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1964–65 NBA season

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1964–65 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 16, 1964 – March 21, 1965
March 24 – April 15, 1965 (Playoffs)
April 18–25, 1965 (Finals)
Number of games80
Number of teams9
TV partner(s)ABC
Draft
Top draft pickJim Barnes
Picked byNew York Knicks
Regular season
Top seedBoston Celtics
Season MVPBill Russell (Boston)
Top scorerWilt Chamberlain
(San Francisco/Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern championsBoston Celtics
  Eastern runners-upPhiladelphia 76ers
Western championsLos Angeles Lakers
  Western runners-upBaltimore Bullets
Finals
ChampionsBoston Celtics
  Runners-upLos Angeles Lakers
NBA seasons

The 1964–65 NBA season was the 19th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 7th straight NBA Championship, beating the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

Teams

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1964-65 National Basketball Association
Division Team City Arena Capacity
Eastern Boston Celtics Boston, Massachusetts Boston Garden 13,909
Cincinnati Royals Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati Gardens 11,000
New York Knicks New York, New York Madison Square Garden 18,496
Philadelphia 76ers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Arena
Municipal Auditorium 		7,000
12,000
Western Baltimore Bullets Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore Civic Center 11,271
Detroit Pistons Detroit, Michigan Cobo Arena 12,191
Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles, California Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 16,161
San Francisco Warriors San Francisco, California San Francisco Civic Auditorium 7,000
St. Louis Hawks St. Louis, Missouri Kiel Auditorium 9,300

Map of teams

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Eastern Division Western Division

Season recap

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Preseason

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The season marked real change for the league. NBA Commissioner Maurice Podoloff, who had held the office since the formation of the league (as the Basketball Association of America) in 1946, retired. Walter Kennedy took over his position.

Regular season

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Red Auerbach's loaded Boston Celtics won 62 of 80 games in the nine team league. The balanced Celts had seven ten-point scorers plus the defense and rebounding of Bill Russell. Boston led the league in both of those team stats.

Four other teams won half their games or better. The Los Angeles Lakers won the West Division with 49 wins in 80 games behind superstars Elgin Baylor and Jerry West. The Cincinnati Royals won 48 of 80 games with their own two superstars, Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. The St. Louis Hawks had seven ten-point scorers also and won 45 of 80 games, but lost star Bob Pettit to knee injury. The Philadelphia 76ers won half of their 80 games while working Wilt Chamberlain into their scheme. Chamberlain joined the team in mid-season right after the all-star game, a move which instantly made the new 76ers contenders.

Playoffs

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East

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The NBA had six playoff teams that year, with the second and third place teams from each division, East and West, meeting in the first round. The winners of this play-in round would then meet the division winners to decide the finalists.

Cincinnati, which had no real center, could not deal with Chamberlain, so Philadelphia advanced three games to one. But the 76ers, despite three All Stars alongside their giant star, could not unseat the champion Celtics, who held off Philly by a single point in Game 7 when John Havlicek stole the ball in the final seconds.

West

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In the West, which produced no NBA champions from 1959 to 1970, Baltimore upset the injured St. Louis Hawks to meet Los Angeles. The Lakers overcame the Bullets' three 20-point scorers to meet Boston in the Finals.

Finals

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Main article: 1965 NBA Finals

It was the fourth time the two teams had met in the Finals since 1958. Laker star Elgin Baylor was lost to a knee injury just five minutes into the playoffs. The Lakers had no answer for Bill Russell inside as well. But Laker star Jerry West courageously tried to keep his team alive by averaging over 40 points through the Lakers 11 playoff games. The balance and depth of Boston was too much for that.

Notable occurrences

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Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1963–64 coach 1964–65 coach
Baltimore Bullets Bobby Leonard Buddy Jeannette
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Detroit Pistons Charles Wolf Dave DeBusschere
New York Knicks Eddie Donovan Harry Gallatin
St. Louis Hawks Harry Gallatin Richie Guerin

Final standings

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Eastern Division

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Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Boston Celtics 62 18 .775 – 27–3 27–11 8–4 20–10
x-Cincinnati Royals 48 32 .600 14 25–7 17–21 6–4 16–14
x-Philadelphia 76ers 40 40 .500 22 13–12 9–21 18–7 14–16
New York Knicks 31 49 .388 31 15–20 9–21 7–8 10–20

Western Division

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Western Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Los Angeles Lakers 49 31 .613 – 25–13 21–16 3–2 25–15
x-St. Louis Hawks 45 35 .563 4 26–4 15–17 4–4 28–12
x-Baltimore Bullets 37 43 .463 12 23–14 12–19 2–10 22–18
Detroit Pistons 31 49 .388 18 13–17 11–20 7–12 18–22
San Francisco Warriors 17 63 .213 32 10–26 5–31 2–6 7–33

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoff bracket

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Main article: 1965 NBA playoffs
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Statistics leaders

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Category Player Team Stat
Points Wilt Chamberlain San Francisco Warriors/Philadelphia 76ers 2,534
Rebounds Bill Russell Boston Celtics 1,878
Assists Oscar Robertson Cincinnati Royals 861
FG% Wilt Chamberlain San Francisco Warriors/Philadelphia 76ers .510
FT% Larry Costello Philadelphia 76ers .877

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

NBA awards

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See also

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References

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