1972–73 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 1972–73 NBA season was the Bucks' fifth season in the NBA.^[1]

1972–73 Milwaukee Bucks season
Division champions
Head coach	Larry Costello
President	John Steinmiller (vice)
General manager	Wayne Embry
Owners	Milwaukee Professional Sports and Services, Inc. (Milwaukee Pro)
Arena	Milwaukee Arena
Results
Record	60–22 (.732)
Place	Division: 1st (Midwest) Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Warriors 2–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
< 1971–72 1973–74 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1972 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	6	Russ Lee	G/F	United States	Marshall
1	12	Julius Erving	SF/SG	United States	Massachusetts Amherst
2	29	Chuck Terry	F	United States	California State-Long Beach
3	46	George Adams	F/G	United States	Gardner-Webb
4	63	Art White		United States	Georgetown
5	79	Ron Harris		United States	Wichita State
7	113	Mickey Davis	F/G	United States	Duquesne
8	129	Charles Kirkland		United States	Cheyney (PA)
9	143	Jim Regenold		United States	Ball State
10	156	Jolly Spight		United States	Santa Clara

Roster

1972–73 Milwaukee Bucks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1947–04–16 UCLA G 42 Lucius Allen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1947–09–26 UCLA C 34 Dick Cunningham 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1946–07–11 Murray State F 10 Bob Dandridge 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1947–11–15 Norfolk State G 20 Mickey Davis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1950–06–16 Duquesne F 7 Terry Driscoll 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947–08–28 Boston College F 21 Russ Lee 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1950–01–27 Marshall G 14 Jon McGlocklin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1943–06–10 Indiana F 18 Curtis Perry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1948–09–13 Missouri State G 1 Oscar Robertson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1938–11–24 Cincinnati C 54 Dale Schlueter 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1945–11–12 Colorado State F 31 Chuck Terry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1950–09–27 Long Beach State

Head coach Larry Costello Assistant(s) Hubie Brown Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732	–	33–5	25–15	2–2	15–5
x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622	9	29–12	20–19	2–0	10–10
Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	20	26–15	13–25	1–2	9–11
Kansas City–Omaha Kings	36	46	.439	24	24–17	12–29	–	6–14

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Milwaukee Bucks	60	22	.732
2	y-Los Angeles Lakers	60	22	.732
3	x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622
4	x-Golden State Warriors	47	35	.573
5	Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488
6	Phoenix Suns	38	44	.463
7	Kansas City–Omaha Kings	36	46	.439
8	Seattle SuperSonics	26	56	.317
9	Portland Trail Blazers	21	61	.256

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1972–73 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCO	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA
Atlanta	–	3–4	1–5	5–1	2–2	3–4	2–2	1–3	4–4	2–2	3–1	1–3	3–3	6–0	3–1	4–0	3–1
Baltimore	4–3	–	1–5	5–1	0–4	8–0	2–2	3–1	5–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–3	5–1	2–2	4–0	4–0
Boston	5–1	5–1	–	7–0	3–1	5–1	3–1	3–1	5–1	3–1	4–0	2–2	4–4	7–0	4–0	4–0	4–0
Buffalo	1–5	1–5	0–7	–	2–2	1–5	1–3	0–4	1–5	1–3	0–4	0–4	1–6	7–1	1–3	2–2	2–2
Chicago	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	–	3–1	3–4	3–3	4–0	5–2	1–5	2–4	3–1	4–0	4–2	5–1	5–1
Cleveland	4–3	0–8	1–5	5–1	1–3	–	1–3	1–3	4–3	2–2	1–3	1–3	0–6	6–0	1–3	1–3	3–1
Detroit	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	4–3	3–1	–	2–4	1–3	3–3	1–5	2–5	1–3	3–1	4–2	6–0	2–4
Golden State	3–1	1–3	1–3	4–0	3–3	3–1	4–2	–	3–1	4–2	3–4	1–5	2–2	4–0	2–4	5–1	4–3
Houston	4–4	2–5	1–5	5–1	0–4	3–4	3–1	1–3	–	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–5	5–1	2–2	2–2	2–2
Kansas City-Omaha	2–2	1–3	1–3	3–1	2–5	2–2	3–3	2–4	4–0	–	1–5	1–6	0–4	3–1	3–3	4–2	4–2
Los Angeles	1–3	3–1	0–4	4–0	5–1	3–1	5–1	4–3	3–1	5–1	–	3–3	2–2	4–0	6–1	6–0	6–0
Milwaukee	3–1	2–2	2–2	4–0	4–2	3–1	5–2	5–1	3–1	6–1	3–3	–	2–2	3–1	5–1	5–1	5–1
New York	3–3	3–3	4–4	6–1	1–3	6–0	3–1	2–2	5–1	4–0	2–2	2–2	–	6–1	3–1	3–1	4–0
Philadelphia	0–6	1–5	0–7	1–7	0–4	0–6	1–3	0–4	1–5	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–6	–	0–4	1–3	1–3
Phoenix	1–3	2–2	0–4	3–1	2–4	3–1	2–4	4–2	2–2	3–3	1–6	1–5	1–3	4–0	–	5–2	4–2
Portland	0–4	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–5	3–1	0–6	1–5	2–2	2–4	0–6	1–5	1–3	3–1	2–5	–	3–4
Seattle	1–3	0–4	0–4	2–2	1–5	1–3	4–2	3–4	2–2	2–4	0–6	1–5	0–4	3–1	2–4	4–3	—

Game log

1972–73 game log Total: 60–22 (home: 33–5; road: 25–15; neutral: 2–2)
October: 8–1 (home: 2–0; road: 6–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 13, 1972 @ Phoenix W 117–105 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1–0 2 October 14, 1972 @ Golden State W 117–105 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 2–0 3 October 17, 1972 @ Portland L 108–117 Memorial Coliseum 2–1 4 October 20, 1972 Detroit W 109–89 Milwaukee Arena 3–1 5 October 21, 1972 @ Buffalo W 91–63 Buffalo Memorial Auditorium 4–1 6 October 22, 1972 @ Cleveland W 104–84 Cleveland Arena 5–1 7 October 25, 1972 Buffalo W 109–92 Milwaukee Arena 6–1 8 October 26, 1972 @ Kansas City–Omaha W 114–107 Omaha Civic Auditorium 7–1 9 October 28, 1972 @ Philadelphia W 96–92 The Spectrum 8–1
November: 3–1 (home: 3–1; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 10 November 4, 1972 Phoenix W 104–105 Milwaukee Arena 8–2 11 November 5, 1972 Philadelphia W 131–113 Milwaukee Arena 9–2 12 November 8, 1972 Seattle W 116–103 Milwaukee Arena 10–2 13 November 10, 1972 Baltimore W 120–82 Milwaukee Arena 11–2
December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1972–73 schedule

Playoffs

1973 playoff game log
Conference Semi-finals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 30 Golden State W 110–90 Abdul-Jabbar, Robertson (22) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24) Oscar Robertson (12) Milwaukee Arena 10,746 1–0 2 April 1 Golden State L 92–95 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15) five players tied (3) Milwaukee Arena 10,379 1–1 3 April 5 @ Golden State W 113–93 Oscar Robertson (34) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18) Oscar Robertson (8) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,493 2–1 4 April 7 @ Golden State L 97–102 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25) Perry, Abdul-Jabbar (14) Oscar Robertson (7) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,173 2–2 5 April 10 Golden State L 97–100 four players tied (19) Perry, Abdul-Jabbar (12) Oscar Robertson (11) University of Wisconsin Field House 12,204 2–3 6 April 13 @ Golden State L 86–100 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14) Lucius Allen (5) Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,175 2–4
1973 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	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	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	76	42.8	55.4	71.3	16.1	5.0	30.2
Bob Dandridge	73	39.1	47.2	78.9	8.2	2.8	20.2
Oscar Robertson	73	37.5	45.4	84.7	4.9	7.5	15.5
Lucius Allen	80	33.7	48.4	71.5	3.5	5.3	15.5
Jon McGlocklin	80	24.4	50.2	86.3	2.0	3.0	9.6
Curtis Perry	67	31.3	46.1	65.9	9.6	1.8	9.1
Terry Driscoll	59	16.3	42.9	69.4	5.0	0.9	5.5
Mickey Davis	74	14.1	43.8	82.6	3.1	1.0	5.1
Wali Jones	27	15.5	40.7	88.9	1.1	2.1	5.0
Gary Gregor	9	9.8	33.3	71.4	3.6	1.0	3.0
Russ Lee	46	6.0	38.6	74.4	0.9	0.8	2.8
Dick Cunningham	72	9.6	41.0	58.0	2.9	0.5	2.2
Chuck Terry	67	10.3	34.0	70.8	2.2	0.6	1.9

Playoffs

Player	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	6	46.0	42.8	54.3	16.2	2.8	22.8
Oscar Robertson	6	42.7	50.0	91.2	4.7	7.5	21.2
Lucius Allen	6	33.8	40.4	78.6	2.7	3.5	15.7
Bob Dandridge	6	34.0	42.1	70.4	4.7	1.2	13.8
Jon McGlocklin	6	24.2	50.9	87.5	1.2	2.2	10.2
Curtis Perry	6	39.7	48.1	50.0	11.5	2.2	8.8
Russ Lee	5	2.6	57.1	0.0	0.8	0.4	3.2
Mickey Davis	6	9.0	35.3	100.0	2.0	0.8	2.3
Chuck Terry	5	3.6	80.0	0.0	0.6	0.2	1.6
Dick Cunningham	5	3.4	100.0	0.0	0.6	0.4	0.4
Terry Driscoll	6	2.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0

Transactions

Free agents

Player	Signed	Former team
Terry Driscoll	November 15, 1972	Baltimore Bullets

Awards and records

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, All-NBA First Team