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 2016, 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 (2015) locations.
Champion: Los Angeles Lakers
Division Semifinals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers have division semifinals byes.
(2) Cincinnati Royals vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 3-1
Game 1 @ Detroit (March 16): Detroit 123, Cincinnati 122
Game 2 @ Cincinnati (March 17): Cincinnati 129, Detroit 107
Game 3 @ Detroit (March 18): Detroit 118, Cincinnati 107
Game 4 @ Cincinnati (March 20): Detroit 112, Cincinnati 111
Last Playoffs meeting: 1958 Eastern Division Semifinals (Detroit won 2-0).
Division Finals
(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Lakers win series 4-2
Game 1 @ Los Angeles (March 24): Los Angeles 132, Detroit 108
Game 2 @ Los Angeles (March 25): Los Angeles 127, Detroit 112
Game 3 @ Detroit (March 27): Los Angeles 111, Detroit 106
Game 4 @ Detroit (March 29): Detroit 118, Los Angeles 117
Game 5 @ Los Angeles (March 31): Detroit 132, Los Angeles 125
Game 6 @ Detroit (April 3): Los Angeles 123, Detroit 117
Last Playoffs meeting: 1961 Western Division Semifinals (Los Angeles won 3-2).
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics have division semifinals byes.
(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals: Warriors win series 3-2
Game 1 @ Philadelphia (March 16): Philadelphia 111, Syracuse 103
Game 2 @ Syracuse (March 18): Philadelphia 97, Syracuse 82
Game 3 @ Philadelphia (March 19): Syracuse 101, Philadelphia 100
Game 4 @ Syracuse (March 20): Syracuse 106, Philadelphia 99
Game 5 @ Philadelphia (March 22): Philadelphia 121, Syracuse 104
Last Playoffs meeting: 1961 Eastern Division Semifinals (Syracuse won 3-0).
Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Philadelphia Warriors: Celtics win series 4-3
Game 1 @ Boston (March 24): Boston 117, Philadelphia 89
Game 2 @ Philadelphia (March 27): Philadelphia 113, Boston 106
Game 3 @ Boston (March 28): Boston 129, Philadelphia 114
Game 4 @ Philadelphia (March 31): Philadelphia 110, Boston 106
Game 5 @ Boston (April 1): Boston 119, Philadelphia 104
Game 6 @ Philadelphia (April 3): Philadelphia 109, Boston 99
Game 7 @ Boston (April 5): Boston 109, Philadelphia 107 (Paul Arizin's final NBA game; Sam Jones hits the series-winning shot with 2 seconds left)
Last Playoffs meeting: 1960 Eastern Division Finals (Boston won 4-2).
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) Los Angeles Lakers:Celtics win series 4-3
Game 1 @ Boston (April 7): Boston 122, Los Angeles 108
Game 2 @ Boston (April 8): Los Angeles 105, Boston 103
Game 3 @ Los Angeles (April 10): Los Angeles 117, Boston 115 (Jerry West steals Sam Jones' inbound pass and hit the game winning buzzer-beater)
Game 4 @ Los Angeles (April 11): Boston 115, Los Angeles 103
Game 5 @ Boston (April 14): Los Angeles 126, Boston 121 (Elgin Baylor scores a Finals record 61 points)
Game 6 @ Los Angeles (April 16): Boston 119, Los Angeles 105
Game 7 @ Boston (April 18): Boston 110, Los Angeles 107 (OT)(Frank Selvy misses the championship-winning shot in regulation; Bill Russell ties his own Finals record with 40 rebounds)
Last Playoffs meeting: 1959 NBA Finals (Boston won 4-0; Lakers were in Minneapolis at the time).