Cleveland Cavaliers Regular Season Rosters

1971-1972 Cleveland Cavaliers Regular Season Roster

Player Pos HT WT YOS Pre-Draft Team Draft Status Nationality
Butch Beard G 6-3 185 1 Louisville 1969 Rnd 1 Pick 10 United States
Austin Carr G 6-4 200 0 Notre Dame 1971 Rnd 1 Pick 1 United States
Charlie Davis SG 6-2 160 0 Wake Forest 1971 Rnd 8 Pick 1 United States
Greg Howard PF 6-9 215 1 New Mexico 1970 Rnd 1 Pick 10 United States
John Johnson SF 6-7 200 1 Iowa 1970 Rnd 1 Pick 7 United States
Steve Patterson C 6-9 225 0 UCLA 1970 Rnd 8 Pick 10 United States
Luther Rackley C 6-10 220 2 Xavier 1969 Rnd 3 Pick 8 United States
Jackie Ridgle SG 6-4 195 0 California 1971 Rnd 3 Pick 6 United States
Rick Roberson FC 6-9 231 2 Cincinnati 1969 Rnd 1 Pick 15 United States
Bingo Smith GF 6-5 195 2 Tulsa 1969 Rnd 1 Pick 6 United States
Dave Sorenson PF 6-8 225 1 Ohio State 1970 Rnd 2 Pick 9 United States
John Warren G 6-3 180 2 St. John's 1969 Rnd 1 Pick 11 United States
Bobby Washington PG 5-11 175 1 Eastern Kentucky 1969 Rnd 12 Pick 13 United States
Walt Wesley C 6-11 220 5 Kansas 1966 Rnd 1 Pick 6 United States

1971-1972 Cleveland Depth Chart

  PG SG SF PF C
Starters B. Beard A. Carr B. Smith J. Johnson R. Roberson
Rotation B. Washington C. Davis   D. Sorenson W. Wesley
Rotation   J. Warren   G. Howard S. Patterson
Rotation   J. Ridgle      

1971-1972 Central Division Standings

RankTeamRecordGB
1Baltimore Bullets38-44-
2Atlanta Hawks36-462
3Cincinnati Royals30-528
4Cleveland Cavaliers23-5915

1971-1972 Cleveland Awards & Honors

Player Award / Honor
Austin Carr All-Rookie First Team (1972)
John Johnson Eastern All-Star Coaches Selection (1972)
Butch Beard Eastern All-Star Coaches Selection (1972)

1971-1972 Cleveland Season Stat Leaders

Player GP MIN PTS REB AST
John Johnson 82 37.1 17.0 7.7 5.1
Bingo Smith 82 33.3 15.0 6.1 3.0
Butch Beard 68 35.8 15.4 4.1 6.7
Walt Wesley 82 26.6 12.4 8.7 0.9
Austin Carr 43 35.8 21.2 3.5 3.4
Rick Roberson 63 35.0 13.1 12.7 1.7
Charlie Davis 61 18.8 9.8 1.5 2.0
Dave Sorenson 76 15.3 7.0 4.0 1.1
Bobby Washington 69 14.0 5.1 1.9 3.2
John Warren 68 14.2 5.0 2.0 1.3
Steve Patterson 65 11.9 3.2 3.5 0.8
Greg Howard 48 8.9 2.9 2.2 0.6
Jackie Ridgle 32 3.3 1.8 0.5 0.2
Luther Rackley 9 7.2 2.6 2.3 0.3

1971-1972 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster Composition

Selected via Draft

Austin Carr was selected as the #1 pick in the First Round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Austin Carr signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1971.

Charlie Davis was selected as the #1 pick in the 8 Round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Charlie Davis signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1971.

John Johnson was selected as the #7 pick in the First Round of the 1970 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. John Johnson signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1970.

Steve Patterson was selected as the #10 pick in the 8 Round of the 1970 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Steve Patterson signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1971.

Jackie Ridgle was selected as the #6 pick in the 3 Round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jackie Ridgle signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1971.

Dave Sorenson was selected as the #9 pick in the Second Round of the 1970 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dave Sorenson signed a multi-year contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers on September 1, 1970.

Acquired via Trade

Greg Howard was acquired in a trade by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Phoenix Suns on August 31, 1971.

Rick Roberson was acquired in a trade by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Los Angeles Lakers on October 13, 1971.

Acquired via Waiver Claim

Bobby Washington was claimed off of the waiver wire by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Milwaukee Bucks on December 11, 1970.

Acquired via Expansion Draft

Butch Beard was taken in the 1970 Expansion Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Atlanta Hawks on May 11, 1970.

Bingo Smith was taken in the 1970 Expansion Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the San Diego Rockets on May 11, 1970.

John Warren was taken in the 1970 Expansion Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the New York Knicks on May 11, 1970.

Walt Wesley was taken in the 1970 Expansion Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Chicago Bulls on May 11, 1970.

1971-1972 Cleveland Cavaliers Front Office

Staff Member Position Start Season Previous Job
Bill Fitch Head Coach 1970-1971 N/A
Nick Mileti Owner, General Manager 1970-1971 N/A
Joe Tait Radio Broadcaster 1970-1971 N/A