NBA
1972-73 Season
Champions: New York Knicks (4-1)
Full 1972-73 playoff bracket →
The 1972-73 NBA season featured 17 teams across 738 recorded games. Boston Celtics posted the league's best record at 68-14. New York Knicks won the championship, defeating Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 in the Finals. Willis Reed was named Finals MVP; Dave Cowens took the regular-season MVP award.
Final Standings
Eastern Conference
- Boston Celtics 68-14 0.829
- New York Knicks 🏆 57-25 0.695
- Baltimore Bullets 52-30 0.634
- Atlanta Hawks 46-36 0.561
- Houston Rockets 33-49 0.402
- Cleveland Cavaliers 32-50 0.390
- Buffalo Braves 21-61 0.256
- Philadelphia 76ers 9-73 0.110
Western Conference
- Milwaukee Bucks 60-22 0.732
- Los Angeles Lakers 60-22 0.732
- Chicago Bulls 51-31 0.622
- Golden State Warriors 47-35 0.573
- Detroit Pistons 40-42 0.488
- Phoenix Suns 38-44 0.463
- Kansas City-Omaha Kings 36-46 0.439
- Seattle SuperSonics 26-56 0.317
- Portland Trail Blazers 21-61 0.256
Season Leaders
Scoring
- 1 Nate Archibald KCO 34.0 PPG
- 2 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar MIL 30.2 PPG
- 3 Spencer Haywood SEA 29.2 PPG
- 4 Lou Hudson ATL 27.1 PPG
- 5 Pete Maravich ATL 26.1 PPG
Rebounding
- 1 Wilt Chamberlain LAL 18.6 RPG
- 2 Nate Thurmond GSW 17.1 RPG
- 3 Dave Cowens BOS 16.2 RPG
- 4 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar MIL 16.1 RPG
- 5 Wes Unseld BAL 15.9 RPG
Assists
- 1 Nate Archibald KCO 11.4 APG
- 2 Jerry West LAL 8.8 APG
- 3 Lenny Wilkens CLE 8.4 APG
- 4 Dave Bing DET 7.8 APG
- 5 Oscar Robertson MIL 7.5 APG
1972 Draft — Top Picks
- #1 Larue Martin Portland Trail Blazers
- #2 Bob McAdoo Buffalo Braves
- #3 Double D Davis Cleveland Cavaliers