1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season

1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season
Paul Arizin's final NBA season
Head coach Frank McGuire
Arena Philadelphia Civic Center
Results
Record 49–31 (.613)
Place Division: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish East Finals
(Eliminated 3–4)

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season was the sixteenth season for the National Basketball Association franchise in Philadelphia, and the last before their relocation to San Francisco, California for the following season.

Wilt Chamberlain had perhaps the most dominating season in NBA history. Chamberlain led the league with an NBA record 50.4 points per game.[1] In one eight-day stretch in January, Chamberlain participated in three games, where he scored at least 63 points.[2] On March 2, 1962, the Warriors played the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain had one of the most dominating performances in NBA history as he notched 100 points before 4,124 fans.[2] The game was actually played at the Warriors training facility. Despite his high scoring, Wilt would not win the NBA MVP. The award was given to Bill Russell. The Warriors finished 2nd behind Russell's Boston Celtics with a 49–31 record.[2] In the playoffs, the Warriors would defeat the Syracuse Nationals in five games. Russell and Chamberlain would meet in the Eastern Division Finals. The series would go seven games. In Game 7, Sam Jones would hit the winning shot with 2 seconds remaining.[2]

Roster

Philadelphia Warriors roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
F 11 United States Arizin, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Villanova
G 16 United States Attles, Al 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) North Carolina A&T
C 13 United States Chamberlain, Wilt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Kansas
G/F 7 United States Conlin, Ed 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fordham
G/F 15 United States Gola, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) La Salle
G 34 United States Larese, York 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina
F 12 United States Luckenbill, Ted 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Houston
F 14 Russia Meschery, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Saint Mary's
F 9 United States Radovich, Frank 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Indiana
G 5 United States Rodgers, Guy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Temple
F 17 United States Ruklick, Joe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Northwestern
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games,[3][4] took place between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962 at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The Warriors won the game, 169–147, setting what was then a record for the most combined points in a game by both teams. But the game is most remembered for the 100 points scored by Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain, who set the NBA single-game scoring record. The next leading scorer for Philadelphia was Phil Attles with 17 points.[5] The Knicks leading scorer was Guerin with 39 points. In that game, Chamberlain also broke five other NBA scoring records, of which four still stand.

Season standings

Team W L PCT. GB
Boston Celtics C 60 20 .750 –
Philadelphia Warriors 49 31 .613 11
Syracuse Nationals 41 39 .513 19
New York Knicks 29 51 .363 31

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN=Minutes; FG= Field Goals; FT= Free Throws; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

= Indicates team leader
Player GP MIN FG FT REB AST PTS
Wilt Chamberlain 80 3882 1597 835 2052 192 4029
Paul Arizin
Tom Meschery
Al Attles
Tom Gola
Guy Rodgers 80 2648 267 121 348 643 655

[6]

Postseason

East Division Semifinals

(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals: Warriors win series 3–2

Last Playoffs meeting: 1961 Eastern Division Semifinals (Syracuse won 3–0).

East Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Philadelphia Warriors: Celtics win series 4–3

Last Playoffs meeting: 1960 Eastern Division Finals (Boston won 4–2).

Awards and honors

Relocation to San Francisco

Following the season, the Warriors moved west to San Francisco. Edward Gottlieb sold the team to a Bay Area Credit Card company.[2] Despite the loss, Philadelphia would only be without pro-basketball for just that one season. The Syracuse Nationals, who challenged the Warriors in the playoffs for many years had moved to the city the Warriors vacated in 1963, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Numbelievable!, p.20, Michael X. Ferraro and John Venziano, Triumph Books, 2007, Chicago, Illinois, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Philadelphia Warriors (1946–1962)
  3. ↑ "Wilt Scores 100!". ESPN.com. 2007-02-14.
  4. ↑ Bork, p. 33-35
  5. ↑ Numbelivable!, p.23, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
  6. ↑ http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/PHW/1962.html
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