The 1972–73 National Basketball League season was the inaugural season of the newly formulated National Basketball League.
By 1972, the Scots had their own thriving National League, though also competing in the "Rose Bowl", but when a London team, Sutton, defeated Edinburgh's Boroughmuir Barrs in the 1972 Final, the Basketball Association decided that it was time to relaunch the idea of an English National League. Therefore, the National Basketball League was inaugurated.
Liverpool were formed by a flamboyant owner called Vaughan Thomas who ran the Sports Education Department at Liverpool Polytechnic and they were the first club to incorporate a sponsor's name into their title, Bruno Roughcut tobacco from WD & HO Wills. They were also the first club to import an American, Larry Meek, specifically to play basketball. They played their home games at the Deeside Leisure Centre.
League Standings Pos Team P W L F A Pts1 Avenue (Leyton) 10 8 2 878 758 182 Liverpool Bruno Roughcutters 10 8 2 747 719 183 Sutton 10 6 4 798 758 164 Loughborough All-Stars 10 5 5 754 748 155 Sheffield YMCA Scorpions 10 3 7 821 769 136 RAF Fliers 10 0 10 635 825 10
League Title Play Off Avenue defeated Liverpool 92–65 in the play off decider held at Loughborough College.
National Cup Final
Leading Scorers Player Team Pts Mike Gattorna Sheffield YMCA Scorpions 289 Steve Latham Liverpool Bruno Roughcutters 213Rick Mann Avenue (Leyton) 191Carl Olsson Loughborough All-Stars 190Bob Mackay Sutton 186Len Hoy Avenue (Leyton) 166
References
See also Basketball in England British Basketball League English Basketball League List of English National Basketball League seasons