1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season

1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season
Head coach Charles Wolf
Owner(s) Thomas Woods estate
Arena Cincinnati Gardens
Results
Record 42–38 (.525)
Place Division: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish East Division Finals
(Eliminated 3–4)

The 1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season was the team's 15th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its 6th in Cincinnati. The Royals were shifted from the Western Division into the Eastern Division before the start of the season because the Philadelphia Warriors had relocated to San Francisco. In their first season in the Eastern Division, the Royals posted a 42–38 record and finished in 3rd place.[1] The season saw the Royals challenged by a rival league, the American Basketball League run by Abe Saperstein, like few NBA teams ever have been. Larry Staverman and Win Wilfong had left the team for the new league. #1 draft picks Larry Siegfried and Jerry Lucas were both also signed away by the ABL. These key losses would later greatly affect the team's playoffs result. Lucas was particularly missed by Cincinnati fans. Oscar Robertson nonetheless led a balanced and solid Royals five that year, supported by Wayne Embry, Jack Twyman, Bob Boozer and Bucky Bockhorn. Draft pick Adrian Smith had arrived and joined Tom Hawkins and Hub Reed at the head of the bench. Robertson posted 28.3 points per game, and his league-leading assists total was twice that of all but one other NBA player. He sank the second-most free throws in the league, and was a strong third on the Royals in rebounds.

The Royals were consistent winners all season long, buoyed by a 10–6 November.

In the playoffs, the Royals would win their first playoff series in 11 years. The Royals upset the second-place Syracuse Nationals with an overtime win on the road in Game 5 on March 26. The two teams had each won their two home games before Robertson led the upset. It was the last NBA game ever hosted by a team in Syracuse, New York.[1] In the Eastern Finals, the Royals faced the defending World Champion Boston Celtics and stunned them with two wins at Boston Gardens to seize a 2–1 series lead. Thomas E. Wood, the team's key owner, died in 1961. An ownership dispute between competing groups came to a head in 1963 when Louis Jacobs, who had bought Cincinnati Gardens from the Wood estate, scheduled a circus for the week of the Boston series without telling the Royals. The team was furious and had to host their second home playoff game at Xavier University's small Schmidt Fieldhouse. Despite that fact, and the earlier loss of draft pick Jerry Lucas, Robertson led the team to a third win over the Celtics in Game Six to force a seventh game. The Royals lost Game Seven in Boston on April 10, 142–131. Robertson had 43 points, the Celtics' Sam Jones had 47 in that concluding game. The season marks arguably the closest the Cincinnati Royals ever came to an NBA title, despite the obstacles mentioned above.

Ballyhooed #1 pick Jerry Lucas, two-time NCAA Player of The Year, was signed away by George Steinbrenner of the ABL Cleveland Pipers, a serious blow to this year's team.

  1. 2 pick was 6' 8 Bud Olsen of Louisville, a college star with local ties.

Regular season

Season schedule

The Royals won five straight to move to 10–6 in November, and followed that with a 6–8 December. They were 9–9 in both January and February, reaching 36–31 on 2-21-63. The Royals won four straight to finish the season 42-38.

Playoffs

East Division Semifinals

(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals: Royals win series 3-2

East Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals: Celtics win series 4-3

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Bucky Bockhorn
Bob Boozer
Joe Buckhalter
Wayne Embry
Tom Hawkins
Bud Olsen
Dave Piontek
Hub Reed
Oscar Robertson
Adrian Smith
Dan Tieman
Jack Twyman

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Bucky Bockhorn
Bob Boozer
Wayne Embry
Tom Hawkins
Bud Olsen
Dave Piontek
Hub Reed
Oscar Robertson
Adrian Smith
Jack Twyman

Awards and honors

References

  1. 1 2 Cincinnati Royals (1957–1972)
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