1971–72 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1971–72 Portland Trail Blazers season was the second season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Geoff Petrie missed 22 games due to injury. Petrie who averaged 24.8 points per game in his rookie season would drop nearly 6 points per game as the Blazers finished with an NBA worst record of 18–64. One of the highlights of the season was Sidney Wicks. He would win the Rookie of the Year with a team best 24.5 points per game.

Before the start of the season, Blazers guard Rick Adelman was named captain, making him the first in franchise history.

Portland head coach Rolland Todd was fired on February 2, 1972, and replaced by Stu Inman, the Blazers director of player personnel. Todd's dismissal came in the wake of a 129–117 loss to the Phoenix Suns the day before. Portland players were allegedly upset with team management for placing guard Willie McCarter on waivers. Sidney Wicks was accused by Todd and Inman of playing lackadaisical defense, allowing his opponent Paul Silas to take 30 shots against him. Charlie Yelverton sat on the bench during th U.S. national anthem and did not participate in pre-game warmups.

Roster

Portland Trail Blazers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From
PG	12	Adelman, Rick	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1946-06-16	Loyola Marymount
SF	44	Gregor, Gary	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1945-08-13	South Carolina
C	30−35	Imhoff, Darrall	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1938-10-11	California
SF	38	Knight, Ron	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1947-08-04	Cal State LA
SF	41	Marsh, Jim	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1946-04-26	USC
SG	17	McCarter, Willie	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1946-07-26	Drake
SF	40	McKenzie, Stan	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1944-10-06	NYU
SG	45	Petrie, Geoff	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1948-04-17	Princeton
C	54	Schlueter, Dale	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1945-11-12	Colorado State
C	43	Smith, William	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	1949-02-14	Syracuse
SG	15	Steele, Larry	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1949-05-05	Kentucky
PF	21	Wicks, Sidney	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1949-09-19	UCLA
SG	11	Yelverton, Charlie	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1948-12-05	Fordham

Head coach

Stu Inman

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: February 3, 1972

Regular season

Season Standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers	69	13	.841	–	36–5	31–7	2–1	21–3
x-Golden State Warriors	51	31	.622	18	27–8	21–20	3–3	14–10
Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573	22	28–12	18–22	1–1	12–12
Houston Rockets	34	48	.415	35	15–20	14–23	5–5	9–15
Portland Trail Blazers	18	64	.220	51	14–26	4–35	0–3	4–20

#	Western Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Los Angeles Lakers	69	13	.841
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	63	19	.768
3	x-Chicago Bulls	57	25	.695
4	x-Golden State Warriors	51	31	.622

5	Phoenix Suns	49	33	.598
6	Seattle SuperSonics	47	35	.573
7	Houston Rockets	34	48	.415
8	Detroit Pistons	26	56	.317
9	Portland Trail Blazers	18	64	.220

Record vs. opponents

1971–72 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BAL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CIN	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	LAL	MIL	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA
Atlanta	—	2–4	0–4	4–2	0–5	3–3	4–2	3–2	3–2	1–4	0–5	2–3	3–1	3–3	3–2	4–0	1–4
Baltimore	4–2	—	2–2	3–3	1–4	4–2	1–5	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–4	0–5	2–4	4–0	4–1	3–1	2–3
Boston	4–0	2–2	—	6–0	3–2	4–2	5–1	5–0	2–3	5–0	1–4	2–3	3–3	6–0	2–3	4–0	2–3
Buffalo	2–4	3–3	0–6	—	1–3	3–3	4–2	2–4	1–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–5	3–3	0–4	2–4	0–4
Chicago	5–0	4–1	2–3	3–1	—	3–1	4–0	5–1	3–3	5–1	1–3	2–4	3–2	4–1	5–1	6–0	2–3
Cincinnati	3–3	2–4	2–4	3–3	1–3	—	6–2	2–3	2–3	0–4	1–4	0–5	2–2	2–2	2–3	2–2	0–5
Cleveland	2–4	5–1	1–5	2–4	0–4	2–6	—	1–3	0–4	2–2	1–3	0–4	1–5	2–4	0–4	4–2	0–4
Detroit	2–3	2–3	0–5	4–2	1–5	3–2	3–1	—	0–5	3–3	1–4	1–5	1–4	1–4	2–4	2–2	0–4
Golden State	2–3	4–1	3–2	3–1	3–3	3–2	4–0	5–0	—	5–1	1–5	2–2	2–3	4–1	2–3	4–2	4–2
Houston	4–1	2–3	0–5	4–0	1–5	4–0	2–2	3–3	1–5	—	1–5	0–5	0–5	4–1	1–3	4–2	3–3
Los Angeles	5–0	4–1	4–1	4–0	3–1	4–1	3–1	4–1	5–1	5–1	—	4–1	4–1	5–0	4–2	6–0	5–1
Milwaukee	3–2	5–0	3–2	4–0	4–2	5–0	4–0	5–1	2–2	5–0	1–4	—	2–3	4–1	4–2	6–0	6–0
New York	1–3	4–2	3–3	5–1	2–3	2–2	5–1	4–1	3–2	5–0	1–4	3–2	—	3–3	1–4	3–1	3–2
Philadelphia	3–3	0–4	0–6	3–3	1–4	2–2	4–2	4–1	1–4	1–4	0–5	1–4	3–3	—	1–4	2–2	4–1
Phoenix	2–3	1–4	3–2	4–0	1–5	3–2	4–0	4–2	3–2	3–1	2–4	2–4	4–1	4–1	—	6–0	3–2
Portland	0–4	1–3	0–4	4–2	0–6	2–2	2–4	2–2	2–4	2–4	0–6	0–6	1–3	2–2	0–6	—	0–6
Seattle	4–1	3–2	3–2	4–0	3–2	5–0	4–0	4–0	2–4	3–3	1–5	0–6	2–3	1–4	2–3	6–0	—

Game log

1971–72 Game log
#	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	Record
1	October 15	Seattle	119–88	Stan McKenzie (22)	0–1
2	October 17	Milwaukee	127–94	Sidney Wicks (23)	0–2
3	October 19	Detroit	101–99	Stan McKenzie (25)	0–3
4	October 23	Cincinnati	100–104	Sidney Wicks (34)	1–3
5	October 26	Chicago	123–111	Sidney Wicks (24)	1–4
6	October 29	Buffalo	120–119	Sidney Wicks (28)	1–5
7	November 4	@ Houston	112–110	Sidney Wicks (31)	2–5
8	November 6	@ Boston	109–124	Sidney Wicks (25)	2–6
9	November 7	@ Cleveland	99–120	Willie McCarter (13)	2–7
10	November 9	@ Buffalo	100–109	Sidney Wicks (34)	2–8
11	November 10	@ Detroit	122–139	Sidney Wicks (31)	2–9
12	November 12	Cleveland	106–104	Dale Schlueter (18)	2–10
13	November 13	Los Angeles	130–108	Sidney Wicks (33)	2–11
14	November 16	Milwaukee	125–105	Sidney Wicks (20)	2–12
15	November 18	@ Golden State	105–115	Sidney Wicks (29)	2–13
16	November 19	Cleveland	105–118	Stan McKenzie (31)	3–13
17	November 20	Seattle	104–100	Sidney Wicks (27)	3–14
18	November 23	@ Chicago	94–130	Sidney Wicks (27)	3–15
19	November 24	@ Cincinnati	112–114	Stan McKenzie (29)	3–16
20	November 26	@ Milwaukee	105–120	Sidney Wicks (30)	3–17
21	November 27	@ Philadelphia	93–116	Sidney Wicks (22)	3–18
22	November 30	Phoenix	121–111 (OT)	Sidney Wicks (23)	3–19
23	December 1	@ Phoenix	103–139	Sidney Wicks (27)	3–20
24	December 3	Golden State	107–115	Geoff Petrie (35)	4–20
25	December 5	@ Los Angeles	107–123	Gary Gregor (20)	4–21
26	December 7	@ Detroit	131–130 (OT)	Geoff Petrie (36)	5–21
27	December 8	@ Baltimore	97–115	Sidney Wicks (24)	5–22
28	December 10	@ Buffalo	101–100 (OT)	Geoff Petrie (28)	6–22
29	December 11	@ New York	102–134	Willie McCarter (16)	6–23
30	December 14	Los Angeles	129–114	Sidney Wicks (31)	6–24
31	December 17	Philadelphia	126–127	Gary Gregor (28)	7–24
32	December 18	@ Seattle	105–107	Sidney Wicks (28)	7–25
33	December 19	Detroit	113–114	Sidney Wicks (26)	8–25
34	December 21	Houston	132–119	McKenzie, Wicks (24)	8–26
35	December 23	New York	120–117	Stan McKenzie (27)	8–27
36	December 25	Chicago	109–88	Sidney Wicks (24)	8–28
37	December 27	@ Atlanta	121–135	Geoff Petrie (23)	8–29
38	December 28	@ Cleveland	111–112	Geoff Petrie (26)	8–30
39	December 29	@ Milwaukee	84–123	Dale Schlueter (18)	8–31
40	December 30	@ Chicago	92–117	Sidney Wicks (23)	8–32
41	January 2	Buffalo	90–108	Sidney Wicks (30)	9–32
42	January 4	Atlanta	103–91	Sidney Wicks (22)	9–33
43	January 6	@ Golden State	115–119	Sidney Wicks (29)	9–34
44	January 7	Boston	120–114	Geoff Petrie (24)	9–35
45	January 8	Cleveland	102–125	Geoff Petrie (22)	10–35
46	January 11	Baltimore	106–114	Gary Gregor (25)	11–35
47	January 14	@ Buffalo	102–100	Sidney Wicks (28)	12–35
48	January 15	@ Chicago	100–120	Geoff Petrie (21)	12–36
49	January 16	@ Milwaukee	97–126	Sidney Wicks (25)	12–37
50	January 21	N Philadelphia	122–136	Sidney Wicks (30)	12–38
51	January 22	N Baltimore	99–116	Sidney Wicks (19)	12–39
52	January 23	@ Boston	105–115	Sidney Wicks (25)	12–40
53	January 25	@ Houston	104–118	Sidney Wicks (30)	12–41
54	January 28	Golden State	105–102	Sidney Wicks (25)	12–42
55	January 30	@ Los Angeles	131–153	Stan McKenzie (22)	12–43
56	February 1	Phoenix	129–117	Geoff Petrie (25)	12–44
57	February 4	Houston	113–114	Sidney Wicks (30)	13–44
58	February 5	Phoenix	118–117 (OT)	Sidney Wicks (32)	13–45
59	February 6	@ Phoenix	94–107	Geoff Petrie (33)	13–46
60	February 8	Cincinnati	100–104	Geoff Petrie (30)	14–46
61	February 11	Philadelphia	106–110	Sidney Wicks (28)	15–46
62	February 12	@ Seattle	97–125	Sidney Wicks (21)	15–47
63	February 13	Seattle	127–117 (OT)	Sidney Wicks (32)	15–48
64	February 15	Boston	111–104	Sidney Wicks (30)	15–49
65	February 18	@ Los Angeles	114–125	Rick Adelman (24)	15–50
66	February 19	Los Angeles	115–94	Sidney Wicks (23)	15–51
67	February 20	@ Seattle	105–109	Sidney Wicks (24)	15–52
68	February 22	@ New York	105–122	Petrie, Wicks (21)	15–53
69	February 23	@ Cincinnati	106–110	Sidney Wicks (30)	15–54
70	February 25	@ Cleveland	104–113	Geoff Petrie (29)	15–55
71	February 27	@ Atlanta	110–113	Sidney Wicks (32)	15–56
72	February 29	Chicago	116–92	Petrie, Wicks (20)	15–57
73	March 3	Baltimore	90–80	Sidney Wicks (28)	15–58
74	March 4	Atlanta	120–101	Sidney Wicks (24)	15–59
75	March 7	Buffalo	94–98	Sidney Wicks (24)	16–59
76	March 9	N Houston	111–114	Sidney Wicks (30)	16–60
77	March 14	Milwaukee	109–98	Sidney Wicks (28)	16–61
78	March 16	@ Golden State	94–107	Sidney Wicks (28)	16–62
79	March 17	Golden State	109–114	Geoff Petrie (39)	17–62
80	March 18	New York	86–133	Sidney Wicks (30)	18–62
81	March 21	@ Phoenix	128–160	Sidney Wicks (31)	18–63
82	March 26	@ Houston	109–131	Geoff Petrie (26)	18–64

Awards and honors

Sidney Wicks, NBA Rookie of the Year Award
Sidney Wicks, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

References

^ Portland Trail Blazers (1970–Present)
"Blazers tab Adelman as captain". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. Associated Press. July 29, 1971. p. 21. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
"Blazers fire Rolland Todd; Inman: Better defense". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. Associated Press. February 3, 1972. p. 21. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
Brandon, Steve (November 4, 1994). "The Blazers; The early years dissension, turmoil marked Blazers early years". The Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. p. N07.
"Trail Blazers Protest McCarter's Cut". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. February 2, 1972. p. 19. Retrieved February 7, 2021.