The 1972–73

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

season was the third season of

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 32–50 record, finishing last in the Central Division and 6th Eastern Conference. This was the 2nd consecutive year with a total win increase. Lenny Wilkens led the team in assists and was named an All-Star.

Offseason

Trades

August 23: Guard Lenny Wilkens and forward

Barry Clemens John Barry Clemens (born May 1, 1943) is an American former professional basketball player. The 6' 6" Clemens attended Xenia High School and Ohio Wesleyan University before being drafted by the NBA's New York Knicks in the 1965 NBA draft, and he ...

obtained from the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for guard

Butch Beard Alfred "Butch" Beard Jr. (born May 5, 1947) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He was the starting point guard with the 1975 NBA champion Golden State Warriors. Career Early years Beard played high school basketbal ...

. September 21: Cavaliers trade the rights to 1971 second-round draft choice

Steve Hawes Steven Sherburne Hawes (born May 26, 1950) is an American former basketball player. Hawes played high school basketball at Mercer Island High School.

to the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

in exchange for a future undisclosed draft choice.

Draft picks

* Note: This table only lists players drafted through the second round.

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Awards and records

* Dwight Davis,

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for playe ...

1st Team

References

Cleveland Cavaliers on Database Basketball

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972-73 Cleveland Cavaliers season

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Cleveland Cavaliers seasons