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
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 @ 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
Roster listing
1971–72 New York Knicks roster
PlayersCoaches
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 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 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

East Conference Semifinals

(C1) Baltimore Bullets vs. (A2) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4–2

  • Game 1 @ Baltimore: Baltimore 108, New York 105 (OT)
  • Game 2 @ New York: New York 110, Baltimore 88
  • Game 3 @ Baltimore: Baltimore 104, New York 103
  • Game 4 @ New York: New York 104, Baltimore 98
  • Game 5 @ Baltimore: New York 106, Baltimore 82
  • Game 6 @ New York: New York 107, Baltimore 101

East Conference Finals

(A1) Boston Celtics vs. (A2) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4–1

  • Game 1 @ Boston: New York 116, Boston 94
  • Game 2 @ New York: New York 106, Boston 105
  • Game 3 @ Boston: Boston 115, New York 109
  • Game 4 @ New York: New York 116, Boston 98
  • Game 5 @ Boston: New York 111, Boston 103

NBA Finals
GameDateWinnerScoreSite
Game 1April 26 (Wed.)New York Knicks114–92at Los Angeles
Game 2April 30 (Sun.)Los Angeles Lakers106–92at Los Angeles
Game 3May 3 (Wed.)Los Angeles Lakers107–96at New York
Game 4May 5 (Fri.)Los Angeles Lakers116–111at New York
Game 5May 7 (Sun.)Los Angeles Lakers114–100at Los Angeles

[12]

Lakers win series 4–1

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. "Lakers' Legendary Season Leads to Elusive Title". National Basketball Association. Archived from the original on May 9, 2009. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  13. "1971–72 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Archived from the original on April 21, 2009. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  14. "NBA & ABA All-Defensive Teams". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 17, 2013.

Bibliography
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