1971–72 Chicago Bulls season

1971–72 Chicago Bulls season
Head coach	Dick Motta
General manager	Pat Williams
Owner(s)	Dick Klein
Arena	Chicago Stadium
Results
Record	57–25 (.695)
Place	Division: 2nd (Midwest) Conference: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Lakers 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WGN-TV (Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd)
Radio	WIND (Jack Fleming, Bill Berg)

The 1971–72 NBA season was the Bulls' sixth season in the NBA.

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1971 NBA draft

Roster

1971–72 Chicago Bulls roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 18 Boerwinkle, Tom 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1945-08-23 Tennessee G 22 Collins, Jimmy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-11-24 New Mexico State F 23 Dinkins, Jackie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1950-01-22 Voorhees C 31 Fox, Jim 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1943-04-07 South Carolina 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 40 McIntosh, Kennedy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1949-01-21 Eastern Michigan 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 (PA) 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: December 10, 1971

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks	63	19	.768	–	31–5	27–12	5–2	13–5
x-Chicago Bulls	57	25	.695	6	29–12	26–12	2–1	12–6
Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598	14	30–11	19–20	0–2	7–11
Detroit Pistons	26	56	.317	37	16–25	9–30	1–1	4–14

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	69	13	.841
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	63	19	.768
3	x-Chicago Bulls	57	25	.695
4	x-Golden State Warriors	51	31	.622
5	Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598
6	Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573
7	Houston Rockets	34	48	.415
8	Detroit Pistons	26	56	.317
9	Portland Trail Blazers	18	64	.220

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1971–72 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CIN	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA
Atlanta	—	2–4	0–4	4–2	0–5	3–3	4–2	3–2	3–2	1–4	0–5	2–3	3–1	3–3	3–2	4–0	1–4
Baltimore	4–2	—	2–2	3–3	1–4	4–2	1–5	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–4	0–5	2–4	4–0	4–1	3–1	2–3
Boston	4–0	2–2	—	6–0	3–2	4–2	5–1	5–0	2–3	5–0	1–4	2–3	3–3	6–0	2–3	4–0	2–3
Buffalo	2–4	3–3	0–6	—	1–3	3–3	4–2	2–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–5	3–3	0–4	2–4	0–4
Chicago	5–0	4–1	2–3	3–1	—	3–1	4–0	5–1	3–3	5–1	1–3	2–4	3–2	4–1	5–1	6–0	2–3
Cincinnati	3–3	2–4	2–4	3–3	1–3	—	6–2	2–3	2–3	0–4	1–4	0–5	2–2	2–2	2–3	2–2	0–5
Cleveland	2–4	5–1	1–5	2–4	0–4	2–6	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–5	2–4	0–4	4–2	0–4
Detroit	2–3	2–3	0–5	4–2	1–5	3–2	3–1	—	0–5	3–3	1–4	1–5	1–4	1–4	2–4	2–2	0–4
Golden State	2–3	4–1	3–2	3–1	3–3	3–2	4–0	5–0	—	5–1	1–5	2–2	2–3	4–1	2–3	4–2	4–2
Houston	4–1	2–3	0–5	4–0	1–5	4–0	2–2	3–3	1–5	—	1–5	0–5	0–5	4–1	1–3	4–2	3–3
Los Angeles	5–0	4–1	4–1	4–0	3–1	4–1	3–1	4–1	5–1	5–1	—	4–1	4–1	5–0	4–2	6–0	5–1
Milwaukee	3–2	5–0	3–2	4–0	4–2	5–0	4–0	5–1	2–2	5–0	1–4	—	2–3	4–1	4–2	6–0	6–0
New York	1–3	4–2	3–3	5–1	2–3	2–2	5–1	4–1	3–2	5–0	1–4	3–2	—	3–3	1–4	3–1	3–2
Philadelphia	3–3	0–4	0–6	3–3	1–4	2–2	4–2	4–1	1–4	1–4	0–5	1–4	3–3	—	1–4	2–2	4–1
Phoenix	2–3	1–4	3–2	4–0	1–5	3–2	4–0	4–2	3–2	3–1	2–4	2–4	4–1	4–1	—	6–0	3–2
Portland	0–4	1–3	0–4	4–2	0–6	2–2	2–4	2–2	2–4	2–4	0–6	0–6	1–3	2–2	0–6	—	0–6
Seattle	4–1	3–2	3–2	4–0	3–2	5–0	4–0	4–0	2–4	3–3	1–5	0–6	2–3	1–4	2–3	6–0	—

Game log

1971–72 game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 12	Philadelphia	114–100	Bob Love (34)	0–1
2	October 15	Baltimore	82–106	Bob Love (31)	1–1
3	October 20	N Houston	110–125	Bob Love (31)	2–1
4	October 22	@ Los Angeles	113–106	Bob Love (28)	3–1
5	October 24	@ Phoenix	105–104	Bob Love (29)	4–1
6	October 26	@ Portland	123–111	Bob Love (36)	5–1
7	October 29	N Golden State	99–83	Jerry Sloan (25)	5–2
8	November 2	Phoenix	101–108	Chet Walker (33)	6–2
9	November 3	@ Atlanta	113–100	Bob Weiss (27)	7–2
10	November 5	Milwaukee	104–102	Bob Weiss (30)	7–3
11	November 6	@ Buffalo	99–130	Jerry Sloan (20)	7–4
12	November 9	Los Angeles	122–109	Bob Love (25)	7–5
13	November 10	@ Baltimore	125–106	Jerry Sloan (35)	8–5
14	November 13	Houston	102–111	Bob Love (30)	9–5
15	November 16	Seattle	87–95	Bob Love (23)	10–5
16	November 19	@ Philadelphia	148–104	Love, Walker (25)	11–5
17	November 20	Boston	106–123	Bob Love (38)	12–5
18	November 23	Portland	94–130	Chet Walker (23)	13–5
19	November 26	Golden State	89–121	Bob Love (27)	14–5
20	November 27	@ New York	99–100	Bob Love (26)	14–6
21	November 30	Atlanta	85–86	Bob Love (22)	15–6
22	December 1	@ Cincinnati	109–101	Bob Love (36)	16–6
23	December 3	New York	96–122	Bob Love (29)	17–6
24	December 4	@ Milwaukee	105–108	Chet Walker (28)	17–7
25	December 7	Cleveland	99–115	Bob Love (40)	18–7
26	December 9	@ Detroit	107–110	Bob Love (28)	18–8
27	December 10	Baltimore	102–118	Chet Walker (27)	19–8
28	December 11	@ Boston	115–99	Jerry Sloan (26)	20–8
29	December 14	Boston	116–108	Bob Love (28)	20–9
30	December 17	Houston	109–98	Chet Walker (32)	20–10
31	December 19	@ Cleveland	119–101	Bob Love (36)	21–10
32	December 21	Detroit	92–127	Bob Love (28)	22–10
33	December 23	@ Phoenix	117–108 (OT)	Love, Walker (24)	23–10
34	December 25	@ Portland	109–88	Bob Love (26)	24–10
35	December 26	@ Seattle	103–102	Bob Love (28)	25–10
36	December 28	Milwaukee	105–116	Bob Love (41)	26–10
37	December 30	Portland	92–117	Norm Van Lier (24)	27–10
38	January 4	Phoenix	112–108	Chet Walker (26)	27–11
39	January 5	@ Philadelphia	139–107	Bob Love (40)	28–11
40	January 7	Baltimore	104–94	Chet Walker (27)	28–12
41	January 8	@ New York	113–108	Bob Love (33)	29–12
42	January 9	Cincinnati	104–108 (OT)	Chet Walker (33)	30–12
43	January 11	New York	91–116	Bob Weiss (24)	31–12
44	January 12	@ Boston	112–113	Chet Walker (22)	31–13
45	January 14	@ Milwaukee	77–104	Chet Walker (17)	31–14
46	January 15	Portland	100–120	Bob Love (32)	32–14
47	January 21	@ Buffalo	113–93	Jerry Sloan (23)	33–14
48	January 22	Houston	108–115	Chet Walker (39)	34–14
49	January 24	Golden State	105–110	Chet Walker (29)	35–14
50	January 26	N Houston	108–117	Bob Love (38)	36–14
51	January 27	@ Golden State	107–108	Chet Walker (29)	36–15
52	January 28	@ Phoenix	116–102	Bob Love (38)	37–15
53	January 30	Detroit	99–109	Chet Walker (29)	38–15
54	February 1	Seattle	121–103	Bob Love (22)	38–16
55	February 2	@ Boston	100–124	Bob Love (36)	38–17
56	February 4	@ Baltimore	110–108	Bob Love (23)	39–17
57	February 5	Buffalo	96–130	Bob Love (35)	40–17
58	February 6	Cincinnati	94–119	Chet Walker (56)	41–17
59	February 8	Cleveland	90–114	Bob Love (30)	42–17
60	February 11	Atlanta	91–102	Chet Walker (24)	43–17
61	February 12	@ Atlanta	117–106	Bob Love (35)	44–17
62	February 13	Golden State	107–88	Love, Sloan (14)	44–18
63	February 17	New York	102–99 (OT)	Chet Walker (28)	44–19
64	February 18	@ Detroit	122–97	Jerry Sloan (32)	45–19
65	February 19	Milwaukee	97–104	Jerry Sloan (23)	46–19
66	February 20	@ Milwaukee	100–103	Bob Love (19)	46–20
67	February 22	Philadelphia	88–119	Bob Love (34)	47–20
68	February 25	Phoenix	107–115	Norm Van Lier (29)	48–20
69	February 26	@ Golden State	107–106	Bob Love (33)	49–20
70	February 27	@ Los Angeles	118–123 (OT)	Chet Walker (31)	49–21
71	February 29	@ Portland	116–92	Chet Walker (30)	50–21
72	March 3	@ Seattle	103–112	Chet Walker (28)	50–22
73	March 5	@ Houston	128–97	Chet Walker (31)	51–22
74	March 8	@ Atlanta	98–96	Bob Love (28)	52–22
75	March 10	@ Cincinnati	100–104	Bob Love (28)	52–23
76	March 14	Seattle	115–111	Chet Walker (37)	52–24
77	March 17	Buffalo	103–126	Chet Walker (23)	53–24
78	March 18	@ Cleveland	109–91	Norm Van Lier (22)	54–24
79	March 19	@ Detroit	115–107	Bob Love (33)	55–24
80	March 21	Los Angeles	109–104	Bob Love (28)	55–25
81	March 24	@ Philadelphia	116–99	Love, Sloan (29)	56–25
82	March 25	Detroit	105–121	Bob Love (30)	57–25

Playoffs

1972 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 28 @ Los Angeles L 80–95 Jerry Sloan (18) Clifford Ray (17) Norm Van Lier (4) The Forum 17,505 0–1 2 March 30 @ Los Angeles L 124–131 Bob Love (26) Clifford Ray (12) Norm Van Lier (10) The Forum 17,505 0–2 3 April 2 Los Angeles L 101–108 Norm Van Lier (22) Clifford Ray (20) Norm Van Lier (8) Chicago Stadium 17,805 0–3 4 April 4 Los Angeles L 97–108 Clifford Ray (20) Clifford Ray (17) Norm Van Lier (11) Chicago Stadium 18,847 0–4
1972 schedule

Awards and records

• Bob Love, All-NBA Second Team
• Jerry Sloan, NBA All-Defensive First Team
• Norm Van Lier, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Bob Love, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Clifford Ray, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
• Bob Love, NBA All-Star Game