1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season

The 1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season was the team's 15th season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its sixth in Cincinnati. The Royals were shifted from the Western Division into the Eastern Division before the start of the season because the Philadelphia Warriors had relocated to San Francisco. In their first season in the Eastern Division, the Royals posted a 42–38 record and finished in 3rd place. The season saw the Royals challenged by a rival league, the American Basketball League run by Abe Saperstein, like few NBA teams ever have been. Larry Staverman and Win Wilfong had left the team for the new league. #1 draft picks Larry Siegfried and Jerry Lucas were both also signed away by the ABL. These key losses would later greatly affect the team's playoffs result. Lucas was particularly missed by Cincinnati fans. Oscar Robertson nonetheless led a balanced and solid Royals five that year, supported by Wayne Embry, Jack Twyman, Bob Boozer and Arlen Bockhorn. Draft pick Adrian Smith had arrived and joined Tom Hawkins and Hub Reed at the head of the bench. Robertson posted 28.3 points per game, and his league-leading assists total was twice that of all but one other NBA player. He sank the second-most free throws in the league, and was a strong third on the Royals in rebounds.

1962–63 Cincinnati Royals season
Head coach	Charles Wolf
Owners	Thomas E. Woods estate Louis Jacobs
Arena	Cincinnati Gardens
Results
Record	42–38 (.525)
Place	Division: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Division finals (lost to Celtics 3–4)
Local media
Television	WKRC-TV
Radio	WKRC

The Royals were consistent winners all season long, buoyed by a 10–6 November.

In the playoffs, the Royals would win their first playoff series in 11 years. The Royals upset the second-place Syracuse Nationals with an overtime win on the road in Game 5 on March 26. The two teams had each won their two home games before Robertson led the upset. It was the last NBA game ever hosted by a team in Syracuse, New York. In the Eastern Finals, the Royals faced the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics and stunned them with two wins at Boston Gardens to seize a 2–1 series lead. Thomas E. Wood, the team's key owner, died in 1961. An ownership dispute between competing groups came to a head in 1963 when Louis Jacobs, who had bought Cincinnati Gardens from the Wood estate, scheduled a circus for the week of the Boston series without telling the Royals. The team was furious and had to host their second home playoff game at Xavier University's small Schmidt Fieldhouse. Despite that fact, and the earlier loss of draft pick Jerry Lucas, Robertson led the team to a third win over the Celtics in Game Six to force a seventh game. The Royals lost Game Seven in Boston on April 10, 142–131. Robertson had 43 points, the Celtics' Sam Jones had 47 in that concluding game. The season marks arguably the closest the Cincinnati Royals ever came to an NBA title, despite the obstacles mentioned above.

Ballyhooed #1 pick Jerry Lucas, two-time NCAA Player of The Year, was signed away by George Steinbrenner of the ABL Cleveland Pipers, a serious blow to this year's team.

1. 2 pick was 6' 8 Bud Olsen of Louisville, a college star with local ties.

Roster

1962–63 Cincinnati Royals roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SG 11 Bockhorn, Arlen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1933–07–08 Dayton PF 13 Boozer, Bob 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1937–04–26 Kansas State PF 21 Buckhalter, Joe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1937–08–01 Tennessee State C 15 Embry, Wayne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1937–03–26 Miami (OH) SF 19 Hawkins, Tom 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1936–12–22 Notre Dame PF 16 Olsen, Bud 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1940–07–25 Louisville SF 61 Piontek, Dave 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1937–08–27 Xavier C 51 Reed, Hub 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1936–10–04 Oklahoma City PG 14 Robertson, Oscar 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1938–11–24 Cincinnati SG 10 Smith, Adrian 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1936–10–05 Kentucky PG 41 Tieman, Dan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1940–11–30 Thomas More SF 31 Twyman, Jack 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1934–05–11 Cincinnati

Head coach Charles Wolf Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Boston Celtics	58	22	.725	–	25–5	21–16	12–1	25–11
x-Syracuse Nationals	48	32	.600	10	23–5	13–19	12–8	21–15
x-Cincinnati Royals	42	38	.525	16	23–10	15–19	4–9	20–16
New York Knicks	21	59	.263	37	12–22	5–28	4–9	6–30

Record vs. opponents

1962-63 NBA Records
Team	BOS	CHI	CIN	DET	LAL	NYK	SFW	STL	SYR
Boston	–	8–2	9–3	8–0	4–5	10–2	8–1	5–3	6–6
Chicago	2–8	–	4–6	3–7	3–7	4–6	4–6	3–7	2–8
Cincinnati	3–9	6–4	–	4–4	3–6	10–2	6–3	3–5	7–5
Detroit	0–8	7–3	4–4	–	1–11	8–1	7–5	4–8	3–6
Los Angeles	5–4	7–3	6–3	11–1	–	5–3	8–4	7–5	4–4
New York	2–10	6–4	2–10	1–8	3–5	–	2–6	3–6	2–10
San Francisco	1–8	6–4	3–6	5–7	4–8	6–2	–	3–9	3–5
St. Louis	3–5	7–3	5–3	8–4	5–7	6–3	9–3	–	5–4
Syracuse	6–6	8–2	5–7	6–3	4–4	10–2	5–3	4–5	—

Season schedule

1962–63 game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 20	@ Chicago	109–113	Oscar Robertson (29)	0–1
2	October 23	Los Angeles	115–116	Oscar Robertson (32)	1–1
3	October 24	@ St. Louis	114–121	Oscar Robertson (31)	1–2
4	October 26	St. Louis	102–118	Oscar Robertson (27)	2–2
5	October 28	San Francisco	130–131 (OT)	Oscar Robertson (36)	3–2
6	November 3	@ Syracuse	111–130	Robertson, Twyman (22)	3–3
7	November 7	Boston	106–105	Oscar Robertson (42)	3–4
8	November 8	@ Detroit	114–116	Oscar Robertson (38)	3–5
9	November 9	@ New York	122–119	Oscar Robertson (37)	4–5
10	November 10	Detroit	124–135	Oscar Robertson (32)	5–5
11	November 12	@ Boston	126–137	Robertson, Twyman (26)	5–6
12	November 13	N Detroit	109–127	Oscar Robertson (31)	6–6
13	November 14	Syracuse	120–125	Oscar Robertson (33)	7–6
14	November 16	St. Louis	111–120	Jack Twyman (27)	8–6
15	November 18	San Francisco	120–132	Robertson, Twyman (32)	9–6
16	November 21	@ San Francisco	143–139	Oscar Robertson (40)	10–6
17	November 22	@ Los Angeles	110–134	Oscar Robertson (21)	10–7
18	November 24	@ Los Angeles	123–129	Wayne Embry (34)	10–8
19	November 25	@ San Francisco	128–115	Jack Twyman (27)	11–8
20	November 27	@ New York	139–129	Oscar Robertson (31)	12–8
21	November 30	Syracuse	117–130	Oscar Robertson (31)	13–8
22	December 1	@ Chicago	131–121	Oscar Robertson (30)	14–8
23	December 2	Boston	128–127 (OT)	Robertson, Twyman (29)	14–9
24	December 6	New York	99–96	Jack Twyman (24)	14–10
25	December 8	Los Angeles	131–128 (OT)	Oscar Robertson (42)	14–11
26	December 11	N Los Angeles	124–121	Oscar Robertson (31)	14–12
27	December 12	N Chicago	102–105	Adrian Smith (17)	14–13
28	December 13	N Chicago	142–123	Jack Twyman (32)	15–13
29	December 15	@ Boston	124–120	Oscar Robertson (26)	16–13
30	December 18	@ New York	102–103	Oscar Robertson (28)	16–14
31	December 19	Syracuse	120–129	Oscar Robertson (32)	17–14
32	December 21	Chicago	116–129	Oscar Robertson (30)	18–14
33	December 25	Detroit	120–131	Oscar Robertson (35)	19–14
34	December 28	Boston	121–113	Oscar Robertson (35)	19–15
35	December 29	@ Chicago	104–108	Wayne Embry (25)	19–16
36	January 1	New York	106–112 (OT)	Oscar Robertson (32)	20–16
37	January 2	@ Detroit	118–138	Wayne Embry (23)	20–17
38	January 4	San Francisco	129–130	Jack Twyman (35)	21–17
39	January 5	N Syracuse	136–117	Oscar Robertson (35)	21–18
40	January 6	Los Angeles	120–119 (OT)	Oscar Robertson (33)	21–19
41	January 8	N Syracuse	119–116	Jack Twyman (35)	21–20
42	January 9	@ Syracuse	116–112	Oscar Robertson (29)	22–20
43	January 10	Boston	121–130	Oscar Robertson (41)	23–20
44	January 12	@ St. Louis	109–115	Oscar Robertson (25)	23–21
45	January 13	St. Louis	105–104	Oscar Robertson (31)	23–22
46	January 18	@ Boston	114–122	Oscar Robertson (33)	23–23
47	January 19	New York	108–114	Oscar Robertson (26)	24–23
48	January 20	@ Chicago	93–113	Embry, Robertson (18)	24–24
49	January 23	Boston	133–138	Oscar Robertson (43)	25–24
50	January 25	@ New York	114–112	Jack Twyman (25)	26–24
51	January 26	Chicago	116–142	Oscar Robertson (24)	27–24
52	January 27	N Chicago	143–126	Oscar Robertson (31)	28–24
53	January 31	N Boston	125–128	Jack Twyman (32)	28–25
54	February 1	N San Francisco	133–126	Oscar Robertson (25)	28–26
55	February 2	N Syracuse	117–113	Jack Twyman (25)	28–27
56	February 3	@ Syracuse	125–115	Oscar Robertson (26)	29–27
57	February 5	Boston	106–96	Oscar Robertson (22)	29–28
58	February 7	San Francisco	129–134	Oscar Robertson (33)	30–28
59	February 8	@ St. Louis	116–112	Wayne Embry (23)	31–28
60	February 10	Los Angeles	107–124	Oscar Robertson (29)	32–28
61	February 13	N Syracuse	122–124	Oscar Robertson (34)	33–28
62	February 15	St. Louis	99–96	Oscar Robertson (23)	33–29
63	February 16	@ Detroit	110–99	Wayne Embry (27)	34–29
64	February 17	@ New York	109–98	Jack Twyman (27)	35–29
65	February 19	@ Boston	126–129	Oscar Robertson (35)	35–30
66	February 20	@ Syracuse	109–128	Jack Twyman (27)	35–31
67	February 21	New York	96–115	Oscar Robertson (25)	36–31
68	February 23	Detroit	105–102	Oscar Robertson (24)	36–32
69	February 24	N Detroit	119–110	Oscar Robertson (36)	36–33
70	February 26	@ St. Louis	107–114	Oscar Robertson (30)	36–34
71	February 27	New York	107–119	Oscar Robertson (30)	37–34
72	March 1	N San Francisco	132–125	Oscar Robertson (32)	37–35
73	March 3	@ San Francisco	122–123	Jack Twyman (27)	37–36
74	March 4	@ Los Angeles	114–111	Jack Twyman (24)	38–36
75	March 6	@ Los Angeles	97–106	Oscar Robertson (26)	38–37
76	March 10	@ Boston	117–149	Oscar Robertson (23)	38–38
77	March 12	@ New York	110–96	Bob Boozer (21)	39–38
78	March 13	Syracuse	114–128	Oscar Robertson (35)	40–38
79	March 16	@ Chicago	126–117	Oscar Robertson (24)	41–38
80	March 17	New York	109–116	Oscar Robertson (34)	42–38

The Royals won five straight to move to 10–6 in November, and followed that with a 6–8 December. They were 9–9 in both January and February, reaching 36–31 on 2–21–63. The Royals won four straight to finish the season 42–38.

Playoffs

1963 playoff game log
Division Semi-finals: 3–2 (home: 2–0; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points Location Attendance Series 1 March 19 @ Syracuse L 120–123 Oscar Robertson (29) Onondaga War Memorial 4,335 0–1 2 March 21 Syracuse W 133–115 Oscar Robertson (41) Cincinnati Gardens 3,205 1–1 3 March 23 @ Syracuse L 117–121 Embry, Twyman (24) Onondaga War Memorial 8,007 1–2 4 March 24 Syracuse W 125–118 Oscar Robertson (29) Cincinnati Gardens 3,331 2–2 5 March 26 @ Syracuse W 131–127 (OT) Oscar Robertson (32) Onondaga War Memorial 7,418 3–2
Division finals: 3–4 (home: 1–2; road: 2–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 March 28 @ Boston W 135–132 Oscar Robertson (43) Oscar Robertson (14) Oscar Robertson (10) Boston Garden 13,798 0–1 2 March 29 Boston L 102–125 Oscar Robertson (28) Wayne Embry (16) — Cincinnati Gardens 11,102 1–1 3 March 31 @ Boston W 121–116 Oscar Robertson (23) Bob Boozer (14) Oscar Robertson (8) Boston Garden 13,909 2–1 4 April 3 Boston L 110–128 Oscar Robertson (25) Robertson, Embry (15) — Cincinnati Gardens 3,498 2–2 5 April 6 @ Boston L 120–125 Oscar Robertson (36) Wayne Embry (14) Oscar Robertson (10) Boston Garden 13,909 2–3 6 April 7 Boston W 109–99 Oscar Robertson (36) Wayne Embry (22) — Cincinnati Gardens 7,745 3–3 7 April 10 @ Boston L 131–142 Oscar Robertson (43) Embry, Hawkins (7) Oscar Robertson (6) Boston Garden 13,909 3–4
1963 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Arlen Bockhorn
Bob Boozer
Joe Buckhalter
Wayne Embry
Tom Hawkins
Bud Olsen
Dave Piontek
Hub Reed
Oscar Robertson
Adrian Smith
Dan Tieman
Jack Twyman

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Arlen Bockhorn
Bob Boozer
Wayne Embry
Tom Hawkins
Bud Olsen
Dave Piontek
Hub Reed
Oscar Robertson
Adrian Smith
Jack Twyman

Awards and honors

• Oscar Robertson, First Team All-NBA selection, NBA All-Star
• Wayne Embry, NBA All-Star
• Jack Twyman, NBA All-Star

References

• Royals on Basketball Reference