1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season

1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season
Head coach	Frank McGuire
Arena	Philadelphia Civic Center
Results
Record	49–31 (.613)
Place	Division: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Division finals (lost to Celtics 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WPTZ/WCAU/WFIL
Radio	WIBG (Bill Campbell)

The 1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors season was the sixteenth season for the National Basketball Association franchise in Philadelphia, and the last before their relocation to San Francisco, California, for the following season.

Wilt Chamberlain had the most statistically dominating season in NBA history. Chamberlain led the league with an NBA record 50.4 points per game.^[1] In one eight-day stretch in January, Chamberlain participated in three games in which he scored at least 63 points per game.^[2] On March 2, 1962, the Warriors played the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Chamberlain had the most dominating performance in NBA history as he notched 100 points before 4,124 fans.^[2] The game was actually played at the Warriors' training facility. Despite his high scoring, Wilt did not win the NBA MVP that season. The award was given to Bill Russell. The Warriors finished second behind Russell's Boston Celtics with a 49–31 record.^[2] In the playoffs, the Warriors defeated the Syracuse Nationals in five games. Russell and Chamberlain met in the Eastern Division finals. The series went for the full seven games. In Game 7, the Celtics' Sam Jones hit the winning shot with 2 seconds remaining.^[2]

Roster

Philadelphia Warriors roster

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Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From F 11 Arizin, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Villanova G 16 Attles, Al 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) North Carolina A&T C 13 Chamberlain, Wilt 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Kansas G/F 7 Conlin, Ed 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fordham G/F 15 Gola, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) La Salle G 34 Larese, York 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina F 12 Luckenbill, Ted 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Houston F 14 Meschery, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Saint Mary's F 9 Radovich, Frank 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Indiana G 5 Rodgers, Guy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Temple F 17 Ruklick, Joe 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Northwestern

Head coach Frank McGuire (St. John's) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game, named by the National Basketball Association as one of its greatest games,^[3][4] took place between the Philadelphia Warriors and the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The Warriors won the game, 169–147, setting what was then a record for the most combined points in a game by both teams. But the game is most remembered for the 100 points scored by Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain, who set the NBA single-game scoring record. The next leading scorer for Philadelphia was Al Attles with 17 points.^[5] The Knicks' leading scorer was Guerin with 39 points. In that game, Chamberlain also broke five other NBA scoring records, of which four still stand.

Season standings

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Boston Celtics	60	20	.750	–	23–5	26–12	11–3	26–10
x-Philadelphia Warriors	49	31	.613	11	18–11	19–19	12–1	18–18
x-Syracuse Nationals	41	39	.513	19	18–10	11–19	12–10	17–19
New York Knicks	29	51	.363	31	19–15	2–23	8–13	11–25

Record vs. opponents

1961–62 NBA records
Team	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	NYK	PHI	STL	SYR
Boston	–	9–1	7–1	5–3	6–3	8–4	8–4	7–2	10–2
Chicago	1–9	–	1–9	3–7	2–8	6–4	0–10	4–6	1–9
Cincinnati	1–7	9–1	–	6–6	5–7	5–4	3–5	9–3	5–4
Detroit	3–5	7–3	6–6	–	4–8	5–4	1–7	7–5	4–5
Los Angeles	3–6	8–2	7–5	8–4	–	6–2	6–3	10–2	6–2
New York	4–8	4–6	4–5	4–5	2–6	–	4–8	4–4	3–9
Philadelphia	4–8	10–0	5–3	7–1	3–6	8–4	–	6–3	6–6
St. Louis	2–7	6–4	3–9	5–7	2–10	4–4	3–6	–	4–4
Syracuse	2–10	9–1	4–5	5–4	2–6	9–3	6–6	4–4	—

Game log

1961–62 game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 19	N Los Angeles	113–118	Wilt Chamberlain (48)	0–1
2	October 20	Los Angeles	115–122	Wilt Chamberlain (57)	1–1
3	October 21	New York	95–132	Wilt Chamberlain (53)	2–1
4	October 27	Syracuse	126–122	Wilt Chamberlain (55)	2–2
5	October 28	@ Syracuse	119–115	Wilt Chamberlain (43)	3–2
6	November 3	Boston	112–98	Wilt Chamberlain (28)	3–3
7	November 4	Detroit	132–135	Wilt Chamberlain (58)	4–3
8	November 8	@ Detroit	132–128	Wilt Chamberlain (58)	5–3
9	November 9	Syracuse	108–151	Wilt Chamberlain (55)	6–3
10	November 11	@ Boston	125–128	Wilt Chamberlain (41)	6–4
11	November 14	@ New York	122–124	Wilt Chamberlain (34)	6–5
12	November 15	Cincinnati	133–145	Wilt Chamberlain (43)	7–5
13	November 17	Los Angeles	125–121	Wilt Chamberlain (56)	7–6
14	November 18	@ Syracuse	130–148	Wilt Chamberlain (39)	7–7
15	November 19	@ Chicago	122–114	Wilt Chamberlain (51)	8–7
16	November 21	@ Cincinnati	125–118	Wilt Chamberlain (45)	9–7
17	November 23	Boston	119–106	Wilt Chamberlain (31)	9–8
18	November 25	Chicago	102–134	Wilt Chamberlain (39)	10–8
19	November 28	@ St. Louis	121–111	Wilt Chamberlain (39)	11–8
20	December 1	@ Los Angeles	138–117	Wilt Chamberlain (60)	12–8
21	December 2	@ Los Angeles	119–129	Wilt Chamberlain (37)	12–9
22	December 5	@ New York	122–105	Wilt Chamberlain (39)	13–9
23	December 6	St. Louis	137–132	Wilt Chamberlain (39)	13–10
24	December 8	Los Angeles	151–147 (3OT)	Wilt Chamberlain (78)	13–11
25	December 9	Chicago	113–135	Wilt Chamberlain (61)	14–11
26	December 10	N Chicago	118–109	Wilt Chamberlain (55)	15–11
27	December 12	N Detroit	132–109	Wilt Chamberlain (54)	16–11
28	December 13	@ Boston	113–123	Wilt Chamberlain (52)	16–12
29	December 14	Syracuse	125–136	Wilt Chamberlain (43)	17–12
30	December 16	@ Chicago	112–110	Wilt Chamberlain (50)	18–12
31	December 19	@ Cincinnati	117–110	Wilt Chamberlain (57)	19–12
32	December 20	@ Detroit	117–102	Wilt Chamberlain (55)	20–12
33	December 25	@ New York	135–136 (2OT)	Wilt Chamberlain (59)	20–13
34	December 26	N Syracuse	111–118	Wilt Chamberlain (51)	21–13
35	December 27	New York	119–131	Wilt Chamberlain (53)	22–13
36	December 29	N Los Angeles	123–118	Wilt Chamberlain (60)	23–13
37	December 30	Boston	116–111 (OT)	Wilt Chamberlain (41)	23–14
38	January 1	@ Los Angeles	111–114	Wilt Chamberlain (32)	23–15
39	January 3	@ Los Angeles	123–124	Wilt Chamberlain (36)	23–16
40	January 5	St. Louis	116–134	Wilt Chamberlain (53)	24–16
41	January 7	@ St. Louis	112–137	Wilt Chamberlain (55)	24–17
42	January 9	Syracuse	129–120	Wilt Chamberlain (47)	24–18
43	January 10	@ Detroit	113–110	Wilt Chamberlain (39)	25–18
44	January 11	@ Cincinnati	128–145	Wilt Chamberlain (52)	25–19
45	January 13	Chicago	117–135	Wilt Chamberlain (73)	26–19
46	January 14	@ Boston	136–145	Wilt Chamberlain (62)	26–20
47	January 17	N St. Louis	130–136 (OT)	Wilt Chamberlain (62)	27–20
48	January 18	Cincinnati	151–133	Wilt Chamberlain (54)	27–21
49	January 19	N Detroit	136–125	Wilt Chamberlain (53)	28–21
50	January 20	Detroit	107–123	Wilt Chamberlain (44)	29–21
51	January 21	N Syracuse	132–139 (OT)	Wilt Chamberlain (62)	30–21
52	January 24	N Chicago	122–108	Wilt Chamberlain (55)	31–21
53	January 26	N St. Louis	110–136	Wilt Chamberlain (47)	32–21
54	January 27	Boston	106–131	Wilt Chamberlain (53)	33–21
55	January 28	@ Boston	133–129 (OT)	Wilt Chamberlain (50)	34–21
56	January 30	@ New York	110–116	Wilt Chamberlain (55)	34–22
57	February 1	Cincinnati	109–130	Wilt Chamberlain (53)	35–22
58	February 2	N New York	129–116	Wilt Chamberlain (35)	36–22
59	February 3	@ Syracuse	112–134	Wilt Chamberlain (41)	36–23
60	February 4	Syracuse	117–128	Wilt Chamberlain (50)	37–23
61	February 8	N New York	136–120	Wilt Chamberlain (59)	38–23
62	February 9	@ Boston	126–124	Wilt Chamberlain (48)	39–23
63	February 10	Boston	106–107	Wilt Chamberlain (38)	40–23
64	February 11	@ New York	121–111	Wilt Chamberlain (42)	41–23
65	February 13	@ Cincinnati	132–152	Wilt Chamberlain (65)	41–24
66	February 14	@ Detroit	110–119	Wilt Chamberlain (42)	41–25
67	February 16	Cincinnati	132–136	Wilt Chamberlain (48)	42–25
68	February 17	@ St. Louis	121–128	Wilt Chamberlain (67)	42–26
69	February 20	N Chicago	112–107	Wilt Chamberlain (48)	43–26
70	February 21	@ Syracuse	109–150	Wilt Chamberlain (46)	43–27
71	February 22	St. Louis	121–139	Wilt Chamberlain (61)	44–27
72	February 24	Boston	109–86	Wilt Chamberlain (26)	44–28
73	February 25	New York	149–135	Wilt Chamberlain (67)	44–29
74	February 27	@ St. Louis	147–137	Wilt Chamberlain (65)	45–29
75	February 28	@ Chicago	128–119	Wilt Chamberlain (61)	46–29
76	March 2	New York	169–147	Wilt Chamberlain (100)	47–29
77	March 4	@ New York	129–128	Wilt Chamberlain (58)	48–29
78	March 7	@ Boston	102–153	Wilt Chamberlain (30)	48–30
79	March 11	@ Syracuse	130–148	Wilt Chamberlain (44)	48–31
80	March 14	@ Chicago	119–115 (OT)	Wilt Chamberlain (34)	49–31

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN=Minutes; FG= Field Goals; FT= Free Throws; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

= Indicates team leader

Player	GP	MIN	FG	FT	REB	AST	PTS
Wilt Chamberlain	80	3882	1597	835	2052	192	4029
Paul Arizin
Tom Meschery
Al Attles
Tom Gola
Guy Rodgers	80	2648	267	121	348	643	655

^[6]

Playoffs

1962 playoff game log
Division Semi-finals: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 16 Syracuse W 110–103 Paul Arizin (43) Wilt Chamberlain (25) Guy Rodgers (8) Philadelphia Civic Center 6,937 1–0 2 March 18 @ Syracuse W 97–82 Wilt Chamberlain (28) Wilt Chamberlain (26) Wilt Chamberlain (4) Onondaga War Memorial 5,250 2–0 3 March 19 Syracuse L 100–101 Wilt Chamberlain (40) Wilt Chamberlain (25) Guy Rodgers (9) Philadelphia Civic Center 5,328 2–1 4 March 20 @ Syracuse L 99–106 Wilt Chamberlain (29) Wilt Chamberlain (9) Guy Rodgers (7) Onondaga War Memorial 2–2 5 March 22 Syracuse W 121–104 Wilt Chamberlain (56) Wilt Chamberlain (35) Guy Rodgers (10) Philadelphia Civic Center 7,829 3–2
Division finals: 3–4 (home: 3–0; road: 0–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Series 1 March 24 @ Boston L 89–117 Wilt Chamberlain (33) Wilt Chamberlain (31) Chamberlain, Arizin (3) Boston Garden 0–1 2 March 27 Boston W 113–106 Wilt Chamberlain (42) Wilt Chamberlain (37) Guy Rodgers (10) Philadelphia Civic Center 1–1 3 March 28 @ Boston L 114–129 Wilt Chamberlain (35) Wilt Chamberlain (29) Wilt Chamberlain (6) Boston Garden 1–2 4 March 31 Boston W 110–106 Wilt Chamberlain (41) Wilt Chamberlain (34) Guy Rodgers (10) Philadelphia Civic Center 2–2 5 April 1 @ Boston L 104–119 Wilt Chamberlain (30) Wilt Chamberlain (14) Guy Rodgers (9) Boston Garden 2–3 6 April 3 Boston W 109–99 Wilt Chamberlain (32) Wilt Chamberlain (21) Guy Rodgers (10) Philadelphia Civic Center 3–3 7 April 5 @ Boston L 107–109 Tom Meschery (32) Wilt Chamberlain (22) Guy Rodgers (8) Boston Garden 3–4
1962 schedule

Awards and honors

• Wilt Chamberlain, NBA All-Star Game
• Paul Arizin, NBA All-Star Game
• Tom Gola, NBA All-Star Game
• Wilt Chamberlain, NBA scoring champion
• Wilt Chamberlain, All-NBA First Team
• Wilt Chamberlain, NBA Leader, Rebounds, 2,052
• Wilt Chamberlain, NBA Leader, Points per Game, 50.4
• Wilt Chamberlain, NBA Record, Most Points in One Game (see Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game)

Relocation to San Francisco

Following the season, the Warriors moved west to San Francisco after Edward Gottlieb sold the team to a Bay Area credit card company.^[2] Despite the loss, Philadelphia was without pro-basketball for just that one season. The Syracuse Nationals, who challenged the Warriors in the playoffs for many years, moved to Philadelphia in 1963, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers.^[2]

References

1. Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
2. Philadelphia Warriors (1946–1962)
3. Lawrence, Mitch (October 15, 1999). "Chamberlain's feats the stuff of legend". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
4. Bork, p. 33–35
5. Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0.
6. "1961–62 Philadelphia Warriors Roster and Stats".

External links

• 1961–62 Warriors on Basketball Reference