1962 Overview

From Hoopedia

1961-62 NBA Season

It was a season of amazing feats. Wilt Chamberlain, playing but eight possible minutes of the entire season for the Philadelphia Warriors, posted the staggering averages of 50.4 points and 48.5 minutes per game. On March 2, 1962, Chamberlain scored 100 points against the Knicks in Hershey, Pa., in a 169-147 triumph, a single-game NBA scoring mark that has never been approached.

Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, guard Oscar Robertson of the Royals averaged a triple-double of 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game –another feat that has never been duplicated, though Robertson himself came close on a number of other occasions. The Chicago Packers, an expansion franchise, watched their center, Walt Bellamy, win Rookie of the Year honors by averaging 31.6 points per game (second in the league behind Chamberlain) and 19.0 rebounds per game. Bellamy also led the league with a .519 shooting percentage.

The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, went about the business of maintaining a dynasty, winning a record 60 games in an 80-game season even though, or perhaps because, no Boston player appeared among the NBA’s Top 10 in scoring.

In the Eastern Division Finals, Sam Jones hit a jump shot with two seconds left in Game 7 to give the Celtics a 109-107 win over Philadelphia.

St. Louis’ two-year run of Finals appearances ended when the Lakers won 54 games and advanced to a showdown with Boston.

The series went to a seventh game, and Frank Selvy of the Lakers had a chance to put Boston away on the parquet. But with seconds remaining and the score tied in Game 7, Selvy, a 29-year-old guard who had played in two All-Star Games, had his eight-foot shot bounce off the rim. The game went into overtime and Boston prevailed 110-107 to win a fourth straight NBA title.