As the 25th anniversary of the founding of the modern NBA, the league unveiled a new logo, inspired by the logo of Major League Baseball, to commemorate the occasion. It features the white silhouette of a basketball player dribbling, framed by red and blue. Jerry West of the Los Angeles Lakers was used as the model for the logo. Coincidentally, Jerry West would win the only NBA Championship of his career during the season.

Notable occurrences

• The San Diego Rockets relocate to Houston, Texas and become the Houston Rockets.
• The San Francisco Warriors are renamed the Golden State Warriors as the team moves across the San Francisco Bay to Oakland.
• The 1972 NBA All-Star Game was played at the Forum in Inglewood, California, with the West beating the East 112-110. To the delight of the home crowd, Jerry West of the Lakers wins the game's MVP award.
• The Lakers' 69 wins set a new record for most regular season wins in NBA history. This mark would stand for 24 seasons, until it was bettered by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.
• The Lakers' Elgin Baylor announced his retirement nine games into the season. That night, the Lakers began a winning streak that would last for two months, totaling 33 games. That streak still stands as the longest winning streak in the history of major American professional team sports.

Final standings

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

C - NBA Champions

1971-72 NBA statistics leaders

NBA awards

• Most Valuable Player: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks
• Rookie of the Year: Sidney Wicks, Portland Trail Blazers
• Coach of the Year: Bill Sharman, Los Angeles Lakers
• All-NBA First Team:
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee Bucks
• Spencer Haywood, Seattle SuperSonics
• John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
• Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
• Walt Frazier, New York Knicks

• All-NBA Rookie Team:
• Sidney Wicks, Portland Trail Blazers
• Clifford Ray, Chicago Bulls
• Austin Carr, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Elmore Smith, Buffalo Braves
• Phil Chenier, Baltimore Bullets

• NBA All-Defensive Team:
• First Team:
• Dave DeBusschere, New York Knicks
• John Havlicek, Boston Celtics
• Wilt Chamberlain, Los Angeles Lakers
• Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
• Walt Frazier, New York Knicks (tie)
• Jerry Sloan, Chicago Bulls (tie)
• Second Team:
• Paul Silas, Phoenix Suns
• Bob Love, Chicago Bulls
• Nate Thurmond, Golden State Warriors
• Norm Van Lier, Chicago Bulls
• Don Chaney, Boston Celtics

Note: All information on this page were obtained on the History section on NBA.com

See also