The 1962-63 Los Angeles Lakers season was a notable campaign in the franchise’s history, marked by strong performances and a deep playoff run. Led by the legendary Jerry West and forward Elgin Baylor, the Lakers finished the regular season with a 53-27 record, securing first place in the Western Division. This impressive showing was a testament to the team’s offensive prowess and consistency throughout the season.
Jerry West, known for his scoring ability and clutch performances, averaged 27.1 points per game, while Elgin Baylor contributed significantly with 34.0 points and 14.3 rebounds per game, highlighting his dominance on both ends of the court. The duo’s stellar performances were crucial in maintaining the Lakers’ position as a top contender in the league.
In the playoffs, the Lakers displayed their resilience and competitive edge. They first faced the Detroit Pistons in the Western Division Finals and emerged victorious in a tight series, winning 4-2. This victory propelled them to the NBA Finals, where they faced the Boston Celtics, a recurring rival during this era. Despite their efforts, the Lakers were ultimately defeated by the Celtics, losing the series 4-2. The loss was another chapter in the heated Lakers-Celtics rivalry that defined much of the NBA during the 1960s.
Overall, the 1962-63 season was a productive one for the Los Angeles Lakers, showcasing the talents of West and Baylor while setting the stage for future successes. Their strong regular-season performance and playoff resilience solidified their status as one of the premier teams of the era.
- Regular Season Record: 53-27
- Playoff Result: Division Finals: 4-3, NBA Finals: 2-4
Los Angeles Lakers Roster and Stats for 1962-63 Season
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% |
| Elgin Baylor | 80 | 34.0 | 12.9 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 32.6 | 13.6 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jerry West | 55 | 27.1 | 5.1 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 27.8 | 8.2 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Dick Barnett | 80 | 18.0 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 16.8 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Rudy LaRusso | 75 | 12.3 | 7.6 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 14.4 | 9.8 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Frank Selvy | 80 | 10.3 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 7.9 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jim Krebs | 79 | 8.3 | 4.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Leroy Ellis | 80 | 7.2 | 5.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Hot Rod Hundley | 65 | 4.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Gene Wiley | 75 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 | 3.3 | 10.8 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Ron Horn | 28 | 2.6 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Howie Jolliff | 27 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
Los Angeles Lakers in the 1963 NBA Playoffs
1963 Conference Championship vs. St. Louis Hawks
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 31, 1963 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 112-104 | |
| Apr 02, 1963 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 101-99 | |
| Apr 04, 1963 | @ St. Louis Hawks | L 125-112 | |
| Apr 06, 1963 | @ St. Louis Hawks | L 124-114 | |
| Apr 07, 1963 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 123-96 | |
| Apr 09, 1963 | @ St. Louis Hawks | L 121-113 | |
| Apr 11, 1963 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 115-100 |
1963 NBA Finals vs. Boston Celtics
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 14, 1963 | @ Boston Celtics | L 117-114 | |
| Apr 16, 1963 | @ Boston Celtics | L 113-106 | |
| Apr 17, 1963 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 119-99 | |
| Apr 19, 1963 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 108-105 | |
| Apr 21, 1963 | @ Boston Celtics | W 126-119 | |
| Apr 24, 1963 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 112-109 |
Los Angeles Lakers 1962-63 Regular Season Game Log
Here is the game log for the 1962-63 season for the Los Angeles Lakers.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 16, 1962 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 122-106 | |
| Oct 19, 1962 | @ New York Knicks | L 116-105 | |
| Oct 20, 1962 | @ Syracuse Nationals | L 108-102 | |
| Oct 23, 1962 | @ Cincinnati Royals | L 116-115 | |
| Oct 24, 1962 | @ Chicago Zephyrs | L 118-107 | |
| Oct 27, 1962 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 134-118 | |
| Oct 31, 1962 | vs. New York Knicks | W 115-95 | |
| Nov 03, 1962 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 127-115 | |
| Nov 04, 1962 | vs. New York Knicks | W 125-106 | |
| Nov 07, 1962 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 132-108 | |
| Nov 09, 1962 | @ Boston Celtics | W 133-120 | |
| Nov 10, 1962 | @ St. Louis Hawks | L 97-96 | |
| Nov 11, 1962 | vs. Chicago Zephyrs | L 109-105 | |
| Nov 13, 1962 | vs. Chicago Zephyrs | W 107-84 | |
| Nov 15, 1962 | vs. Syracuse Nationals | L 120-98 | |
| Nov 17, 1962 | @ Chicago Zephyrs | W 110-109 | |
| Nov 18, 1962 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 116-98 | |
| Nov 22, 1962 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 134-110 | |
| Nov 23, 1962 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 129-124 | |
| Nov 24, 1962 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 129-123 | |
| Nov 26, 1962 | vs. Chicago Zephyrs | W 128-106 | |
| Nov 28, 1962 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 116-110 | |
| Dec 01, 1962 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 110-97 | |
| Dec 04, 1962 | @ New York Knicks | W 132-112 | |
| Dec 07, 1962 | @ Boston Celtics | L 126-112 | |
| Dec 08, 1962 | @ Cincinnati Royals | W 131-128 | |
| Dec 09, 1962 | vs. Syracuse Nationals | L 117-114 | |
| Dec 11, 1962 | @ Cincinnati Royals | W 124-121 | |
| Dec 12, 1962 | vs. Syracuse Nationals | W 126-120 | |
| Dec 14, 1962 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 120-118 | |
| Dec 15, 1962 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 113-104 | |
| Dec 17, 1962 | vs. Syracuse Nationals | W 121-114 | |
| Dec 19, 1962 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 135-106 | |
| Dec 21, 1962 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | L 105-100 | |
| Dec 26, 1962 | @ St. Louis Hawks | L 106-104 | |
| Dec 29, 1962 | @ Syracuse Nationals | W 132-123 | |
| Dec 30, 1962 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 135-130 | |
| Jan 04, 1963 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 125-123 | |
| Jan 05, 1963 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 106-104 | |
| Jan 06, 1963 | @ Cincinnati Royals | W 120-119 | |
| Jan 08, 1963 | @ St. Louis Hawks | W 99-96 | |
| Jan 09, 1963 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 123-115 | |
| Jan 11, 1963 | @ San Francisco Warriors | W 134-129 | |
| Jan 12, 1963 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 119-114 | |
| Jan 13, 1963 | vs. New York Knicks | W 108-102 | |
| Jan 18, 1963 | @ Chicago Zephyrs | W 116-108 | |
| Jan 20, 1963 | @ Boston Celtics | L 133-121 | |
| Jan 21, 1963 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 124-94 | |
| Jan 23, 1963 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 123-119 | |
| Jan 25, 1963 | vs. Syracuse Nationals | W 122-114 | |
| Jan 27, 1963 | @ St. Louis Hawks | W 105-101 | |
| Jan 30, 1963 | vs. New York Knicks | W 116-115 | |
| Jan 31, 1963 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 127-122 | |
| Feb 01, 1963 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 119-109 | |
| Feb 02, 1963 | @ St. Louis Hawks | W 103-97 | |
| Feb 03, 1963 | @ New York Knicks | L 122-95 | |
| Feb 06, 1963 | vs. Chicago Zephyrs | W 107-105 | |
| Feb 08, 1963 | vs. Chicago Zephyrs | W 94-91 | |
| Feb 09, 1963 | @ Chicago Zephyrs | W 107-106 | |
| Feb 10, 1963 | @ Cincinnati Royals | L 124-107 | |
| Feb 12, 1963 | @ Boston Celtics | L 120-93 | |
| Feb 13, 1963 | @ Boston Celtics | W 134-128 | |
| Feb 14, 1963 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 128-111 | |
| Feb 16, 1963 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | L 122-118 | |
| Feb 19, 1963 | @ San Francisco Warriors | L 111-109 | |
| Feb 22, 1963 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 113-105 | |
| Feb 24, 1963 | vs. Boston Celtics | L 119-109 | |
| Feb 25, 1963 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 113-107 | |
| Feb 26, 1963 | @ New York Knicks | L 125-116 | |
| Feb 27, 1963 | @ Syracuse Nationals | L 122-111 | |
| Mar 01, 1963 | @ Chicago Zephyrs | L 114-109 | |
| Mar 02, 1963 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | L 122-113 | |
| Mar 04, 1963 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | L 114-111 | |
| Mar 06, 1963 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 106-97 | |
| Mar 09, 1963 | @ St. Louis Hawks | L 117-101 | |
| Mar 10, 1963 | @ Detroit Pistons | L 124-116 | |
| Mar 11, 1963 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | W 109-96 | |
| Mar 12, 1963 | @ San Francisco Warriors | L 116-110 | |
| Mar 13, 1963 | vs. St. Louis Hawks | L 112-98 | |
| Mar 16, 1963 | vs. San Francisco Warriors | W 111-105 |
