| 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) |
| Games | 80 |
| Teams | 9 |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Walt Bellamy |
| Picked by | Chicago Packers |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Boston Celtics |
| SeasonMVP | 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 | |
| Venue | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics |
| Runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| NBA seasons | |
The1961–62 NBA season was the 16th season of theNational Basketball Association. The season ended with theBoston Celtics winning their 4th straight NBA title, beating theLos Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in theNBA 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 sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "1961–62 NBA season" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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 the2014–15 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]