# 1971–72 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1971–72 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the second season of NBA basketball in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 23–59 record, finishing last in the Central Division and 7th in the Eastern Conference. Rookie top pick Austin Carr was named to the All-Rookie team and John Johnson and Butch Beard were named All-Stars.

## Offseason
### Trades

August 13: Forward Greg Howard obtained from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for undisclosed future draft choices and an undisclosed amount of cash.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Club team |
| 1 | 1 | Austin Carr | SG/SF | United States | Notre Dame |
| 2 | 18 | Steve Patterson | C | United States | UCLA |
| 2 | 35 | Willie Long | PF/C | United States | New Mexico |
* Note: This table only lists players drafted through the second round.

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Central Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| y-Baltimore Bullets | 38 | 44 | .463 | – | 18–15 | 16–24 | 4–5 | 9–9 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 36 | 46 | .439 | 2 | 22–19 | 13–26 | 1–1 | 9–9 |
| Cincinnati Royals | 30 | 52 | .366 | 8 | 20–18 | 8–32 | 2–2 | 11–9 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 | 15 | 13–28 | 8–30 | 2–1 | 9–11 |
| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 56 | 26 | .683 |
| 2 | y-Baltimore Bullets | 38 | 44 | .463 |
| 3 | x-New York Knicks | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 4 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 36 | 46 | .439 |
| 5 | Philadelphia 76ers | 30 | 52 | .366 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Royals | 30 | 52 | .366 |
| 7 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 23 | 59 | .280 |
| 8 | Buffalo Braves | 22 | 60 | .268 |

### 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
### October

Record: 2–8; Home: 0–6; Road: 1–2; Neutral: 1–0
| # | Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Record |
| 1 | October 15 | H | Buffalo Braves | L | 109–111 (OT) | 0–1 |
| 2 | October 16 | A | Buffalo Braves | W | 93–89 | 1–1 |
| 3 | October 17 | H | New York Knicks | L | 120–121 (OT) | 1–2 |
| 4 | October 19 | A | Milwaukee Bucks | L | 82–116 | 1–3 |
| 5 | October 20 | H | San Francisco Warriors | L | 98–115 | 1–4 |
| 6 | October 23 | N | Baltimore Bullets | W | 109–101 | 2–4 | at College Park, Maryland |
| 7 | October 24 | H | Philadelphia 76ers | L | 93–111 | 2–5 |
| 8 | October 27 | A | Philadelphia 76ers | L | 106–120 | 2–6 |
| 9 | October 29 | H | Atlanta Hawks | L | 97–98 | 2–7 |
| 10 | October 31 | H | Milwaukee Bucks | L | 102–118 | 2–8 |

### November

Record: 6–6; Home: 4–2; Road: 2–4
| # | Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Record |
| 11 | November 5 | H | Phoenix Suns | L | 87–107 | 2–9 |
| 12 | November 7 | H | Portland Trail Blazers | W | 120–99 | 3–9 |
| 13 | November 11 | A | Seattle SuperSonics | L | 91–110 | 3–10 |
| 14 | November 12 | A | Portland Trail Blazers | W | 106–104 | 4–10 |
| 15 | November 14 | A | Phoenix Suns | L | 105–119 | 4–11 |
| 16 | November 16 | A | Los Angeles Lakers | L | 90–108 | 4–12 |
| 17 | November 19 | A | Portland Trail Blazers | L | 105–118 | 4–13 |
| 18 | November 21 | H | Boston Celtics | L | 105–128 | 4–14 |
| 19 | November 23 | H | Baltimore Bullets | W | 104–102 | 5–14 |
| 20 | November 26 | H | Cincinnati Royals | W | 128–114 | 6–14 |
| 21 | November 27 | A | Atlanta Hawks | W | 103–95 | 7–14 |
| 22 | November 28 | H | Philadelphia 76ers | W | 124–120 | 8–14 |

### December

Record: 7–10; Home: 5–4; Road: 1–6; Neutral: 1–0
| # | Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Record |
| 23 | December 1 | H | Houston Rockets | W | 116–106 | 9–14 |
| 24 | December 3 | A | Buffalo Braves | L | 90–91 | 9–15 |
| 25 | December 5 | H | Seattle SuperSonics | L | 91–99 | 9–16 |
| 26 | December 7 | A | Chicago Bulls | L | 99–115 | 9–17 |
| 27 | December 8 | A | Boston Celtics | L | 107–126 | 9–18 |
| 28 | December 10 | H | Detroit Pistons | W | 112–111 | 10–18 |
| 29 | December 11 | A | Cincinnati Royals | L | 95–103 | 10–19 |
| 30 | December 12 | H | New York Knicks | L | 92–103 | 10–20 |
| 31 | December 14 | A | Baltimore Bullets | W | 88–85 | 11–20 |
| 32 | December 17 | H | Boston Celtics | L | 109–115 | 11–21 |
| 33 | December 18 | A | New York Knicks | L | 84–104 | 11–22 |
| 34 | December 19 | H | Chicago Bulls | L | 101–119 | 11–23 |
| 35 | December 22 | A | Detroit Pistons | L | 94–104 | 11–24 |
| 36 | December 23 | H | Atlanta Hawks | W | 115–110 | 12–24 |
| 37 | December 26 | H | Baltimore Bullets | W | 108–102 | 13–24 |
| 38 | December 28 | H | Portland Trail Blazers | W | 112–111 | 14–24 |
| 39 | December 29 | N | Philadelphia 76ers | W | 103–102 | 15–24 | at Hershey, Pennsylvania |

### January

Record: 1–13; Home: 0–5; Road: 1–6; Neutral: 0–2
| # | Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Record |
| 40 | January 2 | H | Philadelphia 76ers | L | 119–148 | 15–25 |
| 41 | January 5 | H | Los Angeles Lakers | L | 103–113 | 15–26 |
| 42 | January 7 | A | Seattle SuperSonics | L | 111–125 | 15–27 |
| 43 | January 8 | A | Portland Trail Blazers | L | 102–125 | 15–28 |
| 44 | January 11 | N | San Francisco Warriors | L | 92–101 | 15–29 | at Oakland, California |
| 45 | January 14 | A | Phoenix Suns | L | 107–117 | 15–30 |
| 46 | January 15 | A | Houston Rockets | L | 109–112 | 15–31 |
| 47 | January 16 | N | Cincinnati Royals | L | 108–128 | 15–32 | at Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| 48 | January 21 | A | Milwaukee Bucks | L | 91–120 | 15–33 |
| 49 | January 22 | A | Cincinnati Royals | L | 96–113 | 15–34 |
| 50 | January 25 | H | San Francisco Warriors | L | 111–117 | 15–35 |
| 51 | January 26 | A | Boston Celtics | W | 112–108 | 16–35 |
| 52 | January 29 | H | Cincinnati Royals | L | 118–120 | 16–36 |
| 53 | January 30 | H | Buffalo Braves | L | 98–99 | 16–37 |

### February

Record: 4–12; Home: 3–6; Road: 1–6
| # | Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Record |
| 54 | February 1 | A | Buffalo Braves | W | 104–99 | 17–37 |
| 55 | February 2 | A | Detroit Pistons | L | 108–133 | 17–38 |
| 56 | February 4 | H | Seattle SuperSonics | L | 112–118 | 17–39 |
| 57 | February 5 | A | Atlanta Hawks | L | 117–120 | 17–40 |
| 58 | February 6 | H | Buffalo Braves | L | 108–121 | 17–41 |
| 59 | February 8 | A | Chicago Bulls | L | 90–114 | 17–42 |
| 60 | February 9 | H | Milwaukee Bucks | L | 121–126 | 17–43 |
| 61 | February 12 | A | New York Knicks | L | 91–106 | 17–44 |
| 62 | February 13 | H | Detroit Pistons | L | 121–136 | 17–45 |
| 63 | February 16 | A | Philadelphia 76ers | L | 116–121 | 17–46 |
| 64 | February 18 | H | Cincinnati Royals | W | 133–109 | 18–46 |
| 65 | February 19 | A | Cincinnati Royals | L | 92–112 | 18–47 |
| 66 | February 20 | H | New York Knicks | W | 111–109 | 19–47 |
| 67 | February 23 | H | Boston Celtics | L | 111–113 | 19–48 |
| 68 | February 25 | H | Portland Trail Blazers | W | 113–104 | 20–48 |
| 69 | February 27 | H | Phoenix Suns | L | 125–127 | 20–49 |

### March

Record: 3–10; Home: 1–5; Road: 2–4; Neutral: 0–1
| # | Date | H/A/N | Opponent | W/L | Score | Record |
| 70 | March 1 | A | Boston Celtics | L | 105–115 | 20–50 |
| 71 | March 4 | A | Houston Rockets | W | 130–123 | 21–50 |
| 72 | March 7 | N | San Francisco Warriors | L | 112–119 | 21–51 | at Oakland |
| 73 | March 10 | A | Los Angeles Lakers | L | 98–132 | 21–52 |
| 74 | March 12 | A | Atlanta Hawks | L | 114–135 | 21–53 |
| 75 | March 14 | A | Baltimore Bullets | W | 127–118 (OT) | 22–53 |
| 76 | March 16 | H | Baltimore Bullets | L | 101–105 | 22–54 |
| 77 | March 18 | H | Chicago Bulls | L | 91–109 | 22–55 |
| 78 | March 19 | H | Atlanta Hawks | L | 105–115 | 22–56 |
| 79 | March 22 | H | Los Angeles Lakers | W | 124–120 | 23–56 |
| 80 | March 24 | H | Houston Rockets | L | 119–127 | 23–57 |
| 81 | March 25 | A | New York Knicks | L | 83–98 | 23–58 |
| 82 | March 26 | H | Cincinnati Royals | L | 122–135 | 23–59 |
1971–72 game log Total: 23–59 (Home: 13–28; Road: 8–30; Neutral: 2–1) :
October: 2–8 (home: 0–6; road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9October 29, 1971Atlanta
L 97–98
Cleveland Arena 3,442
2–7 :
November: 6–6 (home: 4–2; road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
21November 27, 1971@ Atlanta
W 103–95
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 5,101
7–14 :
December: 7–10 (home: 5–4; road: 2–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
36December 23, 1971Atlanta
W 115–110
Cleveland Arena 4,562
12–24 :
January: 1–13 (home: 0–5; road: 1–8)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord :
February: 4–12 (home: 3–6; road: 1–6)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
57February 5, 1972@ Atlanta
L 117–120
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 6,281
17–40 :
March: 3–10 (home: 1–5; road: 2–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
74March 12, 1972@ Atlanta
L 114–135
Alexander Memorial Coliseum 4,915
21–53
78March 19, 1972Atlanta
L 105–115
Cleveland Arena 8,049
22–56 :
1971–72 schedule :

## Awards and honors

* Austin Carr, NBA All-Rookie Team First Team