1961–62 NBA season

Notable occurrences

• The Chicago Packers entered the league, bringing the number of teams to nine.
• The NBA schedule was expanded for the third consecutive season. This time it went from 79 games per team, to 80.
• The Philadelphia Warriors played their final season before their transcontinental relocation to San Francisco for the following season. The NBA would return to Philadelphia in 1963.
• The 1962 NBA All-Star Game was played in St. Louis, Missouri, with the West beating the East 150-130. Local favorite Bob Pettit wins the game's MVP award.
• In a game played in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain made history by scoring 100 points in the Philadelphia Warriors 169–147 win over the New York Knicks. It still stands as one of the greatest individual feats in sports history. Chamberlain would go on to average 50.4 points per game that season, another record.
• This year witnessed the first occurrence of a player averaging a triple-double throughout an entire season when Oscar Robertson averaged 30.8 points, 11.4 assists, and 12.5 rebounds per game.
• This was the last season of the NBA on NBC, the network would regain NBA coverage starting in the 1990–91 season.

  Final standings

Eastern Division

Western Division

Statistics leaders

NBA awards

• Most Valuable Player: Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
• Rookie of the Year: Walt Bellamy, Chicago Packers
• All-NBA First Team:
• *Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
• *Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers
• *Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
• *Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers
• *Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
• All-NBA Second Team:
• *Richie Guerin, New York Knicks
• *Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics
• *Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
• *Jack Twyman, Cincinnati Royals
• *Bill Russell, Boston Celtics

  A Season for the Ages