# 1972–73 Milwaukee Bucks season

The 1972–73 NBA season was the Bucks' fifth season in the NBA.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 6 | Russ Lee | G/F | United States | Marshall |
| 1 | 12 | Julius Erving | SF/SG | United States | Massachusetts Amherst |
| 2 | 29 | Chuck Terry | F | United States | California State-Long Beach |
| 3 | 46 | George Adams | F/G | United States | Gardner-Webb |
| 4 | 63 | Art White | | United States | Georgetown |
| 5 | 79 | Ron Harris | | United States | Wichita State |
| 7 | 113 | Mickey Davis | F/G | United States | Duquesne |
| 8 | 129 | Charles Kirkland | | United States | Cheyney (PA) |
| 9 | 143 | Jim Regenold | | United States | Ball State |
| 10 | 156 | Jolly Spight | | United States | Santa Clara |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Midwest Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| y-Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 33–5 | 25–15 | 2–2 | 15–5 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 51 | 31 | .622 | 9 | 29–12 | 20–19 | 2–0 | 10–10 |
| Detroit Pistons | 40 | 42 | .488 | 20 | 26–15 | 13–25 | 1–2 | 9–11 |
| Kansas City–Omaha Kings | 36 | 46 | .439 | 24 | 24–17 | 12–29 | – | 6–14 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT |
| 1 | z-Milwaukee Bucks | 60 | 22 | .732 |
| 2 | y-Los Angeles Lakers | 60 | 22 | .732 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Bulls | 51 | 31 | .622 |
| 4 | x-Golden State Warriors | 47 | 35 | .573 |
| 5 | Detroit Pistons | 40 | 42 | .488 |
| 6 | Phoenix Suns | 38 | 44 | .463 |
| 7 | Kansas City–Omaha Kings | 36 | 46 | .439 |
| 8 | Seattle SuperSonics | 26 | 56 | .317 |
| 9 | Portland Trail Blazers | 21 | 61 | .256 |
    z – clinched division title
    y – clinched division title
    x – clinched playoff spot

### 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 | – | 3–4 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 |
| Baltimore | 4–3 | – | 1–5 | 5–1 | 0–4 | 8–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 |
| Boston | 5–1 | 5–1 | – | 7–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 7–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 |
| Buffalo | 1–5 | 1–5 | 0–7 | – | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–6 | 7–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Chicago | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 3–1 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 4–0 | 5–2 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 5–1 |
| Cleveland | 4–3 | 0–8 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 1–3 | – | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–6 | 6–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 |
| Detroit | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | – | 2–4 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 1–5 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 2–4 |
| Golden State | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | – | 3–1 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 5–1 | 4–3 |
| Houston | 4–4 | 2–5 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 1–3 | – | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–5 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Kansas City-Omaha | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 2–4 | 4–0 | – | 1–5 | 1–6 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 4–2 |
| Los Angeles | 1–3 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 5–1 | – | 3–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 6–1 | 6–0 | 6–0 |
| Milwaukee | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 6–1 | 3–3 | – | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 | 5–1 |
| New York | 3–3 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 6–1 | 1–3 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | – | 6–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 |
| Philadelphia | 0–6 | 1–5 | 0–7 | 1–7 | 0–4 | 0–6 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–6 | – | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Phoenix | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–6 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 4–0 | – | 5–2 | 4–2 |
| Portland | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–5 | – | 3–4 |
| Seattle | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–6 | 1–5 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 4–3 | — |

### Game log

1972–73 game log Total: 60–22 (home: 33–5; road: 25–15; neutral: 2–2) :
October: 8–1 (home: 2–0; road: 6–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1October 13, 1972@ Phoenix
W 117–105
Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
1–0
2October 14, 1972@ Golden State
W 117–105
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
2–0
3October 17, 1972@ Portland
L 108–117
Memorial Coliseum
2–1
4October 20, 1972Detroit
W 109–89
Milwaukee Arena
3–1
5October 21, 1972@ Buffalo
W 91–63
Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
4–1
6October 22, 1972@ Cleveland
W 104–84
Cleveland Arena
5–1
7October 25, 1972Buffalo
W 109–92
Milwaukee Arena
6–1
8October 26, 1972@ Kansas City–Omaha
W 114–107
Omaha Civic Auditorium
7–1
9October 28, 1972@ Philadelphia
W 96–92
The Spectrum
8–1 :
November: 3–1 (home: 3–1; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
10November 4, 1972Phoenix
W 104–105
Milwaukee Arena
8–2
11November 5, 1972Philadelphia
W 131–113
Milwaukee Arena
9–2
12November 8, 1972Seattle
W 116–103
Milwaukee Arena
10–2
13November 10, 1972Baltimore
W 120–82
Milwaukee Arena
11–2 :
December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord :
January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord :
February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord :
March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord :
1972–73 schedule :

## Playoffs

1973 playoff game log :
Conference Semi-finals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
March 30
Golden State
W 110–90
Abdul-Jabbar, Robertson (22)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24)
Oscar Robertson (12)
Milwaukee Arena 10,746
1–0
2
April 1
Golden State
L 92–95
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (26)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (15)
five players tied (3)
Milwaukee Arena 10,379
1–1
3
April 5
@ Golden State
W 113–93
Oscar Robertson (34)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (18)
Oscar Robertson (8)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,493
2–1
4
April 7
@ Golden State
L 97–102
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (25)
Perry, Abdul-Jabbar (14)
Oscar Robertson (7)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 8,173
2–2
5
April 10
Golden State
L 97–100
four players tied (19)
Perry, Abdul-Jabbar (12)
Oscar Robertson (11)
University of Wisconsin Field House 12,204
2–3
6
April 13
@ Golden State
L 86–100
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27)
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14)
Lucius Allen (5)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 13,175
2–4 :
1973 schedule :

## Player statistics
### Season

| Player | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 76 | 42.8 | 55.4 | 71.3 | 16.1 | 5.0 | 30.2 |
| Bob Dandridge | 73 | 39.1 | 47.2 | 78.9 | 8.2 | 2.8 | 20.2 |
| Oscar Robertson | 73 | 37.5 | 45.4 | 84.7 | 4.9 | 7.5 | 15.5 |
| Lucius Allen | 80 | 33.7 | 48.4 | 71.5 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 15.5 |
| Jon McGlocklin | 80 | 24.4 | 50.2 | 86.3 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 9.6 |
| Curtis Perry | 67 | 31.3 | 46.1 | 65.9 | 9.6 | 1.8 | 9.1 |
| Terry Driscoll | 59 | 16.3 | 42.9 | 69.4 | 5.0 | 0.9 | 5.5 |
| Mickey Davis | 74 | 14.1 | 43.8 | 82.6 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 5.1 |
| Wali Jones | 27 | 15.5 | 40.7 | 88.9 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 5.0 |
| Gary Gregor | 9 | 9.8 | 33.3 | 71.4 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Russ Lee | 46 | 6.0 | 38.6 | 74.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| Dick Cunningham | 72 | 9.6 | 41.0 | 58.0 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 2.2 |
| Chuck Terry | 67 | 10.3 | 34.0 | 70.8 | 2.2 | 0.6 | 1.9 |

### Playoffs

| Player | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
| Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 6 | 46.0 | 42.8 | 54.3 | 16.2 | 2.8 | 22.8 |
| Oscar Robertson | 6 | 42.7 | 50.0 | 91.2 | 4.7 | 7.5 | 21.2 |
| Lucius Allen | 6 | 33.8 | 40.4 | 78.6 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 15.7 |
| Bob Dandridge | 6 | 34.0 | 42.1 | 70.4 | 4.7 | 1.2 | 13.8 |
| Jon McGlocklin | 6 | 24.2 | 50.9 | 87.5 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 10.2 |
| Curtis Perry | 6 | 39.7 | 48.1 | 50.0 | 11.5 | 2.2 | 8.8 |
| Russ Lee | 5 | 2.6 | 57.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 3.2 |
| Mickey Davis | 6 | 9.0 | 35.3 | 100.0 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 2.3 |
| Chuck Terry | 5 | 3.6 | 80.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.6 |
| Dick Cunningham | 5 | 3.4 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Terry Driscoll | 6 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |

## Transactions
### Free agents

| Player | Signed | Former team |
| Terry Driscoll | November 15, 1972 | Baltimore Bullets |

## Awards and records

* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, All-NBA First Team