1971–72 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1971–72 season was the Trail Blazers second season in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Geoff Petrie missed 22 games due to injury. Petrie who averaged 24.8 points per game in his rookie season would drop nearly 6 points per game as the Blazers finished with an NBA worst record of 18–64.[1] One of the highlights of the season was Sidney Wicks. He would win the Rookie of the Year with a team best 24.5 points per game.[1]

1971–72 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coachRolland Todd
General managerHarry Glickman
Owners
ArenaMemorial Coliseum
Results
Record18–64 (.220)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Pacific)
Conference: 9th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKPTV
RadioKOIN

Before the start of the season, Blazers guard Rick Adelman was named captain, making him the first in franchise history.[2]

Portland head coach Rolland Todd was fired on February 2, 1972 and replaced by Stu Inman, the Blazers director of player personnel.[3] Todd's dismissal came in the wake of a 129–117 loss to the Phoenix Suns the day before. Portland players were allegedly upset with team management for placing guard Willie McCarter on waivers. Sidney Wicks was accused by Todd and Inman of playing lackadaisical defense, allowing his opponent Paul Silas to take 30 shots against him. Charlie Yelverton sat on the bench during th U.S. national anthem and did not participate in pre-game warmups.[4][5]

Roster
Portland Trail Blazers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 12 Adelman, Rick (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-06-16 Loyola Marymount
SF 44 Gregor, Gary 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1945-08-13 South Carolina
C 30−35 Imhoff, Darrall 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1938-10-11 California
SF 38 Knight, Ron 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1947-08-04 Cal State LA
SF 41 Marsh, Jim 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1946-04-26 Southern California
SG 17 McCarter, Willie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1946-07-26 Drake
SF 40 McKenzie, Stan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1944-10-06 New York
SG 45 Petrie, Geoff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1948-04-17 Princeton
C 54 Schlueter, Dale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1945-11-12 Colorado State
C 43 Smith, William 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1949-02-14 Syracuse
SG 15 Steele, Larry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1949-05-05 Kentucky
PF 21 Wicks, Sidney 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1949-09-19 UCLA
SG 11 Yelverton, Charlie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1948-12-05 Fordham
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 3, 1972

Regular season
The Trail Blazers played their home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Season Standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 6913.841–36–531–72–121–3
x-Golden State Warriors 5131.6221827–821–203–314–10
Seattle SuperSonics 4735.5732228–1218–221–112–12
Houston Rockets 3448.4153515–2014–235–59–15
Portland Trail Blazers 1864.2205114–264–350–34–20
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Los Angeles Lakers6913.841
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks6319.768
3 x-Chicago Bulls5725.695
4 x-Golden State Warriors5131.622
5 Phoenix Suns4933.598
6 Seattle SuperSonics4735.573
7 Houston Rockets3448.415
8 Detroit Pistons2656.317
9 Portland Trail Blazers1864.220

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 —2–40–44–20–53–34–23–23–21–40–52–33–13–33–24–01–4
Baltimore 4–2—2–23–31–44–21–53–21–43–21–40–52–44–04–13–12–3
Boston 4–02–2—6–03–24–25–15–02–35–01–42–33–36–02–34–02–3
Buffalo 2–43–30–6—1–33–34–22–41–30–40–40–41–53–30–42–40–4
Chicago 5–04–12–33–1—3–14–05–13–35–11–32–43–24–15–16–02–3
Cincinnati 3–32–42–43–31–3—6–22–32–30–41–40–52–22–22–32–20–5
Cleveland 2–45–11–52–40–42–6—1–30–42–21–30–41–52–40–44–20–4
Detroit 2–32–30–54–21–53–23–1—0–53–31–41–51–41–42–42–20–4
Golden State 2–34–13–23–13–33–24–05–0—5–11–52–22–34–12–34–24–2
Houston 4–12–30–54–01–54–02–23–31–5—1–50–50–54–11–34–23–3
Los Angeles 5–04–14–14–03–14–13–14–15–15–1—4–14–15–04–26–05–1
Milwaukee 3–25–03–24–04–25–04–05–12–25–01–4—2–34–14–26–06–0
New York 1–34–23–35–12–32–25–14–13–25–01–43–2—3–31–43–13–2
Philadelphia 3–30–40–63–31–42–24–24–11–41–40–51–43–3—1–42–24–1
Phoenix 2–31–43–24–01–53–24–04–23–23–12–42–44–14–1—6–03–2
Portland 0–41–30–44–20–62–22–42–22–42–40–60–61–32–20–6—0–6
Seattle 4–13–23–24–03–25–04–04–02–43–31–50–62–31–42–36–0—

Awards and honors

References
  1. Portland Trail Blazers (1970–Present)
  2. "Blazers tab Adelman as captain". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. Associated Press. 29 July 1971. p. 21. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  3. "Blazers fire Rolland Todd; Inman: Better defense". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. Associated Press. 3 February 1972. p. 21. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  4. Brandon, Steve (4 November 1994). "The Blazers; The early years dissension, turmoil marked Blazers early years". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. N07.
  5. "Trail Blazers Protest McCarter's Cut". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. 2 February 1972. p. 19. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
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