1972–73 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1972–73 NBA season was the Lakers' 25th season in the NBA and 13th season in Los Angeles.[1]

1972–73 Los Angeles Lakers season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachBill Sharman
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record60–22 (.732)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(lost to Knicks 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

During the previous season (1971-1972), the Lakers had posted the longest winning streak in NBA history with 33 straight victories. In the 1972 NBA Finals, the Lakers had defeated New York Knicks in five games to win their sixth NBA Championship. However, even though the Lakers managed to make to the NBA Finals for a second consecutive time, they proved unable to repeat as champions. The Knicks defeated them in five games.

Following the season, Wilt Chamberlain retired.

Offseason

Draft picks
Main article: 1972 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
2 16 Jim Price Guard  United States Louisville

Roster
1972-73 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
F 32 Bridges, Bill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1939-04-04 Kansas
C 30 Brown, Roger 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1950-02-23 Kansas
C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) 1936-08-21 Kansas
C 31 Counts, Mel 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1941-10-16 Oregon State
F 24 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA
G 25 Goodrich, Gail 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1943-04-23 UCLA
F 33 Grant, Travis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1950-01-01 Kentucky State
F 52 Hairston, Happy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1942-05-31 NYU
F 5 McMillian, Jim 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1948-03-11 Columbia
G 15 Price, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1949-11-27 Louisville
G 12 Riley, Pat 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1945-03-20 Kentucky
F 30 Turner, Bill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1944-02-18 Akron
G 44 West, Jerry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: 2013-03-22

Regular season

The defending champion Lakers returned intact, albeit another year older. They staged another season long battle for best record in the Western Conference with the Milwaukee Bucks. Both teams ended up with 60–22 records and they split their regular season matchups, winning three games apiece. At the time, the NBA had no tiebreaking formula beyond head-to-head record. In a special league meeting, they attempted to schedule a tiebreaking game between the two teams. However, the players' union intervened and demanded the players be paid an extra 1/82 share of the salaries; the owners objected so ultimately the tie was broken by a coin flip, which was won by Milwaukee.

Season standings
Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 6022.732–30–1128–112–022–4
x-Golden State Warriors 4735.5731327–1418–202–114–12
Phoenix Suns 3844.4632222–1915–251–014–12
Seattle SuperSonics 2656.3173416–2510–290–29–17
Portland Trail Blazers 2161.2563913–288–320–16–20
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Milwaukee Bucks6022.732
2 y-Los Angeles Lakers6022.732
3 x-Chicago Bulls5131.622
4 x-Golden State Warriors4735.573
5 Detroit Pistons4042.488
6 Phoenix Suns3844.463
7 Kansas City–Omaha Kings3646.439
8 Seattle SuperSonics2656.317
9 Portland Trail Blazers2161.256
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1972–73 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CLE DET GSW HOU KCO LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta —3–41–55–12–23–42–21–34–42–23–11–33–36–03–14–03–1
Baltimore 4–3—1–55–10–48–02–23–15–23–11–32–23–35–12–24–04–0
Boston 5–15–1—7–03–15–13–13–15–13–14–02–24–47–04–04–04–0
Buffalo 1–51–50–7—2–21–51–30–41–51–30–40–41–67–11–32–22–2
Chicago 2–24–01–32–2—3–13–43–34–05–21–52–43–14–04–25–15–1
Cleveland 4–30–81–55–11–3—1–31–34–32–21–31–30–66–01–31–33–1
Detroit 2–22–21–33–14–33–1—2–41–33–31–52–51–33–14–26–02–4
Golden State 3–11–31–34–03–33–14–2—3–14–23–41–52–24–02–45–14–3
Houston 4–42–51–55–10–43–43–11–3—0–41–31–31–55–12–22–22–2
Kansas City-Omaha 2–21–31–33–12–52–23–32–44–0—1–51–60–43–13–34–24–2
Los Angeles 1–33–10–44–05–13–15–14–33–15–1—3–32–24–06–16–06–0
Milwaukee 3–12–22–24–04–23–15–25–13–16–13–3—2–23–15–15–15–1
New York 3–33–34–46–11–36–03–12–25–14–02–22–2—6–13–13–14–0
Philadelphia 0–61–50–71–70–40–61–30–41–51–30–41–31–6—0–41–31–3
Phoenix 1–32–20–43–12–43–12–44–22–23–31–61–51–34–0—5–24–2
Portland 0–40–40–42–21–53–10–61–52–22–40–61–51–33–12–5—3–4
Seattle 1–30–40–42–21–51–34–23–42–22–40–61–50–43–12–44–3—

Game log
1972–73 game log
#DateOpponentScoreHigh pointsRecord
1October 11@ Kansas City–Omaha129–94Jim McMillian (23)1–0
2October 13@ Boston104–112Jerry West (21)1–1
3October 14@ New York100–125McMillian, Riley, West (18)1–2
4October 15@ Cleveland95–83Jerry West (31)2–2
5October 20Portland104–126Hairston, McMillian (20)3–2
6October 22Chicago99–104Jerry West (35)4–2
7October 24@ Kansas City–Omaha114–94Jerry West (29)5–2
8October 25@ Houston112–107Jerry West (33)6–2
9October 27Golden State119–91Gail Goodrich (19)6–3
10October 29Phoenix123–133Gail Goodrich (32)7–3
11November 3Detroit107–116Jerry West (28)8–3
12November 4@ Portland134–120Gail Goodrich (30)9–3
13November 5@ Seattle124–115Jerry West (35)10–3
14November 7Houston109–122Happy Hairston (30)11–3
15November 10Cleveland88–118Jerry West (27)12–3
16November 14@ Milwaukee95–92Jerry West (26)13–3
17November 15@ Detroit110–99Gail Goodrich (24)14–3
18November 17Buffalo100–103Jerry West (27)15–3
19November 19Philadelphia95–135Gail Goodrich (24)16–3
20November 24Detroit123–140Gail Goodrich (23)17–3
21November 25@ Phoenix116–109Gail Goodrich (27)18–3
22November 26Phoenix107–112Jerry West (26)19–3
23December 1Atlanta114–109 (OT)Jerry West (33)19–4
24December 2@ Golden State112–103McMillian, West (29)20–4
25December 5Milwaukee94–116Gail Goodrich (24)21–4
26December 8Seattle100–119Happy Hairston (28)22–4
27December 10Portland101–137Jim McMillian (28)23–4
28December 12@ Chicago106–105 (OT)Gail Goodrich (34)24–4
29December 13@ Philadelphia128–90Gail Goodrich (31)25–4
30December 15Boston102–98Gail Goodrich (24)25–5
31December 19@ Buffalo126–100Gail Goodrich (32)26–5
32December 20@ Baltimore96–90Gail Goodrich (18)27–5
33December 22Phoenix118–110Gail Goodrich (39)27–6
34December 26Portland92–116Gail Goodrich (25)28–6
35December 27@ Houston104–136Gail Goodrich (37)28–7
36December 29Kansas City–Omaha92–121Jerry West (28)29–7
37January 1@ Seattle108–103Gail Goodrich (36)30–7
38January 2@ Golden State106–112Gail Goodrich (38)30–8
39January 6@ Cleveland93–108Jim McMillian (27)30–9
40January 7@ Milwaukee92–99McMillian, West (26)30–10
41January 10@ Philadelphia120–96Gail Goodrich (26)31–10
42January 12@ Chicago109–97Jerry West (39)32–10
43January 14@ Atlanta102–100Jerry West (37)33–10
44January 16Baltimore112–104Gail Goodrich (30)33–11
45January 19New York88–95Jerry West (32)34–11
46January 20@ Phoenix124–104Jerry West (28)35–11
47January 21Kansas City–Omaha102–123Wilt Chamberlain (29)36–11
48January 26Golden State84–100Jerry West (22)37–11
49January 27@ Golden State122–107Jim McMillian (31)38–11
50January 28Seattle94–130Wilt Chamberlain (22)39–11
51January 30Chicago92–95Jerry West (31)40–11
52February 1@ Phoenix120–106Wilt Chamberlain (25)41–11
53February 2Houston109–126Goodrich, West (24)42–11
54February 4N Baltimore125–115Goodrich, West (28)43–11
55February 6@ New York95–90Jim McMillian (27)44–11
56February 7@ Boston112–113 (OT)Gail Goodrich (35)44–12
57February 9@ Milwaukee88–109Jim McMillian (28)44–13
58February 11Philadelphia90–108Jim McMillian (26)45–13
59February 13Seattle98–101Gail Goodrich (25)46–13
60February 16Baltimore103–121Jim McMillian (26)47–13
61February 17@ Portland110–103Gail Goodrich (46)48–13
62February 18Atlanta99–92Gail Goodrich (38)48–14
63February 20@ Chicago89–103Gail Goodrich (27)48–15
64February 21@ Detroit98–106Gail Goodrich (29)48–16
65February 23Golden State111–106Jim McMillian (29)48–17
66February 25Milwaukee82–91Wilt Chamberlain (24)49–17
67February 27Kansas City–Omaha107–103Jim McMillian (34)49–18
68March 2Chicago88–108Jerry West (19)50–18
69March 4Cleveland84–127Gail Goodrich (32)51–18
70March 6@ Portland114–102Gail Goodrich (30)52–18
71March 9Boston119–111Jerry West (28)52–19
72March 11Detroit117–141Goodrich, McMillian (24)53–19
73March 13@ Buffalo121–112Wilt Chamberlain (25)54–19
74March 14@ Detroit121–112Gail Goodrich (27)55–19
75March 16New York109–98Jerry West (32)55–20
76March 18Phoenix113–131Jim McMillian (42)56–20
77March 20@ Atlanta112–114Jim McMillian (30)56–21
78March 21@ Kansas City–Omaha124–118Jerry West (28)57–21
79March 23Buffalo101–121Jim McMillian (22)58–21
80March 25@ Seattle109–93Chamberlain, Counts, Goodrich, West (20)59–21
81March 27Milwaukee85–84Jim McMillian (32)59–22
82March 28@ Golden State96–89Gail Goodrich (26)60–22

Playoffs
1973 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 4–3 (home: 4–0; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 30 Chicago W 107–104 (OT) Gail Goodrich (28) Wilt Chamberlain (20) Jerry West (9) The Forum
16,341		 1–0
2 April 1 Chicago W 108–93 Gail Goodrich (33) Wilt Chamberlain (21) Jerry West (19) The Forum
17,368		 2–0
3 April 6 @ Chicago L 86–96 Jim McMillian (24) Wilt Chamberlain (18) Jerry West (13) Chicago Stadium
14,606		 2–1
4 April 8 @ Chicago L 94–98 Jim McMillian (25) Wilt Chamberlain (30) Goodrich, West (5) Chicago Stadium
14,181		 2–2
5 April 10 Chicago W 123–102 Jerry West (36) Wilt Chamberlain (29) Jerry West (11) The Forum
17,505		 3–2
6 April 13 @ Chicago L 93–101 Jerry West (19) Wilt Chamberlain (26) Jerry West (5) Chicago Stadium
18,096		 3–3
7 April 15 Chicago W 95–92 Jerry West (27) Wilt Chamberlain (28) Jerry West (7) The Forum
17,505		 4–3
Conference finals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 17 Golden State W 101–99 Jim McMillian (37) Wilt Chamberlain (25) Jerry West (8) The Forum
17,505		 1–0
2 April 19 Golden State W 104–93 Jerry West (36) Wilt Chamberlain (20) Jerry West (6) The Forum
17,505		 2–0
3 April 21 @ Golden State W 126–70 Jim McMillian (28) Wilt Chamberlain (25) Jerry West (11) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
13,183		 3–0
4 April 23 @ Golden State L 109–117 Jerry West (32) Wilt Chamberlain (16) Gail Goodrich (7) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
8,000		 3–1
5 April 25 Golden State W 128–118 Gail Goodrich (44) Wilt Chamberlain (22) Jerry West (9) The Forum
17,505		 4–1
NBA Finals: 1–4 (home: 1–2; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 May 1 New York W 115–112 Gail Goodrich (30) Wilt Chamberlain (20) Wilt Chamberlain (6) The Forum
17,505		 1–0
2 May 3 New York L 95–99 Jerry West (32) Wilt Chamberlain (20) Goodrich, West (5) The Forum
17,505		 1–1
3 May 6 @ New York L 83–87 Jim McMillian (22) Wilt Chamberlain (13) Wilt Chamberlain (5) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 1–2
4 May 8 @ New York L 98–103 Goodrich, West (23) Wilt Chamberlain (19) Bill Bridges (7) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 1–3
5 May 10 New York L 93–102 Gail Goodrich (28) Wilt Chamberlain (21) Jerry West (4) The Forum
17,505		 1–4
1973 schedule

Awards and records

References
  1. 1972–73 Los Angeles Lakers
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