1972–73 Chicago Bulls season

1972–73 Chicago Bulls season
1972–73 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach	Dick Motta
General manager	Pat Williams
Owner(s)	Dick Klein
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Results
Record	51–31 (.622)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest); Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference Semifinals; (Lost to Lakers 3–4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WGN-TV; (Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd)
Radio	WIND; (Jack Fleming, Bill Berg)
< 1971–72	1973–74 >

The 1972-73 NBA season was the Bulls' 7th season in the NBA.^[1]

Offseason[]

Draft picks[]

Roster[]

1972–73 Chicago Bulls roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY-MM-DD)	From
C	20	Awtrey, Dennis	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1948-02-22	Santa Clara
C	18	Boerwinkle, Tom	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	1945-08-23	Tennessee
F	23	Garrett, Rowland	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1950-07-16	Florida State
F	24	Heard, Gar	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	219 lb (99 kg)	1948-05-03	Oklahoma
G	21	King, Jim	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1941-02-07	Tulsa
F	10	Love, Bob	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1942-12-08	Southern
F	54	Porter, Howard	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1948-08-31	Villanova
C	14	Ray, Clifford	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	1949-01-21	Oklahoma
G	4	Sloan, Jerry	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1942-03-28	Evansville
G	2	Van Lier, Norm	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	1947-04-01	Saint Francis
F	25	Walker, Chet	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	212 lb (96 kg)	1940-02-22	Bradley
G	8	Weiss, Bob	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1942-05-07	Penn State

Head coach

Dick Motta

Assistant coach(es)

Phil Johnson

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: October 20, 1972

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Midwest Division v t	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
#	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	—

Playoffs[]

1973 playoff game log

Conference Semifinals: 3–4 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	March 30	@ Los Angeles	L 104–107 (OT)	Bob Love (21)	Dennis Awtrey (15)	Dennis Awtrey (6)	The Forum 16,341	0–1
2	April 1	@ Los Angeles	L 93–108	Bob Love (32)	Chet Walker (11)	Tom Boerwinkle (9)	The Forum 17,368	0–2
3	April 6	Los Angeles	W 96–86	Chet Walker (30)	Dennis Awtrey (14)	Norm Van Lier (8)	Chicago Stadium 14,606	1–2
4	April 8	Los Angeles	W 98–94	Bob Love (38)	Bob Love (13)	Bob Love (6)	Chicago Stadium 14,181	2–2
5	April 10	@ Los Angeles	L 102–123	Bob Love (27)	Bob Love (14)	Awtrey, Van Lier (5)	The Forum 17,505	2–3
6	April 13	Los Angeles	W 101–93	Jerry Sloan (27)	Dennis Awtrey (14)	Dennis Awtrey (8)	Chicago Stadium 18,096	3–3
7	April 15	@ Los Angeles	L 92–95	Norm Van Lier (28)	Norm Van Lier (14)	Bob Love (5)	The Forum 17,505	3–4

1973 schedule

Awards and records[]

Norm Van Lier, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Chet Walker, NBA All-Star Game
Bob Love, NBA All-Star Game

References[]

^ 1972–73 Chicago Bulls

[1] 1972–73 Chicago Bulls

[1]