A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 16–April 18, 1962 |
| Season | 1961–62 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics (5th title) |
| Runner-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Semifinalists | |
The 1962 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1961-62 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
The Celtics won their 4th straight title to become the first (and as of 2022, only) NBA team to do so. Boston's Game 7 victory occurred in OT, with Bill Russell tying his own Finals record with 40 rebounds.
This was the second NBA Finals played between the Celtics and Lakers, but it was the first one the Lakers played in since they moved to Los Angeles.
Though the NBA has existed since 1947, this is the earliest NBA Finals played between two teams that still reside in their present (2022) locations.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | ||||||||
| E2 | Philadelphia | 3 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 3 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Los Angeles* | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Detroit | 3 | W3 | Detroit | 2 | ||||||||
| W2 | Cincinnati | 1 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Division Semifinals
Eastern Division Semifinals
(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals
March 16
|
| Syracuse Nationals 103, Philadelphia Warriors 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 22–29, 28–35, 32–20 | ||
| Pts: Larry Costello 23 Rebs: Red Kerr 15 Asts: Bianchi, Shaffer 4 each |
Pts: Paul Arizin 43 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Guy Rodgers 8 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 18
|
| Philadelphia Warriors 97, Syracuse Nationals 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 28–16, 22–18, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 28 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 26 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 4 |
Pts: Red Kerr 18 Rebs: Lee Shaffer 13 Asts: Larry Costello 5 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–0 | ||
March 19
|
| Syracuse Nationals 101, Philadelphia Warriors 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–27, 34–35, 19–24, 21–14 | ||
| Pts: Lee Shaffer 30 Rebs: Red Kerr 16 Asts: Larry Costello 10 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 40 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 25 Asts: Guy Rodgers 9 | |
| Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 20
|
| Philadelphia Warriors 99, Syracuse Nationals 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–30, 24–28, 24–25, 27–23 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 29 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 20 Asts: Guy Rodgers 7 |
Pts: Red Kerr 27 Rebs: Red Kerr 22 Asts: Larry Costello 7 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
March 22
|
| Syracuse Nationals 104, Philadelphia Warriors 121 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–35, 29–24, 20–31, 27–31 | ||
| Pts: Lee Shaffer 30 Rebs: Red Kerr 15 Asts: Al Bianchi 5 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 56 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 35 Asts: Guy Rodgers 10 | |
| Philadelphia wins series, 3–2 | ||
This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning five of the first eight meetings.
| Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 5–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Western Division Semifinals
(2) Cincinnati Royals vs. (3) Detroit Pistons
March 16
|
| Cincinnati Royals 122, Detroit Pistons 123 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–32, 29–27, 31–34, 33–30 | ||
| Pts: Bockhorn, Robertson 24 each | Pts: Ray Scott 34 | |
| Detroit leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 17
|
| Detroit Pistons 107, Cincinnati Royals 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–31, 24–31, 29–30, 29–37 | ||
| Pts: Ohl, Shue 18 each | Pts: Oscar Robertson 33 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 18
|
| Cincinnati Royals 107, Detroit Pistons 118 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–19, 24–29, 32–39, 26–31 | ||
| Pts: Oscar Robertson 26 | Pts: Bailey Howell 27 | |
| Detroit leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 20
|
| Detroit Pistons 112, Cincinnati Royals 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 36–34, 22–24, 27–32 | ||
| Pts: Don Ohl 33 | Pts: Oscar Robertson 32 | |
| Detroit wins series, 3–1 | ||
This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first six meetings.
| Tied 3–3 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
Division Finals
Eastern Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Philadelphia Warriors
March 24
|
| Philadelphia Warriors 89, Boston Celtics 117 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–24, 20–26, 29–36, 25–31 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 33 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 31 Asts: Chamberlain, Arizin 3 each |
Pts: Sam Jones 20 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 Asts: Bob Cousy 8 | |
| Boston leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 27
|
| Boston Celtics 106, Philadelphia Warriors 113 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 34–22, 25–30, 21–34 | ||
| Pts: Tom Heinsohn 24 Rebs: Bill Russell 20 Asts: Bill Russell 6 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 42 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 37 Asts: Guy Rodgers 10 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 28
|
| Philadelphia Warriors 114, Boston Celtics 129 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–35, 26–41, 26–33, 33–20 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 35 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 29 Asts: Wilt Chamberlain 6 |
Pts: Russell, Heinsohn 31 each Rebs: Bill Russell 31 Asts: Bob Cousy 10 | |
| Boston leads series, 2–1 | ||
March 31
|
| Boston Celtics 106, Philadelphia Warriors 110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–23, 29–32, 23–23, 29–32 | ||
| Pts: Bill Russell 31 Rebs: Bill Russell 30 Asts: Bob Cousy 10 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 41 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 34 Asts: Guy Rodgers 10 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 1
|
| Philadelphia Warriors 104, Boston Celtics 119 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–36, 23–36, 19–18, 36–29 | ||
| Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 30 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 14 Asts: Guy Rodgers 9 |
Pts: Bill Russell 29 Rebs: Bill Russell 26 Asts: Russell, S. Jones 7 each | |
| Boston leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 3
|
| Boston Celtics 99, Philadelphia Warriors 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–34, 30–28, 26–25, 21–22 | ||
| Pts: Heinsohn, Cousy 22 each Rebs: Bill Russell 22 Asts: Bob Cousy 12 |
Pts: Wilt Chamberlain 32 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 21 Asts: Guy Rodgers 10 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 5
|
| Philadelphia Warriors 107, Boston Celtics 109 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–34, 33–18, 25–28, 26–29 | ||
| Pts: Tom Meschery 32 Rebs: Wilt Chamberlain 22 Asts: Guy Rodgers 8 |
Pts: Sam Jones 28 Rebs: Bill Russell 22 Asts: K. C. Jones 10 | |
| Boston wins series, 4–3 | ||
- Paul Arizin's final NBA game; Sam Jones hits the series-winning shot with 2 seconds left.
This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first two meetings.