As of 2005 the celtics are the only team in NBA history to have never lost a Game 7 in the NBAFinals they are a perfect 7-0 in game 7s in the finals in the following years 1957, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1969, 1974, and 1984 and most of these came against the Lakers.
Jones led the Celtics to four consecutive NBAFinals appearances against the Lakers and the Houston Rockets between 1984 and 1987, winning championships in 1984 and 1986.
In 1957, the Celtics again advanced to the NBAFinals, this time losing to the Hawks in 6 games.
The Nationals finished with the best record in their first year in the NBA at 51-13 and advanced to the NBAFinals before losing to the Champion Minneapolis Lakers.
Syracuse was known as the Nationals through 1962-63 before relocating to Philadelphia in 1963-64.
The Detroit Pistons trailed the Nationals 25-38 during regular-season play from the team’s move to Detroit in 1957-58 to the Nationals’ last season in Syracuse in 1962-63.
In 1959, Baylor was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and from the 1960-61 to the 1962-63 seasons, he averaged 34.8, 38.3 and 34.0 points per game, leading the Lakers to the NBAFinals eight times (although never winning).
In 1977, Baylor was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame and in 1980 he was named to the NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team and again in 1996, he was named to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Baylor was a 10-time All-NBA First Team selection and went to the NBA All-Star Game 11 times.
Bing was unfortunately one of the great players who never led his team to the NBAFinals, a title he shared with other NBA greats like Bob Lanier, Pete Maravich, Connie Hawkins, Dan Issel, Bernard King to name a few
David Bing (born November 24, 1943 in Washington, DC) is a former All-Star basketball player in the NBA, primarily for the Detroit Pistons from 1966 to 1975.
The Legend of Dave Bing began in 1959 where he played at the Spingarn, Washington D.C. high school, where he was a three-year letter winner, he was an all-Inter High, an All-Metro, an All-East member and in 1962 was in Parade magazine and was a member of the All-American Team.
The presence of the Celtics in the same Eastern Division as the Warriors (his rookie year saw the first of the Celtics' record eight straight NBA titles) kept Chamberlain out of the NBAFinals until 1964.
The 7-foot 1-inch (2.16 m) Chamberlain holds nearly 100 NBA records, including the record for most points in a game -- 100, which he scored on March 2, 1962, against the New York Knicks in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
In 1973, the San Diego Conquistadors of the American Basketball Association offered Chamberlain a $600,000 contract as player-coach.
After defeating the Bullets in the Eastern Division semifinals and the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Division finals, the Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games to capture their first NBA title.
Another notable loss occurred on March 3, 1962, as the Philadelphia Warriors' Wilt Chamberlain scored a NBA-record 100 points against the Knicks, and the Warriors won the game 169-147.
In the 1969-70 season, the Knicks had a then-NBA record 18 straight victories en route to 60-22 record, which was the best regular season record in the team's history.
Or helping make sure an opponents' shot didn't go in, such as that of the Los Angeles Lakers' Frank Selvy, who missed an open 12-foot baseline jumper at the buzzer of Game 7 of the 1962NBAFinals that would have given the Lakers the title.
He never believed that there was a lucky leprechaun up in the rafters, helping guide a key shot into the basket, such as Don Nelson's famous jumper that hit the front rim, bounced about eight feet into the air, then came down through the basket to clinch the 1969 NBA championship.
The Celtics, naturally, went on to win in overtime.
Teaming with all-time greats Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, Rudy helped the Lakers reach four NBAFinals between 1962-1966, although they lost to the Boston Celtics each time.
The 12th overall pick in the 1959 NBA Draft, LaRusso was described by Neil Isaacs in All the Moves: A History of College Basketball, as the player who, "...personified the return of the Ivies to the mainstream of big-time basketball.
That year, with Elgin Baylor called up by the armed services during the Berlin Crisis, Rudy stepped up and helped lead the Lakers to the Western Division title, scoring 17.2 points (19th in the league) and grabbing a career-high 10.4 rebounds per game (13th in the league).
Golden State's hustle now had the league's attention, although the team was still considered unlikely to defeat Washington in the 1975 NBAFinals.
The team began in Philadelphia in 1946, moved to San Francisco in 1962, and changed its name to Golden State after relocating to Oakland in 1971.
By the turn of the millennium - with the Warriors preparing to host the NBA All-Star extravaganza -an optimistic beginning had turned into another rebuilding season.
The next month, Chicago would win their 5th NBAfinals while the Bullets would drop their violent name and become the Washington Wizards.
The Zephyrs, as they were called in the 1962-63 NBA season, were actually the renamed version of the expansion Chicago Packers who came into being the previous season ('61-'62).
Since those days (Chicago would win one more championship before the front office would scuttle the ship) both teams have been in the dark ages, a time where the Bulls couldn't make the playoffs because they didn't have Michael Jordan and the Wizards couldn't make the playoffs even though they had Michael Jordan.
Paxson is better known for his play during the 1993 NBAfinals, when he played for the Chicago Bulls against the Phoenix Suns.
Paxson, whose brother Jim Paxson also played in the NBA, was selected by the San Antonio Spurs of that league after averaging 12 points per game for his collegiate career.
John Paxson (born in 1962) is a former basketball player from the US.
Game 7s in the finals were much more common in the NBA's early years that they have been lately.
Only twice did a Game 7 in the finals go to overtime, the other instance happening in 1962 when the Celtics defeated Los Angeles 110-107 behind 30 points and 40 rebounds -- yes, 40 rebounds -- from Bill Russell.
Frank Selvy of the Lakers had a chance to win it at the end of regulation but missed a baseline jumper, and Bob Cousy of the Celtics dribbled frantically around the court to run the final seconds off the clock.
Just two years ago, Boston had blown out St. Louis in the seventh game of an NBAFinals.
But in 1962, Frank Selvy of the Lakers had the chance to put Boston away on the parquet.
Boston came back from being down 2-1 and 3-2 in the series to win a fourth straight NBA title in dramatic fashion, 110-107 in overtime in Game 7 at Boston Garden.
The lowdown: While much is made of the fact that the Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967, they were remarkably prolific until this time, winning three consecutive championships between 1962 and 1964.
Enduring championship moments: Bobby Baun returned to the ice with a broken foot and scored the winner in overtime in Game 6 of the 1964 Stanley Cup Finals, forcing a Game 7 that the Leafs would win.
While the Tigers haven't made the playoffs since 1987 and remain stuck at four World Series wins, the city's NHL and NBA franchises have each added three titles since then.
The NBAFinals would be a battle of Philadelphia as the 76ers took on the San Francisco Warriors who played in Philly from 1946-1962.
The 76ers would go on to finish their first season in Philadelphia with a record of 34-46 that landed them in 3rd place, as Dolph Schayes ended a 16-year Hall of Fame Career, while also leading the team as coach.
When the series shifted back to Philadelphia for Game 5 the 76ers could not grab the momentum back as they lost 110-104, before losing the series in 6 games.
John Havlicek - Bridgeport, Ohio (Ohio State, Boston Celtics, NBA Hall of Fame) Played in three NCAA finals at Ohio State (from 1960 to '62); helped lead Celtics to eight titles; 13-time All-Star.
Robert Butts - Benwood, WV (Ohio State University football, in 1960, 1961, 1962 he played center)
Rollie Fingers - Toronto, Ohio (Oakland A's, MLB Hall of Fame) Hall of Fame pitcher had 341 career saves; won AL MVP and Cy Young awards in 1981 with Brewers; was World Series MVP in '74 with A's.
