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1968–69 Cincinnati Royals season

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The 1968–69 NBA season was the Royals 21st season in the NBA and 12th season in Cincinnati.[1] The season was noteworthy for the team's fast start, in which the team was 15–6 by the end of November. But the team faded in the second half, failing to make the playoff cut in the tough Eastern Division.

1968–69 Cincinnati Royals season
Head coachEd Jucker
OwnersMax Jacobs
Jeremy Jacobs
ArenaCincinnati Gardens
Results
Record41–41 (.500)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWLWT
RadioWLW
< 1967–68 1969–70 >

Roster

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Cincinnati Royals roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
C 24 Dierking, Connie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Cincinnati
SF 15 Foster, Fred 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Miami (OH)
F 21 Hetzel, Fred 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Davidson
F/C 16 Lucas, Jerry 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Ohio State
PG 14 Robertson, Oscar 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Cincinnati
G 10 Smith, Adrian 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Kentucky
SF 5 Van Arsdale, Tom 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Indiana
C 13 Wesley, Walt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Kansas
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Regular season

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The regular season opened on the road October 16, 1968 against the brand-new Atlanta Hawks, which had just relocated from St. Louis. The Royals won 125–110 behind a balanced attack featuring a rotation of stars Oscar Robertson, Connie Dierking, Jerry Lucas, Adrian Smith, John Tresvant, Tom Van Arsdale and Walt Wesley. The Royals won their first three straight, including their home opener over Detroit on October 19 at Cincinnati Gardens arena. After a pair of losses, Cincinnati won their next six straight, bringing their record to a 9–2 start by November 12. Their 126–115 win over the 10-4 Baltimore Bullets that day gave them the best record in the league. The team went evenly through wins and losses before winning six more in a row in early December, bringing their record to 20–9 by December 15. Two wins in the team's second home, Cleveland Arena, were part of that streak. The December 15th win was another ' road ' home game played in Omaha, Nebraska, a site favored by team General Manager Joel Axelson. The win on the 15th put them in a tie for third-best record in the NBA with the Boston Celtics at 20–9, just behind Baltimore and the Philadelphia 76ers. It also prompted a Sports Illustrated article in their 12/09/1968 issue, ' Serious Contenders In A Funny City ', written by Frank Deford, which left-handedly praised the team, and harshly criticized the city's sports fans and management. The team soon faded after the article, going 21–32 the rest of the season to finish fifth in the East at .500, out of the 1969 NBA playoffs. Their record was better than the 37–45 mark of the Western Division San Diego Rockets, who did make those playoffs.

Season standings

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Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Baltimore Bullets 57 25 .695 – 29–9 24–15 4–1 26–14
x-Philadelphia 76ers 55 27 .671 2 26–8 24–16 5–3 23–17
x-New York Knicks 54 28 .659 3 30–7 19–20 5–1 26–14
x-Boston Celtics 48 34 .585 9 24–12 21–19 3–3 23–17
Cincinnati Royals 41 41 .500 16 15-13 16–21 10–7 20–20
Detroit Pistons 32 50 .390 25 21–17 7–30 4–3 13–27
Milwaukee Bucks 27 55 .329 30 15–19 8–27 4–9 7–29

Record vs. opponents

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1968-69 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS CHI CIN DET LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO SDR SFW SEA
Atlanta — 2–4 3–3 6–1 4–2 6–0 3–4 4–2 2–4 1–5 6–0 3–4 4–3 4–2
Baltimore 4–2 — 5–2 6–0 4–3 7–0 3–3 5–1 3–4 2–4 6–0 5–1 3–3 4–2
Boston 3–3 2–5 — 4–2 5–2 5–1 2–4 5–1 1–6 5–2 6–0 4–2 3–3 3–3
Chicago 1–6 0–6 2–4 — 1–5 3–3 3–4 5–1 2–4 1–5 4–2 3–3 4–3 4–3
Cincinnati 2–4 3–4 2–5 5–1 — 3–4 2–4 5–1 4–2 3–4 4–2 2–4 3–3 3–3
Detroit 0–6 0–7 1–5 3–3 4–3 — 3–3 2–4 3–4 3–4 4–2 3–3 2–4 4–2
Los Angeles 4–3 3–3 4–2 4–3 4–2 3–3 — 5–1 5–1 1–5 6–0 7–0 4–3 5–1
Milwaukee 2–4 1–5 1–5 1–5 1–5 4–2 1–5 — 0–6 0–6 6–2 4–2 3–3 3–5
New York 4–2 4–3 6–1 4–2 2–4 4–3 1–5 6–0 — 4–3 5–1 3–3 5–1 6–0
Philadelphia 5–1 4–2 2–5 5–1 4–3 4–3 5–1 6–0 3–4 — 5–1 4–2 2–4 6–0
Phoenix 0–6 0–6 0–6 2–4 2–4 2–4 0–6 2–6 1–5 1–5 — 1–7 2–4 3–3
San Diego 4–3 1–5 2–4 3–3 4–2 3–3 0–7 2–4 3–3 2–4 7–1 — 3–3 3–3
San Francisco 3–4 3–3 3–3 3–4 3–3 4–2 3–4 3–3 1–5 4–2 4–2 3–3 — 4–3
Seattle 2–4 2–4 3–3 3–4 3–3 2–4 1–5 5–3 0–6 0–6 3–3 3–3 3–4 —
x – clinched playoff spot

Game log

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1968–69 Game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 16 @ Atlanta 125–110 Dierking, Robertson (24) 1–0
2 October 19 Detroit 115–127 Oscar Robertson (24) 2–0
3 October 22 Los Angeles 103–107 Oscar Robertson (28) 3–0
4 October 23 @ Boston 101–108 Connie Dierking (25) 3–1
5 October 26 @ New York 92–98 Jerry Lucas (23) 3–2
6 October 30 New York 114–118 Oscar Robertson (34) 4–2
7 November 1 Milwaukee 114–132 Oscar Robertson (29) 5–2
8 November 2 @ Philadelphia 119–113 Oscar Robertson (25) 6–2
9 November 6 Chicago 122–133 Oscar Robertson (31) 7–2
10 November 9 @ Chicago 110–104 Oscar Robertson (33) 8–2
11 November 12 @ Baltimore 126–115 Tom Van Arsdale (32) 9–2
12 November 13 Baltimore 115–111 Jerry Lucas (26) 9–3
13 November 14 @ New York 110–101 Oscar Robertson (29) 10–3
14 November 15 @ Boston 105–116 Oscar Robertson (28) 10–4
15 November 16 Atlanta 125–130 Oscar Robertson (31) 11–4
16 November 19 @ Detroit 107–121 Dierking, Robertson (23) 11–5
17 November 20 San Francisco 107–113 Oscar Robertson (29) 12–5
18 November 23 Philadelphia 120–105 Tom Van Arsdale (29) 12–6
19 November 27 @ Atlanta 91–94 Oscar Robertson (24) 12–7
20 November 29 N Detroit 112–122 Oscar Robertson (40) 13–7
21 November 30 Atlanta 126–109 Oscar Robertson (24) 13–8
22 December 3 @ Baltimore 129–127 Oscar Robertson (38) 14–8
23 December 7 Boston 117–114 (OT) Jerry Lucas (31) 14–9
24 December 8 N New York 115–120 Jerry Lucas (32) 15–9
25 December 10 @ Milwaukee 107–96 Tom Van Arsdale (23) 16–9
26 December 11 San Diego 110–116 Oscar Robertson (34) 17–9
27 December 13 N Phoenix 123–130 (OT) Oscar Robertson (34) 18–9
28 December 14 Milwaukee 115–121 Oscar Robertson (29) 19–9
29 December 15 N Phoenix 101–119 Tom Van Arsdale (28) 20–9
30 December 17 @ Los Angeles 108–112 Oscar Robertson (28) 20–10
31 December 18 @ Phoenix 114–123 Jerry Lucas (24) 20–11
32 December 21 @ San Diego 124–132 Oscar Robertson (39) 20–12
33 December 25 Chicago 98–103 Connie Dierking (31) 21–12
34 December 26 @ Chicago 96–104 Tom Van Arsdale (28) 21–13
35 December 28 Philadelphia 128–123 Jerry Lucas (34) 21–14
36 December 31 @ Boston 114–112 Connie Dierking (28) 22–14
37 January 1 N San Francisco 106–101 Oscar Robertson (37) 22–15
38 January 2 N Milwaukee 109–113 Tom Van Arsdale (28) 23–15
39 January 3 Baltimore 130–125 Oscar Robertson (42) 23–16
40 January 6 N Chicago 106–104 Connie Dierking (25) 24–16
41 January 7 Milwaukee 116–101 Jerry Lucas (22) 24–17
42 January 9 N Seattle 119–110 Connie Dierking (29) 24–18
43 January 11 @ Detroit 115–118 John Tresvant (24) 24–19
44 January 12 Detroit 113–111 Oscar Robertson (36) 24–20
45 January 16 N San Diego 109–120 Jerry Lucas (27) 25–20
46 January 17 @ Los Angeles 107–128 Jerry Lucas (27) 25–21
47 January 19 @ Los Angeles 117–132 Tom Van Arsdale (30) 25–22
48 January 21 @ San Francisco 113–107 (OT) Tom Van Arsdale (28) 26–22
49 January 26 N Los Angeles 126–113 Connie Dierking (32) 26–23
50 January 28 San Francisco 107–100 Oscar Robertson (23) 26–24
51 January 30 N Philadelphia 115–116 Tom Van Arsdale (26) 27–24
52 January 31 @ Boston 101–116 Connie Dierking (25) 27–25
53 February 1 Seattle 96–111 Oscar Robertson (26) 28–25
54 February 4 N Detroit 114–125 Oscar Robertson (37) 29–25
55 February 5 @ San Diego 93–110 Oscar Robertson (22) 29–26
56 February 6 N Phoenix 103–124 Fred Hetzel (32) 30–26
57 February 7 @ Seattle 97–102 Oscar Robertson (22) 30–27
58 February 8 @ San Francisco 117–116 Oscar Robertson (35) 31–27
59 February 11 N Philadelphia 129–112 Adrian Smith (22) 31–28
60 February 12 San Diego 118–114 Tom Van Arsdale (28) 31–29
61 February 15 @ Chicago 111–101 Oscar Robertson (21) 32–29
62 February 16 Phoenix 125–113 Tom Van Arsdale (23) 32–30
63 February 17 @ Baltimore 117–112 Oscar Robertson (26) 33–30
64 February 18 N Atlanta 123–124 Oscar Robertson (33) 33–31
65 February 19 New York 100–110 Tom Van Arsdale (21) 34–31
66 February 23 Baltimore 126–109 Oscar Robertson (31) 34–32
67 February 25 Philadelphia 120–119 Jerry Lucas (28) 34–33
68 February 27 @ San Diego 112–127 Tom Van Arsdale (23) 34–34
69 February 28 @ San Francisco 115–131 Tom Van Arsdale (23) 34–35
70 March 1 @ Seattle 122–134 Connie Dierking (36) 34–36
71 March 3 @ Seattle 113–107 Jerry Lucas (34) 35–36
72 March 4 @ Phoenix 141–122 Tom Van Arsdale (31) 36–36
73 March 6 @ Milwaukee 112–110 Walt Wesley (25) 37–36
74 March 7 @ Detroit 105–114 Oscar Robertson (26) 37–37
75 March 9 @ Atlanta 107–134 Smith, Van Arsdale (15) 37–38
76 March 13 Boston 110–120 Oscar Robertson (21) 38–38
77 March 14 N Baltimore 128–130 (OT) Oscar Robertson (33) 38–39
78 March 15 @ New York 108–121 Oscar Robertson (24) 38–40
79 March 19 Los Angeles 128–136 (OT) Oscar Robertson (28) 39–40
80 March 21 N Boston 119–145 Tom Van Arsdale (20) 39–41
81 March 22 Seattle 127–134 Jerry Lucas (30) 40–41
82 March 24 @ Philadelphia 125–119 Connie Dierking (21) 41–41

Player statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Zaid Abdul-Aziz
Connie Dierking 82 31.0 .430 .762 9.0 2.7 16.3
Bill Dinwiddie 69
Fred Foster
Pat Frink
Fred Hetzel
Jerry Lucas 74 41.6 .551 .755 18.4 4.1 18.3
Oscar Robertson 79 43.8 .486 .838 6.4 9.8 24.7
Doug Sims
Adrian Smith 73
John Tresvant 51 33.0 .450 8.2
Al Tucker
Tom Van Arsdale 77 39.7 .444 .747 2.7 19.4
Walt Wesley 82

There was no 3-point line in use this season, blocks and steals were not yet kept NBA statistics.

Awards and records

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  • Oscar Robertson, All-NBA First Team
  • Robertson and Jerry Lucas were each named starters to the Eastern squad for the 1969 NBA All-Star Game. Tom Van Arsdale would make the All Star Team the following season.

Transactions

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  • February 1, 1969 : starter John Tresvant was traded to Seattle for Al Tucker.

References

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  1. ^ 1968–69 Cincinnati Royals
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