.3 -2.64
Western Conference W L W-L% GB PS/G PA/G SRS
Midwest Division              
Milwaukee Bucks* (1) 60 22 .732 — 107.2 99.0 7.84
Chicago Bulls* (3) 51 31 .622 9.0 104.1 100.6 3.43
Detroit Pistons (5) 40 42 .488 20.0 110.3 110.0 0.53
Kansas City-Omaha Kings (7) 36 46 .439 24.0 107.6 110.5 -2.37
Pacific Division              
Los Angeles Lakers* (2) 60 22 .732 — 111.7 103.2 8.16
Golden State Warriors* (4) 47 35 .573 13.0 108.8 105.7 3.12
Phoenix Suns (6) 38 44 .463 22.0 111.6 112.9 -0.97
Seattle SuperSonics (8) 26 56 .317 34.0 103.7 109.6 -5.33
Portland Trail Blazers (9) 21 61 .256 39.0 106.2 112.4 -5.68

League Playoffs

Click series name to show/hide game results
Finals (4-1): New York Knicks over Los Angeles Lakers
 
Eastern Conference Finals (4-3): New York Knicks over Boston Celtics
Western Conference Finals (4-1): Los Angeles Lakers over Golden State Warriors
 
Eastern Conference Semifinals (4-2): Boston Celtics over Atlanta Hawks
Eastern Conference Semifinals (4-1): New York Knicks over Baltimore Bullets
Western Conference Semifinals (4-2): Golden State Warriors over Milwaukee Bucks
Western Conference Semifinals (4-3): Los Angeles Lakers over Chicago Bulls

Team Stats

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 Houston Rockets 82 19680 3772 8249 .457 1706 2152 .793 4060 1939 1949 9250 112.8
2 Boston Celtics* 82 19730 3811 8511 .448 1616 2073 .780 4802 2320 1805 9238 112.7
3 Atlanta Hawks* 82 19830 3700 8033 .461 1819 2482 .733 4174 2074 1916 9219 112.4
4 Los Angeles Lakers* 82 19755 3740 7819 .478 1679 2264 .742 4562 2302 1636 9159 111.7
5 Phoenix Suns 82 19755 3612 7942 .455 1931 2437 .792 4003 1944 2012 9155 111.6
6 Detroit Pistons 82 19780 3666 7916 .463 1710 2294 .745 4105 1882 1812 9042 110.3
7 Golden State Warriors* 82 19730 3715 8163 .455 1493 1871 .798 4405 1985 1693 8923 108.8
8 Kansas City-Omaha Kings 82 19780 3621 7581 .478 1580 2036 .776 3628 2118 2054 8822 107.6
9 Milwaukee Bucks* 82 19755 3759 7808 .481 1271 1687 .753 4245 2226 1763 8789 107.2
10 Portland Trail Blazers 82 19730 3588 7842 .458 1531 2129 .719 3928 2102 1970 8707 106.2
11 New York Knicks* 82 19730 3627 7764 .467 1356 1739 .780 3882 2187 1775 8610 105.0
12 Baltimore Bullets* 82 19730 3656 7883 .464 1294 1742 .743 4205 2051 1672 8606 105.0
13 Chicago Bulls* 82 19805 3480 7835 .444 1574 2073 .759 4000 2023 1881 8534 104.1
14 Philadelphia 76ers 82 19730 3471 8264 .420 1598 2130 .750 4174 1688 1984 8540 104.1
15 Seattle SuperSonics 82 19780 3447 7681 .449 1606 2080 .772 4161 1958 1877 8500 103.7
16 Buffalo Braves 82 19730 3536 7877 .449 1399 1966 .712 4158 2218 2034 8471 103.3
17 Cleveland Cavaliers 82 19830 3431 7884 .435 1556 2084 .747 4063 2106 1941 8418 102.7
League Average 82 19756 3625 7944 .456 1572 2073 .758 4150 2066 1869 8823 107.6

Opponent Stats

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 New York Knicks* 82 19730 3291 7561 .435 1471 1961 .750 4100 1714 1781 8053 98.2
2 Milwaukee Bucks* 82 19755 3385 8028 .422 1345 1783 .754 3916 1906 1601 8115 99.0
3 Chicago Bulls* 82 19805 3343 7098 .471 1562 2080 .751 3915 1910 2002 8248 100.6
4 Baltimore Bullets* 82 19730 3531 8010 .441 1269 1702 .746 4226 1852 1682 8331 101.6
5 Los Angeles Lakers* 82 19755 3646 8409 .434 1167 1583 .737 4101 1963 1941 8459 103.2
6 Boston Celtics* 82 19730 3513 8095 .434 1540 2032 .758 3958 1957 1821 8566 104.5
7 Cleveland Cavaliers 82 19830 3465 7673 .452 1707 2230 .765 4115 2311 1932 8637 105.3
8 Golden State Warriors* 82 19730 3603 8163 .441 1463 1891 .774 4265 2034 1766 8669 105.7
9 Seattle SuperSonics 82 19780 3678 8093 .454 1628 2156 .755 4158 2145 1875 8984 109.6
10 Detroit Pistons 82 19780 3803 8064 .472 1418 1862 .762 4019 2263 1891 9024 110.0
11 Kansas City-Omaha Kings 82 19780 3698 7640 .484 1665 2174 .766 3961 1885 1816 9061 110.5
12 Atlanta Hawks* 82 19830 3758 8152 .461 1696 2193 .773 4147 2020 2104 9212 112.3
13 Portland Trail Blazers 82 19730 3709 7780 .477 1800 2327 .774 4236 2271 1885 9218 112.4
14 Buffalo Braves 82 19730 3745 7947 .471 1733 2299 .754 4278 2383 1822 9223 112.5
15 Phoenix Suns 82 19755 3758 8005 .469 1744 2318 .752 4139 2166 2068 9260 112.9
16 Houston Rockets 82 19680 3824 8119 .471 1744 2290 .762 4338 2104 1902 9392 114.5
17 Philadelphia 76ers 82 19730 3882 8215 .473 1767 2358 .749 4683 2239 1885 9531 116.2
League Average 82 19756 3625 7944 .456 1572 2073 .758 4150 2066 1869 8823 107.6

Miscellaneous Stats

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Offense Four Factors Defense Four Factors
Rk Team Age PW PL MOV SOS SRS ORtg DRtg Pace eFG% TOV% ORB% FT/FGA eFG% TOV% DRB% FT/FGA Arena Attendance
1 Los Angeles Lakers* 30.3 62 20 8.54 -0.36 8.16 .478 .215 .434 .139 The Forum 664,872
2 Milwaukee Bucks* 26.4 62 20 8.22 -0.38 7.84 .481 .163 .422 .168 Milwaukee Arena 372,951
3 Boston Celtics* 28.0 61 21 8.20 -0.85 7.35 .448 .190 .434 .190 Boston Garden 423,234
4 New York Knicks* 28.7 59 23 6.79 -0.73 6.07 .467 .175 .435 .195 Madison Square Garden (IV) 790,031
5 Chicago Bulls* 27.7 51 31 3.49 -0.06 3.43 .444 .201 .471 .220 Chicago Stadium 424,944
6 Golden State Warriors* 28.6 49 33 3.10 0.02 3.12 .455 .183 .441 .179 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 244,504
7 Baltimore Bullets* 26.3 50 32 3.35 -0.51 2.85 .464 .164 .441 .158 Baltimore Civic Center 263,660
8 Detroit Pistons 25.4 42 40 0.22 0.31 0.53 .463 .216 .472 .176 Cobo Arena 212,094
9 Atlanta Hawks* 27.1 41 41 0.09 -0.24 -0.16 .461 .226 .461 .208 Omni Coliseum 304,802
10 Phoenix Suns 26.2 38 44 -1.28 0.31 -0.97 .455 .243 .469 .218 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 342,117
11 Houston Rockets 25.7 37 45 -1.73 -0.08 -1.81 .457 .207 .471 .215 Hofheinz Pavilion 189,773
12 Kansas City-Omaha Kings 26.3 33 49 -2.91 0.52 -2.37 .478 .208 .484 .218 Municipal Auditorium 261,860
13 Cleveland Cavaliers 26.2 34 48 -2.67 0.03 -2.64 .435 .197 .452 .222 Cleveland Arena 186,477
14 Seattle SuperSonics 25.1 26 56 -5.90 0.57 -5.33 .449 .209 .454 .201 Seattle Center Coliseum 387,382
15 Portland Trail Blazers 24.0 25 57 -6.23 0.55 -5.68 .458 .195 .477 .231 Memorial Coliseum 333,480
16 Buffalo Braves 24.7 19 63 -9.17 0.32 -8.85 .449 .178 .471 .218 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 321,710
17 Philadelphia 76ers 27.6 15 67 -12.09 0.58 -11.51 .420 .193 .473 .215 The Spectrum 182,921
League Average 26.7 41 41 0.00 0.00 0.00 .456 .198 .456 .198 347,460

League Leaders

Rate statistic requirements
Minutes Played
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 3681
2. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 3542
3. Mike Riordan-BAL 3466
4. Dave Cowens*-BOS 3425
5. Nate Thurmond*-GSW 3419
Field Goals
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 1028
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 982
3. Spencer Haywood-SEA 889
4. Geoff Petrie-POR 836
5. Lou Hudson-ATL 816
Field Goal Attempts
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 2106
2. Spencer Haywood-SEA 1868
3. Charlie Scott-PHO 1809
4. Geoff Petrie-POR 1801
5. Bob Love-CHI 1794
Free Throws
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 663
2. Pete Maravich*-ATL 485
3. Spencer Haywood-SEA 473
4. Dave Bing*-DET 456
5. Charlie Scott-PHO 436
Free Throw Attempts
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 783
2. Pete Maravich*-ATL 606
3. Spencer Haywood-SEA 564
4. Dave Bing*-DET 560
5. Charlie Scott-PHO 556
Total Rebounds
1. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 1526
2. Nate Thurmond*-GSW 1349
3. Dave Cowens*-BOS 1329
4. Wes Unseld*-BAL 1260
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 1224
Assists
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 910
2. Dave Bing*-DET 637
3. Lenny Wilkens*-CLE 628
4. Jerry West*-LAL 607
5. Norm Van Lier-CHI 567
Personal Fouls
1. Neal Walk-PHO 323
2. Dave Cowens*-BOS 311
3. Charlie Scott-PHO 306
4. Lloyd Neal-POR 305
5. Mike Newlin-HOU 301
Points
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 2719
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 2292
3. Spencer Haywood-SEA 2251
4. Pete Maravich*-ATL 2063
5. Charlie Scott-PHO 2048
Field Goal Pct
1. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL .727
2. Matt Guokas-KCO .570
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL .554
4. Curtis Rowe-DET .519
5. Jim Fox-SEA .515
Free Throw Pct
1. Rick Barry*-GSW .902
2. Calvin Murphy*-HOU .888
3. Mike Newlin-HOU .886
4. Jimmy Walker-HOU .884
5. Bill Bradley*-NYK .871
Minutes Per Game
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 46.0
2. Nate Thurmond*-GSW 43.3
3. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 43.2
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 42.8
5. Spencer Haywood-SEA 42.3
Points Per Game
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 34.0
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 30.2
3. Spencer Haywood-SEA 29.2
4. Lou Hudson-ATL 27.1
5. Pete Maravich*-ATL 26.1
Rebounds Per Game
1. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 18.6
2. Nate Thurmond*-GSW 17.1
3. Dave Cowens*-BOS 16.2
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 16.1
5. Wes Unseld*-BAL 15.9
Assists Per Game
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 11.4
2. Lenny Wilkens*-CLE 8.4
3. Dave Bing*-DET 7.8
4. Oscar Robertson*-MIL 7.5
5. Norm Van Lier-CHI 7.1
Player Efficiency Rating
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 28.5
2. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 25.2
3. Jerry West*-LAL 23.2
4. Spencer Haywood-SEA 22.7
5. Bob Lanier*-DET 22.1
True Shooting Pct
1. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL .689
2. Matt Guokas-KCO .594
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL .580
4. Jim Fox-SEA .580
5. Dick Van Arsdale-PHO .557
Effective Field Goal Pct
1. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL .727
2. Matt Guokas-KCO .570
3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL .554
4. Curtis Rowe-DET .519
5. Jim Fox-SEA .515
Total Rebound Pct
1. Clifford Ray-CHI 19.9
2. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 19.6
3. Wes Unseld*-BAL 19.1
4. Bob Lanier*-DET 18.6
5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 18.2
Assist Pct
1. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 38.9
2. Jerry West*-LAL 35.5
3. Lenny Wilkens*-CLE 31.4
4. Fred Brown-SEA 28.2
5. Norm Van Lier-CHI 27.6
Offensive Win Shares
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 14.4
2. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 13.9
3. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 10.7
4. Spencer Haywood-SEA 8.8
5. Dick Van Arsdale-PHO 7.4
Defensive Win Shares
1. Dave Cowens*-BOS 9.9
2. Paul Silas-BOS 7.6
3. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 7.5
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 7.5
5. John Havlicek*-BOS 7.2
Win Shares
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL 21.9
2. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL 18.2
3. Tiny Archibald*-KCO 14.2
4. Walt Frazier*-NYK 13.0
5. John Havlicek*-BOS 12.1
Win Shares Per 48 Minutes
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar*-MIL .323
2. Wilt Chamberlain*-LAL .247
3. Chet Walker*-CHI .213
4. Paul Silas-BOS .210
5. Jerry West*-LAL .206