1973 NBA Finals

1973 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins New York Knicks Red Holzman 4 Los Angeles Lakers Bill Sharman 1
Dates	May 1–10
MVP	Willis Reed (New York Knicks)
Hall of Famers	Knicks: Jerry Lucas (1980) Willis Reed (1982) Bill Bradley (1983) Dave DeBusschere (1983) Walt Frazier (1987) Earl Monroe (1990) Phil Jackson (2007, as a coach) Dick Barnett (2024) Lakers: Wilt Chamberlain (1979) Jerry West (1980) Gail Goodrich (1996) Pat Riley (2008, as a coach) Coaches: Red Holzman (1986) Bill Sharman (2004) Officials: Darell Garretson (2016) Mendy Rudolph (2007)
Eastern finals	Knicks defeated Celtics, 4–3
Western finals	Lakers defeated Warriors, 4–1

The 1973 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1972–73 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the culmination of that season's playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 1 to win their second championship. The series was an exact reversal of the prior year, this time with the Lakers winning Game 1 and the Knicks taking the next four games. Knicks center Willis Reed was named as the NBA Finals MVP.

Background

Los Angeles Lakers

Main article: 1972–73 Los Angeles Lakers season

The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 1973 NBA Playoffs as co-favorites in the West with the Milwaukee Bucks, but both teams faced inspired opponents in the first round. The Chicago Bulls gave the Lakers all they could handle before the Lakers came from behind in Game 7 to take the series. The Lakers next faced the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference championship (the Warriors had upset the Bucks in six games). In Game 1, the Lakers won by 2, and in Game 2 the Lakers won by 10. In Game 3 at Oakland, the Lakers routed the Warriors 126–70, but the Warriors won Game 4 to send the series back to Los Angeles. In the Forum, the Lakers took Game 5 and advanced to their fifth NBA Finals series in six seasons.

New York Knicks

Main article: 1972–73 New York Knicks season

One year after their NBA Finals loss, the Knicks were back in the playoffs. For some of the Knicks, including Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe, this was probably their last shot at an NBA title. In the first round they paired against the Baltimore Bullets. The Knicks won games 1 and 2 in New York, but lost Game 3 at Baltimore (in that game, the Bullets used a strange lineup of two centers and three guards). New York would take Games 4 and 5 and Walt Frazier averaged 20 points per game in this series. In the Conference Finals, the Knicks faced the 68–14 Boston Celtics, who not only had the league's best record but also, to that point, the third-best won-lost record in NBA history. The Celtics routed New York, 134–108, Game 1 at the Boston Garden, but the Knicks returned the favor with a 129–96 rout in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks then beat the Celtics in Game 3 in Boston, and took a 3–1 series lead with a double overtime Easter Sunday win back in New York. Boston came back with two critical wins, winning 98–97 in Boston on two Paul Silas free throws, then regaining the home-court advantage with a 110–100 win at New York in Game 6. For Game 7, however, the Celtics were without their star John Havlicek, who was nursing an elbow injury. In that Game 7, played in Boston, the Celtics unbeaten record in seventh games played in Boston Garden was snapped when New York won easily, 94–78.

Road to the Finals

Main article: 1973 NBA Playoffs

Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference champion)		New York Knicks (Eastern Conference champion)
# Western Conference Team W L PCT 1 z-Milwaukee Bucks 60 22 .732 2 y-Los Angeles Lakers 60 22 .732 3 x-Chicago Bulls 51 31 .622 4 x-Golden State Warriors 47 35 .573 5 Detroit Pistons 40 42 .488 6 Phoenix Suns 38 44 .463 7 Kansas City–Omaha Kings 36 46 .439 8 Seattle SuperSonics 26 56 .317 9 Portland Trail Blazers 21 61 .256 2nd seed in the West, 3rd best league record	Regular season		# Eastern Conference Team W L PCT 1 z-Boston Celtics 68 14 .829 2 x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695 3 y-Baltimore Bullets 52 30 .634 4 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 5 Houston Rockets 33 49 .402 6 Cleveland Cavaliers 32 50 .390 7 Buffalo Braves 21 61 .256 8 Philadelphia 76ers 9 73 .110 2nd seed in the East, 4th best league record
Defeated the (3) Chicago Bulls, 4–3	Division Semifinals		Defeated the (2) Baltimore Bullets, 4–1
Defeated the (4) Golden State Warriors, 4–1	Division Finals		Defeated the (1) Boston Celtics, 4–3

Series summary

After losing the first game, the Knicks reeled off four straight wins to reclaim the NBA title. This is the Knicks' most recent NBA Championship to date. New York would not make it back to the NBA Finals until 1994.

This would also be the last Finals appearance of the decade for the Lakers. Their next appearance would be in 1980, which would be the first of nine Finals appearances in 12 years for the franchise.

Game	Date	Home team	Result	Road team
Game 1	May 1	Los Angeles Lakers	115–112 (1–0)	New York Knicks
Game 2	May 3	Los Angeles Lakers	95–99 (1–1)	New York Knicks
Game 3	May 6	New York Knicks	87–83 (2–1)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 4	May 8	New York Knicks	103–98 (3–1)	Los Angeles Lakers
Game 5	May 10	Los Angeles Lakers	93–102 (1–4)	New York Knicks

Knicks win series 4-1

This was the only NBA Championship for Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe.

Game 5 of the series was Wilt Chamberlain's last game played in the NBA. Chamberlain scored the last points of the game, and of his career, on an uncontested fast break dunk with one second remaining.

ABC televised its last NBA Finals, until 2003. This is, to date, the last time a New York/Los Angeles NBA Finals of any combination has taken place, as well as the fifth-to-last championship series contested by both cities in any sport (the 1981 World Series is the last matchup in the 20th century, and the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals is the latest).

Game summaries

Game 1

ABC

May 1

Boxscore

New York Knicks 112, Los Angeles Lakers 115
Scoring by quarter: 26–29, 23–30, 30–36, 33–20
Pts: Dave DeBusschere 25 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 16 Asts: Walt Frazier 8		Pts: Gail Goodrich 30 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 20 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 6
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0

The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,505 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Jack Madden

Game 2

ABC

May 3

Boxscore

New York Knicks 99, Los Angeles Lakers 95
Scoring by quarter: 24–23, 26–23, 26–26, 23–23
Pts: Bill Bradley 26 Rebs: DeBusschere, Reed 9 each Asts: Jerry Lucas 5		Pts: Jerry West 32 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 20 Asts: Goodrich, West 5
Series tied, 1–1

The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,505 Referees: Jake O'Donnell, Ed Rush

Game 3

ABC

May 6

Boxscore

Los Angeles Lakers 83, New York Knicks 87
Scoring by quarter: 24–26, 23–18, 13–25, 23–18
Pts: Jim McMillian 22 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 13 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 5		Pts: Willis Reed 22 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 11 Asts: Earl Monroe 6
New York leads series, 2–1

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,694 Referees: Jack Madden, Don Murphy

Game 4

ABC

May 8

Boxscore

Los Angeles Lakers 98, New York Knicks 103
Scoring by quarter: 16–29, 28–26, 25–27, 29–21
Pts: Goodrich, West 23 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 19 Asts: Bill Bridges 7		Pts: Dave DeBusschere 33 Rebs: Dave DeBusschere 14 Asts: Walt Frazier 8
New York leads series, 3–1

Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York Attendance: 19,694 Referees: Mendy Rudolph, Darell Garretson

Game 5

ABC

May 10

Boxscore

New York Knicks 102, Los Angeles Lakers 93
Scoring by quarter: 23–16, 16–25, 32–18, 31–34
Pts: Earl Monroe 23 Rebs: Willis Reed 12 Asts: Willis Reed 7		Pts: Gail Goodrich 28 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 21 Asts: Jerry West 4
New York wins NBA Finals, 4–1

The Forum, Inglewood, California Attendance: 17,505 Referees: Don Murphy, Darell Garretson

Team rosters

New York Knicks

1972–73 New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 12 Barnett, Dick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936–10–02 Tennessee State PG 17 Bibby, Henry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1949–11–24 UCLA SF 24 Bradley, Bill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943–07–28 Princeton PF 22 DeBusschere, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940–10–16 Detroit Mercy PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945–03–29 Southern Illinois C 40 Gianelli, John 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1950–06–10 Pacific PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945–09–17 North Dakota PF 32 Lucas, Jerry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1940–03–30 Ohio State SG 7 Meminger, Dean 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948–05–13 Marquette SG 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944–11–21 Winston-Salem State C 19 Reed, Willis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942–06–25 Grambling State C 6 Riker, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1950–02–28 South Carolina F 43 Wingo, Harthorne 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1947–09–09 Friendship College

Head coach Red Holzman Assistant coach(es) Dick McGuire Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: 1973–05–10

Los Angeles Lakers

1972–73 Los Angeles Lakers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From PF 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 C 14 Ellis, Leroy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1940-03-10 St. John's SF 24 Erickson, Keith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-04-19 UCLA SG 25 Goodrich, Gail 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1943-04-23 UCLA SF 33 Grant, Travis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1950-01-01 Kentucky State PF 52 Hairston, Happy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1942-05-31 NYU SF 5 McMillian, Jim 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1948-03-11 Columbia PG 15 Price, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1949-11-27 Louisville SG 12 Riley, Pat 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1945-03-20 Kentucky SG 21 Robinson, Flynn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1941-04-28 Wyoming SF 31 Trapp, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1945-10-02 UNLV PF 30 Turner, Bill 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1944-02-18 Akron PG 44 West, Jerry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia

Head coach Bill Sharman Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: 2013-03-22

See also

• 1972–73 NBA season
• 1973 NBA Playoffs

External links

• NBA History