1971–72 New York Knicks season

The 1971–72 New York Knicks season was the 26th season for the team in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Knicks compiled a 48–34 record in the regular season to finish second in the Atlantic Division and earn a berth in the NBA Playoffs for the sixth consecutive year.[3] New York had acquired Earl Monroe in a trade with the Baltimore Bullets in November 1971.[4]

1971–72 New York Knicks season
Conference champions
Head coachRed Holzman
General managerRed Holzman
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Results
Record48–34 (.585)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Atlantic)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Lakers 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWOR-TV
Manhattan Cable Television[1]
RadioWNBC[2]

In the first round of the playoffs, New York faced the Baltimore Bullets,[5] who had defeated the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals the previous year.[6] The Knicks won the series in six games and advanced to the conference finals, where they faced the Boston Celtics. With a 4–1 series victory,[5] New York made the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons.[3] In the Finals, the Knicks were opposed by the Los Angeles Lakers, whom they had beaten in the 1970 NBA Finals.[7] After winning Game 1 of the Finals 114–92 in Los Angeles, the Knicks lost the next four games and the series.[8] Willis Reed only played 11 games in the regular season and missed the entirety of the playoffs with a knee injury.[9][10]

Draft picks
Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 16 Dean Meminger G  United States Marquette
2 34 Gregg Northington F  United States Alabama State
3 50 Kenny Mayfield G  United States Tuskegee

[11]

Roster
1971–72 New York Knicks roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 12 Barnett, Dick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1936-10-02 Tennessee State
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
PG 10 Frazier, Walt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1945-03-29 Southern Illinois
PF 18 Jackson, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1945-09-17 North Dakota
F/C 32 Lucas, Jerry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1940-03-30 Ohio State
G 7 Meminger, Dean 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1948-05-13 Marquette
G 42 Miles, Eddie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1940-07-05 Seattle
G 15 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944-11-21 Winston-Salem State
F 16 Paulk, Charlie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) 1946–06–14 Northeastern State
C 23 Rackley, Luther 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1946-06-11 Xavier
C 19 Reed, Willis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1942-06-25 Grambling State
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Boston Celtics 5626.683–32–921–163–115–3
x-New York Knicks 4834.585827–1420–191–111–7
Philadelphia 76ers 3052.3662614–2314–262–36–12
Buffalo Braves 2260.2683413–278–311–24–14
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics5626.683
2 y-Baltimore Bullets3844.463
3 x-New York Knicks4834.585
4 x-Atlanta Hawks3646.439
5 Philadelphia 76ers3052.366
5 Cincinnati Royals3052.366
7 Cleveland Cavaliers2359.280
8 Buffalo Braves2260.268
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1971–72 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CIN CLE DET GSW HOU LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta —2–40–44–20–53–34–23–23–21–40–52–33–13–33–24–01–4
Baltimore 4–2—2–23–31–44–21–53–21–43–21–40–52–44–04–13–12–3
Boston 4–02–2—6–03–24–25–15–02–35–01–42–33–36–02–34–02–3
Buffalo 2–43–30–6—1–33–34–22–41–30–40–40–41–53–30–42–40–4
Chicago 5–04–12–33–1—3–14–05–13–35–11–32–43–24–15–16–02–3
Cincinnati 3–32–42–43–31–3—6–22–32–30–41–40–52–22–22–32–20–5
Cleveland 2–45–11–52–40–42–6—1–30–42–21–30–41–52–40–44–20–4
Detroit 2–32–30–54–21–53–23–1—0–53–31–41–51–41–42–42–20–4
Golden State 2–34–13–23–13–33–24–05–0—5–11–52–22–34–12–34–24–2
Houston 4–12–30–54–01–54–02–23–31–5—1–50–50–54–11–34–23–3
Los Angeles 5–04–14–14–03–14–13–14–15–15–1—4–14–15–04–26–05–1
Milwaukee 3–25–03–24–04–25–04–05–12–25–01–4—2–34–14–26–06–0
New York 1–34–23–35–12–32–25–14–13–25–01–43–2—3–31–43–13–2
Philadelphia 3–30–40–63–31–42–24–24–11–41–40–51–43–3—1–42–24–1
Phoenix 2–31–43–24–01–53–24–04–23–23–12–42–44–14–1—6–03–2
Portland 0–41–30–44–20–62–22–42–22–42–40–60–61–32–20–6—0–6
Seattle 4–13–23–24–03–25–04–04–02–43–31–50–62–31–42–36–0—

Playoffs
1972 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 31 @ Baltimore L 105–108 (OT) Walt Frazier (31) Jerry Lucas (14) Walt Frazier (6) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289		 0–1
2 April 2 Baltimore W 110–88 Walt Frazier (30) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (9) Madison Square Garden
19,588		 1–1
3 April 4 @ Baltimore L 103–104 Earl Monroe (28) Jerry Lucas (12) Bill Bradley (5) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289		 1–2
4 April 6 Baltimore W 104–98 Bill Bradley (25) Dave DeBusschere (13) Walt Frazier (8) Madison Square Garden
19,588		 2–2
5 April 9 @ Baltimore W 106–82 Lucas, Monroe (20) Jerry Lucas (16) Jerry Lucas (6) Baltimore Civic Center
10,244		 3–2
6 April 11 Baltimore W 107–101 Lucas, Frazier (22) Jerry Lucas (12) Frazier, Monroe (5) Madison Square Garden
19,588		 4–2
Conference Finals: 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 13 @ Boston W 116–94 Walt Frazier (36) Jerry Lucas (11) Jerry Lucas (8) Boston Garden
14,292		 1–0
2 April 16 Boston W 106–105 Dave DeBusschere (24) Dave DeBusschere (17) three players tied (4) Madison Square Garden
19,588		 2–0
3 April 19 @ Boston L 109–115 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (12) Dave DeBusschere (6) Boston Garden
15,315		 2–1
4 April 21 Boston W 116–98 Earl Monroe (26) Dave DeBusschere (16) Jerry Lucas (7) Madison Square Garden
19,588		 3–1
5 April 23 @ Boston W 111–103 Dave DeBusschere (24) Frazier, DeBusschere (11) Walt Frazier (7) Boston Garden
15,315		 4–1
NBA Finals: 1–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 26 @ Los Angeles W 114–92 Bill Bradley (29) Dave DeBusschere (18) Walt Frazier (11) The Forum
17,505		 1–0
2 April 30 @ Los Angeles L 92–106 Walt Frazier (21) Lucas, Jackson (11) Walt Frazier (7) The Forum
17,505		 1–1
3 May 3 Los Angeles L 96–107 Walt Frazier (25) Jerry Lucas (14) Jerry Lucas (6) Madison Square Garden
19,588		 1–2
4 May 5 Los Angeles L 111–116 (OT) Bill Bradley (26) Dave DeBusschere (13) Jerry Lucas (11) Madison Square Garden
19,588		 1–3
5 May 7 @ Los Angeles L 100–114 Walt Frazier (31) Dave DeBusschere (14) Walt Frazier (10) The Forum
17,505		 1–4
1972 schedule

Awards and records

References
  1. The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 331. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  2. The Fourth Estate (PDF). New York Knicks. 2003. p. 330. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  3. "New York Knickerbockers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  4. Araton, p. 211.
  5. "1971–72 New York Knickerbockers Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  6. "1971 NBA Playoff Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  7. "Lakers, Knicks Gain Hoop Final". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. April 24, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
  8. Araton, pp. 251–252.
  9. Nelson, John (March 26, 1974). "Road to Recovery Is Familiar to Willis Reed". Schenectady Gazette. Associated Press. p. 24. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  10. Carry, Peter (May 21, 1973). "Where There's A Willis". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  11. "1971 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  12. "1971–72 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  13. "NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 17, 2013.

Bibliography
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