1973–74 Los Angeles Lakers season

The 1973–74 NBA season was the Lakers' 26th season in the NBA and 14th season in Los Angeles.[1] Having lost to the New York Knicks in the previous season's NBA Finals, the Lakers would make it to the NBA Playoffs, posting a 47-35 record, only to lose to the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.

1973–74 Los Angeles Lakers season
Division champions
Head coachBill Sharman
ArenaThe Forum
Results
Record47–35 (.573)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finishConference Semifinals
(Lost to Bucks 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKTLA
RadioKFI
(Chick Hearn, Lynn Shackelford)

Following the season, Jerry West retired after 14 seasons with the Lakers. He would later return to the Lakers as the head coach from 1976 to 1979.

Offseason

Draft picks
Main article: 1973 NBA Draft

Roster
1973–74 Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F/C 32 Bridges, Bill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Kansas
C 31 Counts, Mel 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1941-10-16 Oregon State
G 25 Goodrich, Gail 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1943-04-23 UCLA
F 52 Hairston, Happy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1942-05-31 New York
F/C 42 Hawkins, Connie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1942-07-17 Iowa
G/F 32 Hawthorne, Nate 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1950-01-15 Southern Illinois
F 34 Love, Stan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Oregon
PG 15 Price, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Louisville
G 12 Riley, Pat 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1945-03-20 Kentucky
C 3 Smith, Elmore 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1949-05-09 Kentucky State
F 24 Washington, Kermit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1951-09-17 American
G 44 West, Jerry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1938-05-28 West Virginia
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Pacific Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 4735.573–30–1117–24–14–12
Golden State Warriors 4438.537323–1820–201–015–11
Seattle SuperSonics 3646.4391122–1914–27–12–14
Phoenix Suns 3052.3661724–176–340–111–15
Portland Trail Blazers 2755.3292022–195–340–213–13
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Milwaukee Bucks5923.720–
2 x-Chicago Bulls5428.6595
3 x-Detroit Pistons5230.6347
4 y-Los Angeles Lakers4735.57312
5 Golden State Warriors4438.53715
6 Seattle SuperSonics3646.43923
7 Kansas City–Omaha Kings3349.40226
8 Phoenix Suns3052.36629
9 Portland Trail Blazers2755.32932
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1973–74 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS BUF CAP CHI CLE DET GSW HOU KCO LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta —1–52–44–41–34–30–41–35–21–34–01–31–53–31–32–24–0
Boston 5–1—5–22–42–24–23–13–14–23–12–22–25–27–13–14–02–2
Buffalo 4–22–5—3–31–35–11–31–34–22–20–41–34–46–13–13–12–2
Capital 4–44–23–3—1–36–12–23–14–33–12–21–33–34–22–23–12–2
Chicago 3–12–23–13–1—4–05–24–24–05–21–53–32–23–14–24–24–2
Cleveland 3–42–41–51–60–4—2–20–44–40–43–10–41–55–11–34–02–2
Detroit 4–01–33–12–22–52–2—5–13–14–24–23–41–32–26–05–15–1
Golden State 3–11–33–11–32–44–01–5—4–03–34–23–31–33–15–23–43–3
Houston 2–52–42–43–40–44–41–30–4—2–22–20–44–24–22–23–11–3
Kansas City-Omaha 3–11–32–21–32–54–02–43–32–2—1–50–71–31–34–24–22–4
Los Angeles 0–42–24–02–25–11–32–42–42–25–1—4–22–24–04–24–34–3
Milwaukee 3–12–23–13–13–34–04–33–34–07–02–4—2–24–05–16–04–2
New York 5–12–54–43–32–25–13–13–12–43–12–22–2—4–33–12–24–0
Philadelphia 3–31–71–62–41–31–52–21–32–43–10–40–43–4—3–12–20–4
Phoenix 3–11–31–32–22–43–10–62–52–22–42–41–51–31–3—3–34–3
Portland 2–20–41–31–32–40–41–54–31–32–43–40–62–22–23–3—3–3
Seattle 0–42–22–22–22–42–21–53–33–14–23–42–40–44–03–43–3—

Playoffs
1974 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 1–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 29 @ Milwaukee L 95–99 Gail Goodrich (31) Connie Hawkins (14) Gail Goodrich (6) Milwaukee Arena
10,938		 0–1
2 March 31 @ Milwaukee L 90–109 Gail Goodrich (21) Happy Hairston (10) Happy Hairston (7) Milwaukee Arena
10,938		 0–2
3 April 2 Milwaukee W 98–96 Elmore Smith (30) Elmore Smith (17) Gail Goodrich (12) The Forum
17,505		 1–2
4 April 4 Milwaukee L 90–112 Elmore Smith (20) Elmore Smith (13) Connie Hawkins (5) The Forum 1–3
5 April 7 @ Milwaukee L 92–114 Gail Goodrich (22) Happy Hairston (11) Gail Goodrich (6) Milwaukee Arena
10,938		 1–4
1974 schedule

Awards and records

References
  1. 1973–74 Los Angeles Lakers
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