1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season

The 1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season was the team's 15th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its sixth in Cincinnati. The Royals were shifted from the Western Division into the Eastern Division before the start of the season because the Philadelphia Warriors had relocated to San Francisco. In their first season in the Eastern Division, the Royals posted a 42–38 record and finished in 3rd place.[1] The season saw the Royals challenged by a rival league, the American Basketball League run by Abe Saperstein, like few NBA teams ever have been. Larry Staverman and Win Wilfong had left the team for the new league. #1 draft picks Larry Siegfried and Jerry Lucas were both also signed away by the ABL. These key losses would later greatly affect the team's playoffs result. Lucas was particularly missed by Cincinnati fans. Oscar Robertson nonetheless led a balanced and solid Royals five that year, supported by Wayne Embry, Jack Twyman, Bob Boozer and Bucky Bockhorn. Draft pick Adrian Smith had arrived and joined Tom Hawkins and Hub Reed at the head of the bench. Robertson posted 28.3 points per game, and his league-leading assists total was twice that of all but one other NBA player. He sank the second-most free throws in the league, and was a strong third on the Royals in rebounds.

1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season
Head coachCharles Wolf
OwnersThomas Woods estate
ArenaCincinnati Gardens
Results
Record42–38 (.525)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast Division Finals
(Eliminated 3–4)
Local media
TelevisionWKRC-TV
RadioWKRC

The Royals were consistent winners all season long, buoyed by a 10–6 November.

In the playoffs, the Royals would win their first playoff series in 11 years. The Royals upset the second-place Syracuse Nationals with an overtime win on the road in Game 5 on March 26. The two teams had each won their two home games before Robertson led the upset. It was the last NBA game ever hosted by a team in Syracuse, New York.[1] In the Eastern Finals, the Royals faced the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics and stunned them with two wins at Boston Gardens to seize a 2–1 series lead. Thomas E. Wood, the team's key owner, died in 1961. An ownership dispute between competing groups came to a head in 1963 when Louis Jacobs, who had bought Cincinnati Gardens from the Wood estate, scheduled a circus for the week of the Boston series without telling the Royals. The team was furious and had to host their second home playoff game at Xavier University's small Schmidt Fieldhouse. Despite that fact, and the earlier loss of draft pick Jerry Lucas, Robertson led the team to a third win over the Celtics in Game Six to force a seventh game. The Royals lost Game Seven in Boston on April 10, 142–131. Robertson had 43 points, the Celtics' Sam Jones had 47 in that concluding game. The season marks arguably the closest the Cincinnati Royals ever came to an NBA title, despite the obstacles mentioned above.

Ballyhooed #1 pick Jerry Lucas, two-time NCAA Player of The Year, was signed away by George Steinbrenner of the ABL Cleveland Pipers, a serious blow to this year's team.

  1. 2 pick was 6' 8 Bud Olsen of Louisville, a college star with local ties.

Regular season

Season standings
Eastern Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Boston Celtics5822.725–25–521–1612–125–11
x-Syracuse Nationals4832.6001023–513–1912–821–15
x-Cincinnati Royals4238.5251623–1015–194–920–16
New York Knicks2159.2633712–225–284–96–30

Season schedule

The Royals won five straight to move to 10–6 in November, and followed that with a 6–8 December. They were 9–9 in both January and February, reaching 36–31 on 2-21-63. The Royals won four straight to finish the season 42-38.

Record vs. opponents
1962-63 NBA Records
Team BOS CHI CIN DET LAL NYK SFW STL SYR
Boston —8–29–38–04–510–28–15–36–6
Chicago 2–8—4–63–73–74–64–63–72–8
Cincinnati 3–96–4—4–43–610–26–33–57–5
Detroit 0–87–34–4—1–118–17–54–83–6
Los Angeles 5–47–36–311–1—5–38–47–54–4
New York 2–106–42–101–83–5—2–63–62–10
San Francisco 1–86–43–65–74–86–2—3–93–5
St. Louis 3–57–35–38–45–76–39–3—5–4
Syracuse 6–68–25–76–34–410–25–34–5—

Playoffs

East Division Semifinals

(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals: Royals win series 3-2

  • Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 123, Cincinnati 120
  • Game 2 @ Cincinnati: Cincinnati 133, Syracuse 115
  • Game 3 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 121, Cincinnati 117
  • Game 4 @ Cincinnati: Cincinnati 125, Syracuse 118
  • Game 5 @ Syracuse: Cincinnati 131, Syracuse 127 (OT)

East Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Cincinnati Royals: Celtics win series 4-3

  • Game 1 @ Boston: Cincinnati 135, Boston 132
  • Game 2 @ Cincinnati: Boston 125, Cincinnati 102
  • Game 3 @ Boston: Cincinnati 121, Boston 116
  • Game 4 @ Cincinnati: Boston 128, Cincinnati 110
  • Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 125, Cincinnati 120
  • Game 6 @ Cincinnati: Cincinnati 109, Boston 99
  • Game 7 @ Boston: Boston 142, Cincinnati 131

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 GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Bucky Bockhorn
Bob Boozer
Joe Buckhalter
Wayne Embry
Tom Hawkins
Bud Olsen
Dave Piontek
Hub Reed
Oscar Robertson
Adrian Smith
Dan Tieman
Jack Twyman

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Bucky Bockhorn
Bob Boozer
Wayne Embry
Tom Hawkins
Bud Olsen
Dave Piontek
Hub Reed
Oscar Robertson
Adrian Smith
Jack Twyman

Awards and honors
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References
  1. Cincinnati Royals (1957–1972)
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