1972 NBA All-Star Game

Result

MVP: Jerry West

Box score

Bench (10+ points): Oscar Robertson (11), Cazzie Russell (10), Jimmy Walker (10), Connie Hawkins (13)

Bench (10+ points): Jo Jo White (12), Jack Marin (11)

Game context

The 1972 All-Star Game, played January 18 at the Forum in Inglewood, gave Lakers legend Jerry West a signature moment on his own home floor. With the score tied late, West buried a roughly 20-foot jump shot at the buzzer to break the deadlock and give the West a 112-110 win in front of 17,214 hometown fans, a clutch shot that earned him the game's Most Valuable Player award despite a modest overall statistical line of 13 points and 6 rebounds — a clear case of a decisive, game-deciding moment outweighing a comparatively quiet box score in the voting. The game itself swung significantly over its four quarters. The East jumped out to an early lead, going up 64-54 at halftime behind a 33-31 first quarter and 31-23 second, before the West stormed back in the third, outscoring the East 33-20 to take an 87-84 lead heading into the fourth. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch of a tight final period (25-26 in the East's favor) before West's game-winner settled the outcome. This was also the same building — the Forum — and same general moment in Lakers history that saw the franchise on its way to one of the greatest single seasons in NBA history, as the 1971-72 Lakers would go on to win a then-record 33 consecutive games and capture the franchise's first championship since relocating to Los Angeles, exactly the sort of signature, character-defining season that made West's game-deciding shot here feel emblematic of the team's magical year. The rosters that year also featured several notable debuts and milestones: Boston's Dave Cowens and Detroit's Bob Lanier both made their first All-Star appearances, each destined for Hall of Fame careers and, in Cowens's case, an All-Star MVP award of his own the very next year; Elvin Hayes appeared representing the Houston Rockets in their first season in that city following the franchise's relocation from San Diego. Bill Sharman, coaching the record-setting Lakers, led the West bench, while Boston's Tom Heinsohn coached the East. West's buzzer-beating MVP turn stands as one of the signature individual highlights of the entire 1951-1975 stretch of the event, a rare instance of a game-winning shot directly producing the game's headline individual award. It also marked one of West's final signature moments on an All-Star stage before his 1974 retirement, capping a career in which his silhouette — dribbling, driving, rising for a jumper — would eventually become the literal basis for the NBA's official logo.

Sources

• Basketball-Reference — NBA All-Star Game History
• Basketball-Reference — NBA & ABA All-Star Game MVP (Kobe Bryant Trophy)
• Wikipedia — 1972 NBA All-Star Game