1972–73 Boston Celtics season

1972–73 Boston Celtics season
Atlantic Division Champions
Head coach	Tom Heinsohn
General manager	Red Auerbach
Arena	Boston Garden
Results Record 68–14 (.829) Place Division: 1st (Atlantic) Playoff finish East Conference Finals (eliminated 3–4) Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com Local media Television WSMW Radio WBZ < 1971–72 1973–74 >

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 at 68–14. This mark is still the Celtics franchise best. Third-year forward Dave Cowens won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tiny Archibald.

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

Offseason

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Boston Celtics	68	14	.829	–	33–6	32–8	3–0	18–4
x-New York Knicks	57	25	.695	11	35–6	21–18	1–1	16–6
Buffalo Braves	21	61	.256	47	14–27	6–31	1–3	8–14
Philadelphia 76ers	9	73	.110	59	5–26	2–36	2–11	2–20

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Boston Celtics	68	14	.829
2	y-Baltimore Bullets	52	30	.634
3	x-New York Knicks	57	25	.695
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	46	36	.561
5	Houston Rockets	33	49	.402
6	Cleveland Cavaliers	32	50	.390
7	Buffalo Braves	21	61	.256
8	Philadelphia 76ers	9	73	.110

Playoffs

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks: Celtics win series 4–2

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 134, Atlanta 109
• Game 2 @ Atlanta: Boston 126, Atlanta 113
• Game 3 @ Boston: Atlanta 118, Boston 105
• Game 4 @ Atlanta: Atlanta 97, Boston 94
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 108, Atlanta 101
• Game 6 @ Atlanta: Boston 121, Atlanta 103

East Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 4–3

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 134, New York 108
• Game 2 @ New York: New York 129, Boston 96
• Game 3 @ Boston: New York 98, Boston 91
• Game 4 @ New York: New York 117, Boston 110 (2OT)
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 98, New York 97
• Game 6 @ New York: Boston 110, New York 100
• Game 7 @ Boston: New York 94, Boston 78

Player statistics

Legend
GP  Games played	GS  Games started	MPG  Minutes per game
FG%  Field goal percentage	3FG%  3-point field goal percentage	FT%  Free throw percentage
RPG  Rebounds per game	APG  Assists per game	SPG  Steals per game
BPG  Blocks per game	PPG  Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG

Awards, records and milestones

Awards

• Most Valuable Player: Dave Cowens, Boston Celtics
• Coach of the Year: Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics
• All-NBA First Team:
  • John Havlicek, Boston Celtics

• NBA All-Defensive Team:
• First Team:
  • John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
• Second Team:
  • Paul Silas, Boston Celtics
  • Don Chaney, Boston Celtics

References

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference

1972–73 NBA season by team 1972 NBA Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals Transactions Eastern Atlantic Boston Buffalo New York Philadelphia Central Atlanta Baltimore Cleveland Houston Western Midwest Chicago Detroit Kansas City-Omaha Milwaukee Pacific Golden State Los Angeles Phoenix Portland Seattle

Boston Celtics Founded in 1946 Based in Boston, Massachusetts The franchise Franchise Team history All-time roster Seasons Accomplishments Head coaches Current season Arenas Boston Arena Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center TD Garden Administration Boston Basketball Partners (owner) Wyc Grousbeck (CEO) Wyc Grousbeck, H. Irving Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca (Managing Partners) Danny Ainge (General Manager) Brad Stevens (Head Coach) General managers Brown Auerbach Volk Wallace Ainge Retired numbers 00 1 2 3 6 10 14 15 16 17 18 LOSCY 19 21 22 23 24 25 31 32 33 35 MIC Hall of Famers Boston Celtics Hall of Famers D-League Affiliate Maine Red Claws Rivals Philadelphia 76ers Los Angeles Lakers Detroit Pistons New York Knicks Brooklyn Nets Miami Heat Culture Celtics parquet floor Celtic Pride Greatest game ever played Tommy Points "Love ya, Cooz!" Close, but no cigar! Bill Russell Beat L.A. Mike Gorman Johnny Most "Havlicek stole the ball!" Henderson steals the ball! Bird steals the ball! Boston Garden North Station The Heat Game Memorial Day Massacre Larry Legend DJ The Chief The Truth The Big Three Media TV CSN New England Radio WEEI Announcers Mike Gorman Tom Heinsohn Donny Marshall Greg Dickerson Sean Grande Cedric Maxwell NBA Championships (17) 1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1974 1976 1981 1984 1986 2008

Boston Celtics seasons Franchise History Seasons 1940s 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1950s 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1960s 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1970s 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1980s 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1990s 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 2000s 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2010s 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 Bold indicates NBA Finals victory