1972–73 Baltimore Bullets season

In the 1972–73 NBA season, their tenth and final season in Baltimore, Maryland, the Bullets were led by seventh-year head coach Gene Shue and won a third consecutive Central Division title.

1972–73 Baltimore Bullets season
Division champions
Head coachGene Shue
General managerJerry Sachs
Owner(s)Abe Pollin
ArenaBaltimore Civic Center
Results
Record52–30 (.634)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference Semi-finals
(Lost to Knicks 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWMAR-TV
RadioWFBR

Prior to the season in June, forward Elvin Hayes was acquired in a trade from the Houston Rockets, for forward Jack Marin and draft picks.[1] In the 1972 draft in April, Baltimore selected point guard Kevin Porter in the third round. After a slow start, the Bullets had a strong 10–4 record in December.[2] In the playoffs, they faced their playoff rivals the New York Knicks, and fell in five games in the conference semi-finals;[3] the Knicks went on to win the NBA title.

Following the season, the Bullets made a short move to the new Capital Centre in Landover, a suburb east of Washington, D.C., and became the Capital Bullets.[2][4] The Bullets would later play 35 regular season games in Baltimore from the 1988–89 through 1996–97 seasons.[5][6]

Draft picks
Main article: 1972 NBA draft

Roster
Baltimore Bullets roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 45 Chenier, Phil 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) California
G 21 Clark, Archie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Minnesota
C 11 Hayes, Elvin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Houston
F 13 Love, Stan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Oregon
F 24 Marin, Jack 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Duke
PG 10 Porter, Kevin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Saint Francis (PA)
G 33 Rinaldi, Rich 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Saint Peter's
SG 6 Riordan, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Providence
SF 9 Stallworth, Dave 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Wichita State
PF 12 Tresvant, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Seattle
F 41 Unseld, Wes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Louisville
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Baltimore Bullets 5230.634–24–921–177–417–5
x-Atlanta Hawks 4636.561628–1317–231–010–12
Houston Rockets 3349.4021914–1410–289–79–13
Cleveland Cavaliers 3250.3902020–2110–272–28–14
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics6814.829
2 x-New York Knicks5725.695
3 y-Baltimore Bullets5230.634
4 x-Atlanta Hawks4636.561
5 Houston Rockets3349.402
6 Cleveland Cavaliers3250.390
7 Buffalo Braves2161.256
8 Philadelphia 76ers973.110

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 –3–41–55–12–23–42–21–34–42–23–11–33–36–03–14–03–1
Baltimore 4–3–1–55–10–48–02–23–15–23–11–32–23–35–12–24–04–0
Boston 5–15–1–7–03–15–13–13–15–13–14–02–24–47–04–04–04–0
Buffalo 1–51–50–7–2–21–51–30–41–51–30–40–41–67–11–32–22–2
Chicago 2–24–01–32–2–3–13–43–34–05–21–52–43–14–04–25–15–1
Cleveland 4–30–81–55–11–3–1–31–34–32–21–31–30–66–01–31–33–1
Detroit 2–22–21–33–14–33–1–2–41–33–31–52–51–33–14–26–02–4
Golden State 3–11–31–34–03–33–14–2–3–14–23–41–52–24–02–45–14–3
Houston 4–42–51–55–10–43–43–11–3–0–41–31–31–55–12–22–22–2
Kansas City-Omaha 2–21–31–33–12–52–23–32–44–0–1–51–60–43–13–34–24–2
Los Angeles 1–33–10–44–05–13–15–14–33–15–1–3–32–24–06–16–06–0
Milwaukee 3–12–22–24–04–23–15–25–13–16–13–3–2–23–15–15–15–1
New York 3–33–34–46–11–36–03–12–25–14–02–22–2–6–13–13–14–0
Philadelphia 0–61–50–71–70–40–61–30–41–51–30–41–31–6–0–41–31–3
Phoenix 1–32–20–43–12–43–12–44–22–23–31–61–51–34–0–5–24–2
Portland 0–40–40–42–21–53–10–61–52–22–40–61–51–33–12–5–3–4
Seattle 1–30–40–42–21–51–34–23–42–22–40–61–50–43–12–44–3—

Playoffs
1973 playoff game log
Conference Semi-finals: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 30 @ New York L 83–95 Archie Clark (22) Wes Unseld (16) Archie Clark (6) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 0–1
2 April 1 @ New York L 103–123 Phil Chenier (27) Wes Unseld (14) Kevin Porter (7) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 0–2
3 April 4 New York L 96–103 Elvin Hayes (36) Elvin Hayes (14) Riordan, Clark (4) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289		 0–3
4 April 6 New York W 97–89 Elvin Hayes (34) Hayes, Unseld (13) Archie Clark (10) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289		 1–3
5 April 8 @ New York L 99–109 Archie Clark (30) Wes Unseld (21) Chenier, Unseld (4) Madison Square Garden
19,694		 1–4
1973 schedule

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Bullets gets 'Big E' for Marin, plus". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. June 24, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
  2. Washington Wizards (1963–Present)
  3. Roethenberg, Fred (April 9, 1973). "Knicks eliminate Baltimore Bullets". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. p. 6.
  4. "Baltimore five set to become Capital Bullets". Bangor Daily News. (Maine). Associated Press. February 17, 1973. p. 21.
  5. The last time the Washington Bullets played in Baltimore United Press International
  6. "Bullets leave Baltimore with win Mavericks fall, 94-87" The Baltimore Sun
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