1972 NBA Championship

Lore & Background

The 1972 NBA Finals was a rematch of the 1970 NBA Finals that the Knicks had won in a full seven-game series. Despite the retirement of legendary power forward Elgin Baylor, the Lakers won a then NBA-record 69 regular season games, including 33 wins in a row, a record for North American professional sports which still stands. The Lakers were led by Wilt Chamberlain, the NBA's top rebounder that season. Guards Gail Goodrich and Jerry West were each among the NBA's top ten scorers. The Lakers were the league's highest-scoring team, averaging 121 points per game. West also led the NBA in assists. Los Angeles swept a solid 57-win Chicago Bulls team in the playoffs' opening round, then defeated the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks (record of 63–19) in six games to win the Western Conference finals. That historic series had matched Chamberlain against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and West against Oscar Robertson.

In Their Own Story

The lights hummed overhead at The Forum, casting long shadows across the polished hardwood. The crowd was silent, holding its breath as the ball left Jerry West's fingertips. For thirty-three games, nothing had gone wrong; now, in the final moments of Game Five, everything hinged on this shot. The net swished, a sound that cut through the noise like thunder, sealing another chapter of greatness for purple and gold.

Reader's Guide

The Lakers won the series 4–1. Game 1: Knicks won 114–92, with Jerry Lucas scoring 26 points and Bill Bradley hitting 11 of 12 shots. Game 2: Lakers won 106–92, with Gail Goodrich netting 31 points and Wilt Chamberlain pulling down 24 rebounds. Game 3: Lakers won 107–96, with Chamberlain and Happy Hairston collecting 20 rebounds each. Game 4: Lakers won 116–111 in overtime, with all five Los Angeles starters playing at least 45 minutes. Game 5: Lakers won 114–100, with Chamberlain flirting with a quadruple-double (24 points, 29 rebounds, eight blocks, eight assists). For the series, Chamberlain averaged 19.4 points and 23.2 rebounds and was named Finals Most Valuable Player.

Did You Know?

• The 1972 NBA Finals was a rematch of the 1970 NBA Finals that the Knicks had won in a full seven-game series.
• The Lakers' 33-game winning streak remains a record for North American professional sports.
• Wilt Chamberlain's 1972 NBA Finals Game 5 championship-clinching game-worn jersey sold for $4,900,000.
• The Lakers' next championship came in 1980 over the Philadelphia 76ers in six games.