1971–72 Milwaukee Bucks season

1971–72 Milwaukee Bucks season
Division Champions
Head coach	Larry Costello
Arena	Milwaukee Arena
Results
Record	63–19 (.768)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	West Finals (Eliminated 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1971–72 Milwaukee Bucks season was the fourth season in franchise history. Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Bucks finished in first place in the Midwest Division. Abdul-Jabbar won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award ahead of Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	17	Collis Jones		United States	University of Notre Dame
3	51	Gary Brell		United States	Marquette University

^[1]

Regular season

• January 9: The Bucks ended the Los Angeles Lakers 33 game winning streak.^[2]

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	63	19	.768	–	31–5	27–12	5–2	13–5
x-Chicago Bulls	57	25	.695	6	29–12	26–12	2–1	12–6
Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	14	30–11	19–20	0–2	7–11
Detroit Pistons	26	56	.317	37	16–25	9–30	1–1	4–14

Schedule

October

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record
1	Oct 14	@ Phoenix Suns	110-97	1-0
2	Oct 16	@ Seattle SuperSonics	98-91	2-0
3	Oct 17	@ Portland Trail Blazers	127-94	3-0
4	Oct 19	Cleveland Cavaliers	116-82	4-0
5	Oct 22	Buffalo Braves	124-105	5-0
6	Oct 23	@ Philadelphia 76ers	110-88	6-0
7	Oct 26	Baltimore Bullets	120-90	7-0
8	Oct 29	@ Boston Celtics	114-125	7-1
9	Oct 31	@ Cleveland Cavaliers	118-102	8-1

November

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	Record
10	Nov 5	@ Chicago Bulls	104-102	9-1
11	Nov 6	Detroit Pistons	106-78	10-1

^[3]

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; FG= Field Goals; REB = Rebounds; AST = Assists; PTS = Points;

Player	GP	MIN	FG	REB	AST	PTS
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	81	3583	1159	1346	370	2822
Bob Dandridge	80	2957	630	613	249	1475
Oscar Robertson	64	2390	419	323	491	1114
Lucius Allen	80	2316	441	254	333	1080
Jon McGlocklin	80	2213	374	181	231	857
John Block	79	1524	233	410	95	672
Walli Jones	48	1030	144	75	141	362
Curtis Perry	50	1471	143	471	78	350
Toby Kimball	74	971	107	312	60	258
Greg Smith	28	737	97	161	63	235
Charlie Lowery	20	134	17	19	14	45

^[4]

Playoffs

West Conference Semifinals

(M1) Milwaukee Bucks vs. (P2) Golden State Warriors: Bucks win series 4–1

• Game 1 @ Milwaukee: Golden State 117, Milwaukee 106
• Game 2 @ Milwaukee: Milwaukee 118, Golden State 93
• Game 3 @ Golden State: Milwaukee 122, Golden State 94
• Game 4 @ Golden State: Milwaukee 106, Golden State 99
• Game 5 @ Milwaukee: Milwaukee 108, Golden State 100

West Conference Finals

(P1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (M1) Milwaukee Bucks: Lakers win series 4–2

• Game 1 @ Los Angeles: Milwaukee 93, Los Angeles 72
• Game 2 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 135, Milwaukee 134
• Game 3 @ Milwaukee: Los Angeles 108, Milwaukee 105
• Game 4 @ Milwaukee: Milwaukee 114, Los Angeles 88
• Game 5 @ Los Angeles: Los Angeles 115, Milwaukee 90
• Game 6 @ Milwaukee: Los Angeles 104, Milwaukee 100

Awards and honors

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA Most Valuable Player

References

1. http://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1971.html
2. Numbelivable!, p.58, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
3. 1971-72 Milwaukee Bucks Games - Basketball-Reference.com
4. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIL/1972.html