1966 NBA All-Star Game

Exhibition basketball game August 2023 1966 NBA All-Star Game East 33 30 38 36 137 West 18 18 32 26 94 January 11, 1966 Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati Norm Drucker and John Vanak 13,653 Adrian Smith SNI Harry Caray 1965 1967 The 16th Annual NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on January 11, 1966, at Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, home of the Cincinnati Royals (now known as the Sacramento Kings). To date, it is the only NBA All-Star Game held in Cincinnati, as the Royals would relocate to Kansas City and become the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in 1972. This was the second and most recent time the franchise hosted the All-Star Game as it had previously hosted the 1956 game in Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals. It was also the first All-Star Game to be hosted in the state of Ohio; subsequent games in the state were hosted in Richfield and Cleveland by the Cleveland Cavaliers, which was formed in 1970. right Fred Schaus 1967.jpeg Arnold "Red" Auerbach (10559397575).jpg 300 Fred Schaus and Red Auerbach were selected as the West and East head coach, respectively. The coaches were the Boston Celtics' Red Auerbach for the East and the Los Angeles Lakers' Fred Schaus for the West, as the Lakers and Celtics had made the previous year's finals and led their respective divisions entering the game.https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1966_standings_by_date_western_division.html 1965-66 NBA Standings by Date Basketball Reference June 21, 2026https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1966_standings_by_date_eastern_division.html 1965-66 NBA Standings by Date Basketball Reference June 21, 2026 Much of the game would focus around the local team's three named All-Stars. Cincinnati Royals' Oscar Robertson had been named the event's MVP in 1964, and Jerry Lucas had been named MVP in 1965. At game time, the East Division's top three teams, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers and Cincinnati, had the three best records in the league, with the New York Knicks trailing far behind. This led East coach Red Auerbach to name Cincinnati's Adrian Smith as a reserve and not New York's sharpshooting Dick Barnett, a source of some controversy at the time. The home crowd rallied behind Smith as he emerged as the game's star. It was Smith's only All-Star appearance, and he remains to-date the only one-time NBA All-Star ever named the event's MVP. The East beat the West 137–94. The overmatched West suffered not just from poor shooting, but also from losing key All-Star Jerry West to an eye injury in the first quarter. The game was nationally televised, with an attendance of 13,653. Eastern Division Player, Team MINFGMFGAFTMFTAREBASTPFPTS Adrian Smith, CIN 26 9 18 6 6 8 3 5 24 Wilt Chamberlain, PHI 25 8 11 5 9 9 3 2 21 John Havlicek, BOS 25 6 16 6 6 6 1 2 18 Oscar Robertson, CIN 25 6 12 5 6 10 8 0 17 Chet Walker, PHI 25 3 10 2 3 6 4 2 8 Willis Reed, NYK 23 7 11 2 2 8 1 3 16 Jerry Lucas, CIN 23 4 11 2 2 19 0 2 10 Hal Greer, PHI 23 4 13 1 1 5 1 4 9 Bill Russell, BOS 23 1 6 0 0 10 2 2 2 Sam Jones, BOS 22 5 11 2 2 2 5 0 12 Totals 240 53 119 31 37 83 28 22 137 Western Division Player, Team MINFGMFGAFTMFTAREBASTPFPTS Guy Rodgers, SFW 34 4 11 0 0 7 11 4 8 Nate Thurmond, SFW 33 3 16 1 3 16 1 1 7 Eddie Miles, DET 28 8 16 1 5 1 0 1 17 Bailey Howell, BAL 26 3 11 1 2 2 2 4 7 Zelmo Beaty, STL 24 0 11 10 13 18 1 2 10 Don Ohl, BAL 23 7 16 2 3 4 2 2 16 Rudy LaRusso, LAL 22 4 10 3 7 3 2 2 11 Dave DeBusschere, DET 22 1 14 2 2 6 1 1 4 Rick Barry, SFW 17 4 10 2 4 2 2 6 10 Jerry West, LAL 11 1 5 2 2 1 0 2 4 Totals 240 35 120 24 41 60 22 25 94 Score by periods Score by periods: 1234Final East 33 30 38 36 137 West 18 18 32 26 94 Halftime— East, 63–36 Third Quarter— East, 101–68 Officials: Norm Drucker and John Vanak Attendance: 13,653. References The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia Villard Books 1994 246 0-679-43293-0 basketball-reference.com 1966 NBA All-Star Game https://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA_1966.html 2008-07-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20080803162333/http://www.basketball-reference.com/allstar/NBA_1966.html 3 August 2008 live Category:NBA All-Star Game All-Star Category:Basketball competitions in Cincinnati Category:1966 in sports in Ohio Category:1960s in Cincinnati