1972–73 Boston Celtics season

The 1972–73 Boston Celtics season was their 27th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics finished the season with the best record in the league, and currently in franchise history, at 68–14. Third-year forward Dave Cowens won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tiny Archibald. They also won the Atlantic Division for the second consecutive season.

1972–73 Boston Celtics season
Division champions
Head coachTom Heinsohn
General managerRed Auerbach
ArenaBoston Garden
Results
Record68–14 (.829)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Playoff finishConference Finals
(Lost to Knicks 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWSMW
RadioWBZ

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics lost to the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks.

Draft picks
Main article: 1972 NBA draft

This table only displays picks through the second round.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 10 Paul Westphal PG/SG  United States Southern California
2 27 Dennis Wuycik SF  United States North Carolina

Roster
Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 12 Chaney, Don 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Houston
C 18 Cowens, Dave 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Florida State
C 29 Finkel, Henry 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Dayton
G/F 17 Havlicek, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Ohio State
F/C 11 Kuberski, Steve 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Bradley
F 19 Nelson, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Iowa
F 16 Sanders, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) New York
F 35 Silas, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Creighton
G 44 Westphal, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Southern California
G 10 White, Jo Jo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas
G 7 Williams, Art 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Cal Poly Pomona
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
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 6814.829–33–632–83–018–4
x-New York Knicks 5725.6951135–621–181–116–6
Buffalo Braves 2161.2564714–276–311–38–14
Philadelphia 76ers 973.110595–262–362–112–20
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics6814.829
2 x-New York Knicks5725.695
3 y-Baltimore Bullets5230.634
4 x-Atlanta Hawks4636.561
5 Houston Rockets3349.402
6 Cleveland Cavaliers3250.390
7 Buffalo Braves2161.256
8 Philadelphia 76ers973.110

Record vs. opponents
1972–73 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CLE DET GSW HOU KCO LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta —3–41–55–12–23–42–21–34–42–23–11–33–36–03–14–03–1
Baltimore 4–3—1–55–10–48–02–23–15–23–11–32–23–35–12–24–04–0
Boston 5–15–1—7–03–15–13–13–15–13–14–02–24–47–04–04–04–0
Buffalo 1–51–50–7—2–21–51–30–41–51–30–40–41–67–11–32–22–2
Chicago 2–24–01–32–2—3–13–43–34–05–21–52–43–14–04–25–15–1
Cleveland 4–30–81–55–11–3—1–31–34–32–21–31–30–66–01–31–33–1
Detroit 2–22–21–33–14–33–1—2–41–33–31–52–51–33–14–26–02–4
Golden State 3–11–31–34–03–33–14–2—3–14–23–41–52–24–02–45–14–3
Houston 4–42–51–55–10–43–43–11–3—0–41–31–31–55–12–22–22–2
Kansas City-Omaha 2–21–31–33–12–52–23–32–44–0—1–51–60–43–13–34–24–2
Los Angeles 1–33–10–44–05–13–15–14–33–15–1—3–32–24–06–16–06–0
Milwaukee 3–12–22–24–04–23–15–25–13–16–13–3—2–23–15–15–15–1
New York 3–33–34–46–11–36–03–12–25–14–02–22–2—6–13–13–14–0
Philadelphia 0–61–50–71–70–40–61–30–41–51–30–41–31–6—0–41–31–3
Phoenix 1–32–20–43–12–43–12–44–22–23–31–61–51–34–0—5–24–2
Portland 0–40–40–42–21–53–10–61–52–22–40–61–51–33–12–5—3–4
Seattle 1–30–40–42–21–51–34–23–42–22–40–61–50–43–12–44–3—

Playoffs
1973 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 1 Atlanta W 134–109 John Havlicek (54) Dave Cowens (17) Art Williams (12) Boston Garden
11,907		 1–0
2 April 4 @ Atlanta W 126–113 John Havlicek (29) Dave Cowens (25) Jo Jo White (11) Omni Coliseum
11,588		 2–0
3 April 6 Atlanta L 105–118 Jo Jo White (23) Dave Cowens (18) Jo Jo White (10) Boston Garden
15,320		 2–1
4 April 8 @ Atlanta L 94–97 John Havlicek (21) Paul Silas (22) John Havlicek (5) Omni Coliseum
11,675		 2–2
5 April 11 Atlanta W 108–101 John Havlicek (32) Dave Cowens (20) John Havlicek (11) Boston Garden
12,525		 3–2
6 April 13 @ Atlanta W 121–103 Jo Jo White (33) Paul Silas (17) Jo Jo White (7) Omni Coliseum
16,181		 4–2
Conference Finals: 3–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 15 New York W 134–108 Jo Jo White (30) Dave Cowens (15) John Havlicek (11) Boston Garden
15,320		 1–0
2 April 18 @ New York L 96–129 John Havlicek (21) Dave Cowens (13) John Havlicek (11) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 1–1
3 April 20 New York L 91–98 John Havlicek (29) Paul Silas (14) John Havlicek (6) Boston Garden
15,320		 1–2
4 April 22 @ New York L 110–117 (2OT) Jo Jo White (34) Paul Silas (23) Jo Jo White (6) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 1–3
5 April 25 New York W 98–97 Dave Cowens (32) Paul Silas (20) Jo Jo White (7) Boston Garden
15,320		 2–3
6 April 27 @ New York W 110–100 Dave Cowens (26) Dave Cowens (14) Jo Jo White (7) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 3–3
7 April 29 New York L 78–94 Dave Cowens (24) Paul Silas (16) Dave Cowens (5) Boston Garden
15,320		 3–4
1973 schedule

Awards, records and milestones

References
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