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1962 NBA playoffs

Sports tournament

Field	Value
title	NBA playoffs
year	1962
season	[1961–62](1961-62-nba-season)
dates	March 16–April 18, 1962
num_teams	6
winners	Boston Celtics
count	5
second	Los Angeles Lakers
semifinal1	Detroit Pistons
semifinal2	Philadelphia Warriors
prev_season	[1961](1961-nba-playoffs)
next_season	[1963](1963-nba-playoffs)

The 1962 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1961-62 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

The Celtics won their 4th straight title to become the first (and as of 2025, only) NBA team to do so. Boston's Game 7 victory occurred in OT, with Bill Russell tying his own Finals record with 40 rebounds.

This was the second NBA Finals played between the Celtics and Lakers, but it was the first one the Lakers played in since they moved to Los Angeles.

Though the NBA has existed since 1947, this is the earliest NBA Finals played between two teams that still reside in their present (2022) locations.

Bracket

| RD2-text1= | RD2-text2=

| RD3-seed1=E1 | RD3-team1=Boston* | RD3-score1=4 | RD3-seed2=W1 | RD3-team2=Los Angeles* | RD3-score2=3 |* Division winner |Bold Series winner |Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals}}

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(2) [[Philadelphia Warriors]] vs. (3) [[Syracuse Nationals]]

This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning five of the first eight meetings.

Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 5–3 in all-time playoff series

Western Division Semifinals

(2) [[Cincinnati Royals]] vs. (3) [[Detroit Pistons]]

This was the seventh playoff meeting between these two teams, with both teams splitting the first six meetings. (It would also be Detroit's last playoff series victory for fourteen years.)

Tied 3–3 in all-time playoff series

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(1) [[Boston Celtics]] vs. (2) [[Philadelphia Warriors]]

Paul Arizin's final NBA game; Sam Jones hits the series-winning shot with 2 seconds left.

This was the third playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning the first two meetings.

Boston leads 2–0 in all-time playoff series

Western Division Finals

(1) [[Los Angeles Lakers]] vs. (3) [[Detroit Pistons]]

This was the ninth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning seven of the first eight meetings.

Los Angeles leads 7–1 in all-time playoff series

NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) Los Angeles Lakers

Main article: 1962 NBA Finals

Jerry West steals Sam Jones' inbound pass and hit the game winning buzzer-beater.
Elgin Baylor's 61 points sets a Finals record for an individual scorer in a game.
Frank Selvy misses the championship-winning shot in regulation; Bill Russell's 40 rebounds ties his own Finals record in a single game.

This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning first meeting when the Lakers were in Minneapolis.

Boston leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series

References

"Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
"Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Sacramento Kings (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
"Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
"Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.
"Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics Box Score, April 18, 1962". basketball-reference.com.
"Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs)". basketball-reference.com.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

nba-playoffs 1961–62-nba-season

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