1973 NBA Finals

1973 basketball championship series August 2023 NBA 1973 Los Angeles Lakers Bill Sharman 1 New York Knicks Red Holzman 4 May 1–10 Willis Reed(New York Knicks) Knicks:Jerry Lucas (1980)Willis Reed (1982)Bill Bradley (1983)Dave DeBusschere (1983)Walt Frazier (1987)Earl Monroe (1990)Phil Jackson (2007, as a coach)Dick Barnett (2024) Lakers:Wilt Chamberlain (1979)Jerry West (1980)Gail Goodrich (1996)Pat Riley (2008, as a coach)Coaches:Red Holzman (1986)Bill Sharman (2004)Officials:Darell Garretson (2016)Mendy Rudolph (2007) Knicks defeated Celtics, 4–3 Lakers defeated Warriors, 4–1 The 1973 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1972–73 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, and the culmination of that season's playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks defeated the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers in five games to win their second championship. The series was an exact reversal of the prior year, this time with the Lakers winning Game 1 and the Knicks taking the next four games. Knicks center Willis Reed was named as the NBA Finals MVP. The Knicks' next championship win would also be a Game 5 road win - 53 years, 1 month, 3 days later in 2026. Background Los Angeles Lakers 1972–73 Los Angeles Lakers season The Los Angeles Lakers entered the 1973 NBA playoffs as co-favorites in the West with the Milwaukee Bucks, but both teams faced inspired opponents in the first round. The Chicago Bulls gave the Lakers all they could handle before the Lakers came from behind in Game 7 to take the series. The Lakers next faced the Golden State Warriors for the Western Conference championship (the Warriors had upset the Bucks in six games). In Game 1, the Lakers won by 2, and in Game 2 the Lakers won by 10. In Game 3 at Oakland, the Lakers routed the Warriors 126–70, but the Warriors won Game 4 to send the series back to Los Angeles. In the Forum, the Lakers took Game 5 and advanced to their fifth NBA Finals series in six seasons. New York Knicks 1972–73 New York Knicks season One year after their NBA Finals loss, the Knicks were back in the playoffs. For some of the Knicks, including Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe, this was probably their last shot at an NBA title. In the first round they paired against the Baltimore Bullets. The Knicks won games 1 and 2 in New York, but lost Game 3 at Baltimore (in that game, the Bullets used a strange lineup of two centers and three guards). New York would take Games 4 and 5 and Walt Frazier averaged 20 points per game in this series. In the Conference finals, the Knicks faced the 68–14 Boston Celtics, who not only had the league's best record but also, to that point, the third-best won-lost record in NBA history. The Celtics routed New York, 134–108, Game 1 at the Boston Garden, but the Knicks returned the favor with a 129–96 rout in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks then beat the Celtics in Game 3 in Boston, and took a 3–1 series lead with a double overtime Easter Sunday win back in New York. Boston came back with two critical wins, winning 98–97 in Boston on two Paul Silas free throws, then regaining the home-court advantage with a 110–100 win at New York in Game 6. For Game 7, however, the Celtics were without their star John Havlicek, who was nursing an elbow injury. In that Game 7, played in Boston, the Celtics unbeaten record in seventh games played in Boston Garden was snapped when New York won easily, 94–78. Road to the Finals 1973 NBA playoffs Los Angeles Lakers (Western Conference champion) New York Knicks (Eastern Conference champion)LAL2nd seed in the West, 3rd best league recordRegular seasonNYK2nd seed in the East, 4th best league recordDefeated the (3) Chicago Bulls, 4–3Conference SemifinalsDefeated the (2) Baltimore Bullets, 4–1Defeated the (4) Golden State Warriors, 4–1Conference FinalsDefeated the (1) Boston Celtics, 4–3 Series summary After losing the first game, the Knicks reeled off four straight wins to reclaim the NBA title. The Knicks would not make it back to the NBA Finals until 1994 and would not win another NBA Championship until 2026. This would also be the last Finals appearance of the decade for the Lakers. Their next appearance would be in 1980, which would be the first of nine Finals appearances in 12 years for the franchise. Game Date Home team Result Road team Game 1 May 1 Los Angeles Lakers 115–112 (1–0) New York Knicks Game 2 May 3 Los Angeles Lakers 95–99 (1–1) New York Knicks Game 3 May 6 New York Knicks 87–83 (2–1) Los Angeles Lakers Game 4 May 8 New York Knicks 103–98 (3–1) Los Angeles Lakers Game 5 May 10 Los Angeles Lakers 93–102 (1–4) New York Knicks Knicks win series 4-1 This was the only NBA Championship for Jerry Lucas and Earl Monroe. Game 5 of the series was Wilt Chamberlain's last game played in the NBA. Chamberlain scored the last points of the game, and of his career, on an uncontested fast break dunk with one second remaining. ABC televised its last NBA Finals, until 2003. This is, to date, the last time a New York/Los Angeles NBA Finals of any combination has taken place, as well as the fifth-to-last championship series contested by both cities in any sport (the 1981 World Series is the last matchup in the 20th century, and the 2024 World Series is the latest). Game summaries Game 1 #eee May 1 New York Knicks 112 Los Angeles Lakers 115 26–29 23–30 30–36 33–20 Dave DeBusschere 25 Dave DeBusschere 16 Walt Frazier 8 Gail Goodrich 30 Wilt Chamberlain 20 Wilt Chamberlain 6 Los Angeles leads series, 1–0 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Mendy Rudolph, Jack Madden Boxscore ABC Game 2 #eee May 3 Boxscore New York Knicks 99 Los Angeles Lakers 95 24–23 26–23 26–26 23–23 Bill Bradley 26 DeBusschere, Reed 9 each Jerry Lucas 5 Jerry West 32 Wilt Chamberlain 20 Goodrich, West 5 Series tied, 1–1 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Jake O'Donnell, Ed Rush ABC Game 3 #eee May 6 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 83 New York Knicks 87 24–26 23–18 13–25 23–18 Jim McMillian 22 Wilt Chamberlain 13 Wilt Chamberlain 5 Willis Reed 22 Dave DeBusschere 11 Earl Monroe 6 New York leads series, 2–1 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 Jack Madden, Don Murphy ABC Game 4 #eee May 8 Boxscore Los Angeles Lakers 98 New York Knicks 103 16–29 28–26 25–27 29–21 Goodrich, West 23 Wilt Chamberlain 19 Bill Bridges 7 Dave DeBusschere 33 Dave DeBusschere 14 Walt Frazier 8 New York leads series, 3–1 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 19,694 Mendy Rudolph, Darell Garretson ABC Game 5 #eee May 10 Boxscore New York Knicks 102 Los Angeles Lakers 93 23–16 16–25 32–18 31–34 Earl Monroe 23 Willis Reed 12 Willis Reed 7 Gail Goodrich 28 Wilt Chamberlain 21 Jerry West 4 New York wins NBA Finals, 4–1 The Forum, Inglewood, California 17,505 Don Murphy, Darell Garretson ABC Team rosters New York Knicks New York Knicks 1972–73 12 Dick Barnett SG 6 4 190 Tennessee State 1936–10–02 17 Henry Bibby PG 6 1 185 UCLA 1949–11–24 24 Bill Bradley SF 6 5 205 Princeton 1943–07–28 22 Dave DeBusschere PF 6 6 220 Detroit Mercy 1940–10–16 10 Walt Frazier PG 6 4 200 Southern Illinois 1945–03–29 40 John Gianelli C 6 10 220 Pacific 1950–06–10 18 Phil Jackson PF 6 8 220 North Dakota 1945–09–17 32 Jerry Lucas PF 6 8 230 Ohio State 1940–03–30 7 Dean Meminger SG 6 0 175 Marquette 1948–05–13 15 Earl Monroe SG 6 3 185 Winston-Salem State 1944–11–21 19 Willis Reed C 6 9 235 Grambling State 1942–06–25 6 Tom Riker C 6 10 225 South Carolina 1950–02–28 43 Harthorne Wingo F 6 6 210 Friendship Junior College 1947–09–09 Red Holzman Dick McGuire https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1973.html/ 1973–05–10 Los Angeles Lakers Los Angeles Lakers 1972–73 32 Bill Bridges Bill Bridges (basketball) PF 6 6 228 Kansas 1939-04-04 30 Roger Brown Roger Brown (basketball, born 1950) C 6 11 225 Kansas 1950-02-23 13 Wilt Chamberlain C 7 1 275 Kansas 1936-08-21 31 Mel Counts C 7 0 230 Oregon State 1941-10-16 14 Leroy Ellis C 6 10 210 St. John's 1940-03-10 24 Keith Erickson SF 6 5 195 UCLA 1944-04-19 25 Gail Goodrich SG 6 1 170 UCLA 1943-04-23 33 Travis Grant SF 6 7 215 Kentucky State 1950-01-01 52 Happy Hairston PF 6 7 255 NYU 1942-05-31 5 Jim McMillian SF 6 5 225 Columbia 1948-03-11 15 Jim Price Jim Price (basketball) PG 6 3 195 Louisville 1949-11-27 12 Pat Riley SG 6 4 205 Kentucky 1945-03-20 21 Flynn Robinson SG 6 1 185 Wyoming 1941-04-28 31 John Trapp John Trapp (basketball) SF 6 7 210 UNLV 1945-10-02 30 Bill Turner Bill Turner (basketball) PF 6 7 220 Akron 1944-02-18 44 Jerry West PG 6 2 175 West Virginia 1938-05-28 *Bill Sharman https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/1972.html 2013-03-22 See also 1972–73 NBA season 1973 NBA playoffs References External links NBA History Category:NBA Finals Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:1970s in Los Angeles County, California NBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in New York City Category:Basketball competitions in Inglewood, California NBA Finals NBA Finals