The 1963–64 season was the Royals 16th season in the NBA and its seventh in Cincinnati. The Royals finished in 2nd place with a 55–25 record, the second best record in the NBA.The team's outstanding roster included Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Team Captain Wayne Embry, Jack Twyman, Arlen Bockhorn, Bob Boozer, Tom Hawkins, Adrian Smith, Bud Olsen, Larry Staverman and coach Jack McMahon .The team is noteworthy for having both the NBA MVP in Robertson and the NBA Rookie of the Year in Lucas, a rare occurrence in NBA history.The team played most of their home games at Cincinnati Gardens arena, but also hosted home games that season in Dayton, Lima, Columbus at Saint John arena and Cleveland at Cleveland Arena.In the playoffs the Royals defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in a 5-game series, but both Lucas and Olsen would be lost to injury. In the Eastern Conference Final, the Royals were eliminated by the Boston Celtics, who triumphed in 5 games.
Tom Thacker from the outstanding University of Cincinnati program was another territorial draft pick, the team's first this year.Shooter Jimmy Rayl was the team's second-round selection. He was cut, but later played in the ABA.
| 1963-64 NBA Records | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=100 | Team | BAL | BOS | CIN | DET | LAL | NYK | PHI | SFW | STL |
| Baltimore | — | 1–9 | 2–8 | 7–3 | 3–7 | 7–3 | 5–5 | 3–7 | 3–7 | |
| Boston | 9–1 | — | 5–7 | 7–1 | 6–3 | 10–2 | 10–2 | 5–3 | 7–2 | |
| Cincinnati | 8–2 | 7–5 | — | 7–2 | 4–4 | 11–1 | 9–3 | 5–4 | 4–4 | |
| Detroit | 3–7 | 1–7 | 2–7 | — | 5–7 | 4–5 | 3–5 | 3–9 | 2–10 | |
| Los Angeles | 7–3 | 3–6 | 4–4 | 7–5 | — | 6–2 | 5–4 | 5–7 | 5–7 | |
| New York | 3–7 | 2–10 | 1–11 | 5–4 | 2–6 | — | 4–8 | 1–8 | 4–4 | |
| Philadelphia | 5–5 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 5–3 | 4–5 | 8–4 | — | 4–4 | 3–6 | |
| San Francisco | 7–3 | 3–5 | 4–5 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 8–1 | 4–4 | — | 6–6 | |
| St. Louis | 7–3 | 2–7 | 4–4 | 10–2 | 7–5 | 4–4 | 6–3 | 6–6 | — | |
| 1963–64 game log | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | ||
| 1 | October 16 | 112–93 | Wayne Embry (25) | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | October 17 | 93–92 | Oscar Robertson (20) | 1–1 | ||
| 3 | October 19 | 97–121 | Oscar Robertson (19) | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | October 22 | 97–103 | Oscar Robertson (22) | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | October 25 | 122–109 | Oscar Robertson (27) | 3–2 | ||
| 6 | October 26 | @ San Francisco | 99–102 | Jack Twyman (31) | 3–3 | |
| 7 | October 29 | @ San Francisco | 108–101 | Oscar Robertson (28) | 4–3 | |
| 8 | October 30 | @ Los Angeles | 115–107 | Oscar Robertson (36) | 5–3 | |
| 9 | November 1 | @ Los Angeles | 112–122 | Oscar Robertson (26) | 5–4 | |
| 10 | November 3 | 93–95 | Oscar Robertson (25) | 6–4 | ||
| 11 | November 6 | @ Boston | 121–139 | Robertson, Twyman (24) | 6–5 | |
| 12 | November 8 | Boston | 115–116 | Oscar Robertson (35) | 7–5 | |
| 13 | November 9 | 109–118 | Wayne Embry (30) | 8–5 | ||
| 14 | November 13 | San Francisco | 98–92 | Oscar Robertson (28) | 8–6 | |
| 15 | November 16 | @ New York | 114–122 | Wayne Embry (27) | 8–7 | |
| 16 | November 17 | 109–110 | Oscar Robertson (28) | 9–7 | ||
| 17 | November 19 | N Detroit | 102–127 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 10–7 | |
| 18 | November 20 | @ Detroit | 118–124 | Lucas, Robertson (22) | 10–8 | |
| 19 | November 23 | @ St. Louis | 121–133 | Oscar Robertson (33) | 10–9 | |
| 20 | November 24 | St. Louis | 113–122 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 11–9 | |
| 21 | November 26 | N San Francisco | 112–123 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 12–9 | |
| 22 | November 27 | @ Baltimore | 122–119 | Embry, Robertson (28) | 13–9 | |
| 23 | November 28 | @ Philadelphia | 125–110 | Oscar Robertson (38) | 14–9 | |
| 24 | November 29 | New York | 110–135 | Oscar Robertson (29) | 15–9 | |
| 25 | December 1 | Los Angeles | 114–109 | Wayne Embry (39) | 15–10 | |
| 26 | December 5 | Boston | 108–118 | Oscar Robertson (48) | 16–10 | |
| 27 | December 6 | @ Boston | 107–112 | Oscar Robertson (40) | 16–11 | |
| 28 | December 7 | @ New York | 116–105 | Oscar Robertson (35) | 17–11 | |
| 29 | December 8 | Philadelphia | 126–116 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 17–12 | |
| 30 | December 11 | @ Detroit | 127–107 | Oscar Robertson (26) | 18–12 | |
| 31 | December 12 | New York | 102–112 | Jack Twyman (31) | 19–12 | |
| 32 | December 14 | @ Boston | 108–105 | Embry, Robertson (25) | 20–12 | |
| 33 | December 20 | Baltimore | 96–103 | Oscar Robertson (24) | 21–12 | |
| 34 | December 21 | @ Baltimore | 106–108 | Wayne Embry (26) | 21–13 | |
| 35 | December 25 | St. Louis | 107–113 | Oscar Robertson (37) | 22–13 | |
| 36 | December 27 | Boston | 87–91 | Oscar Robertson (37) | 23–13 | |
| 37 | December 29 | New York | 99–105 | Oscar Robertson (29) | 24–13 | |
| 38 | January 2 | N Detroit | 111–112 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 25–13 | |
| 39 | January 3 | @ Philadelphia | 110–132 | Oscar Robertson (27) | 25–14 | |
| 40 | January 4 | @ New York | 125–116 | Oscar Robertson (41) | 26–14 | |
| 41 | January 5 | Baltimore | 106–111 | Wayne Embry (27) | 27–14 | |
| 42 | January 7 | N Philadelphia | 110–130 | Jack Twyman (29) | 28–14 | |
| 43 | January 8 | N Philadelphia | 110–126 | Oscar Robertson (30) | 29–14 | |
| 44 | January 10 | @ Boston | 92–109 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 29–15 | |
| 45 | January 12 | Detroit | 88–120 | Oscar Robertson (34) | 30–15 | |
| 46 | January 16 | Los Angeles | 95–108 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 31–15 | |
| 47 | January 18 | St. Louis | 121–120 | Oscar Robertson (40) | 31–16 | |
| 48 | January 19 | @ St. Louis | 109–114 | Oscar Robertson (44) | 31–17 | |
| 49 | January 21 | @ New York | 139–124 | Oscar Robertson (31) | 32–17 | |
| 50 | January 22 | Boston | 92–109 | Oscar Robertson (38) | 33–17 | |
| 51 | January 24 | @ Philadelphia | 111–134 | Lucas, Robertson (29) | 33–18 | |
| 52 | January 25 | @ Baltimore | 99–115 | Oscar Robertson (27) | 33–19 | |
| 53 | January 30 | N New York | 110–133 | Jack Twyman (29) | 34–19 | |
| 54 | January 31 | N Baltimore | 118–106 | Oscar Robertson (35) | 35–19 | |
| 55 | February 2 | @ Boston | 119–117 (OT) | Oscar Robertson (48) | 36–19 | |
| 56 | February 4 | Los Angeles | 100–118 | Jack Twyman (31) | 37–19 | |
| 57 | February 7 | Philadelphia | 114–126 | Oscar Robertson (42) | 38–19 | |
| 58 | February 8 | @ Baltimore | 109–105 | Oscar Robertson (30) | 39–19 | |
| 59 | February 9 | Detroit | 107–135 | Oscar Robertson (31) | 40–19 | |
| 60 | February 12 | N Detroit | 121–147 | Oscar Robertson (38) | 41–19 | |
| 61 | February 14 | New York | 114–126 | Oscar Robertson (29) | 42–19 | |
| 62 | February 15 | @ New York | 130–124 | Oscar Robertson (44) | 43–19 | |
| 63 | February 16 | Philadelphia | 97–114 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 44–19 | |
| 64 | February 17 | N San Francisco | 113–129 | Oscar Robertson (45) | 45–19 | |
| 65 | February 19 | San Francisco | 108–101 | Oscar Robertson (29) | 45–20 | |
| 66 | February 21 | @ San Francisco | 101–93 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 46–20 | |
| 67 | February 22 | @ Los Angeles | 107–105 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 47–20 | |
| 68 | February 25 | @ San Francisco | 108–117 | Oscar Robertson (26) | 47–21 | |
| 69 | February 26 | @ Los Angeles | 97–103 | Oscar Robertson (32) | 47–22 | |
| 70 | February 28 | N Philadelphia | 132–134 | Jack Twyman (36) | 48–22 | |
| 71 | February 29 | @ Philadelphia | 117–114 | Oscar Robertson (43) | 49–22 | |
| 72 | March 1 | @ Baltimore | 122–111 | Oscar Robertson (35) | 50–22 | |
| 73 | March 3 | @ New York | 117–108 | Oscar Robertson (33) | 51–22 | |
| 74 | March 4 | @ Boston | 108–112 | Oscar Robertson (34) | 51–23 | |
| 75 | March 5 | Boston | 101–111 | Oscar Robertson (27) | 52–23 | |
| 76 | March 7 | Baltimore | 101–104 | Oscar Robertson (30) | 53–23 | |
| 77 | March 10 | @ Detroit | 103–114 | Oscar Robertson (33) | 53–24 | |
| 78 | March 12 | Philadelphia | 111–128 | Oscar Robertson (28) | 54–24 | |
| 79 | March 14 | @ St. Louis | 110–118 | Oscar Robertson (48) | 54–25 | |
| 80 | March 15 | St. Louis | 101–124 | Oscar Robertson (25) | 55–25 |
The Royals consistently posted winning marks over the full season for each month of play.Oct 5–3, Nov 10–6, Dec 9–4, Jan 11–6, Feb 14–3, March 6–3, plus a 4–6 record in the playoffs.Four of the five Boston playoff games took place in April.
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 1| March 22| Philadelphia| W 127–102| Oscar Robertson (31)| Jerry Lucas (25)| Oscar Robertson (16)| Cincinnati Gardens
6,238| 1–0|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| March 24| @ Philadelphia| L 114–122| Oscar Robertson (30)| Wayne Embry (11)| three players tied (5)| Municipal Auditorium
4,510| 1–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 3| March 25| Philadelphia| W 101–89| Oscar Robertson (28)| Jack Twyman (21)| —| Cincinnati Gardens
7,171| 2–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 4| March 28| @ Philadelphia| L 120–129| Oscar Robertson (31)| Oscar Robertson (14)| Arlen Bockhorn (7)| Municipal Auditorium
4,255| 2–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 5| March 29| Philadelphia| W 130–124| Oscar Robertson (32)| Wayne Embry (17)| —| Cincinnati Gardens
7,913| 3–2|-|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 1| March 31| @ Boston| L 87–103| Wayne Embry (21)| Wayne Embry (16)| Robertson, Arnette (3)| Boston Garden
13,909| 0–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 2| April 2| @ Boston| L 90–101| Oscar Robertson (30)| Oscar Robertson (12)| Oscar Robertson (9)| Boston Garden
13,909| 0–2|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 3| April 5| Boston| L 92–102| Oscar Robertson (34)| Jerry Lucas (24)| —| Cincinnati Gardens
11,850| 0–3|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 4| April 7| Boston| W 102–93| Oscar Robertson (33)| Jerry Lucas (25)| Jerry Lucas (10)| Cincinnati Gardens| 1–3|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 5| April 9| @ Boston| L 95–109| Oscar Robertson (24)| Wayne Embry (10)| Oscar Robertson (6)| Boston Garden
13,909| 1–4|-
Robertson led the NBA in assists and was second in scoring. He also led the NBA in free throws made and free throw percentage.Lucas led the NBA in field goal percentage, and was third in rebounding.
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | 10.4 | 36.2 | 77.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 3.8 | ||||||
| 70 | 23.9 | 41.2 | 76.2 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 8.3 | ||||||
| 32 | 22.7 | 41.6 | 62.2 | 5.6 | 1.0 | 11.0 | ||||||
| 80 | 36.4 | 45.8 | 65.0 | 11.6 | 1.4 | 17.3 | ||||||
| 73 | 24.2 | 44.1 | 60.1 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 8.6 | ||||||
| 79 | 41.4 | 52.7 | 77.9 | 17.4 | 2.6 | 17.7 | ||||||
| 49 | 10.5 | 40.5 | 56.1 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 4.1 | ||||||
| 79 | 45.1 | 48.3 | 85.3 | 9.9 | 11.0 | 31.4 | ||||||
| 66 | 23.1 | 40.6 | 78.2 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 9.4 | ||||||
| 34 | 9.4 | 41.4 | 83.0 | 2.8 | 0.5 | 4.0 | ||||||
| 48 | 9.5 | 29.3 | 49.1 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 2.8 | ||||||
| 68 | 29.4 | 45.0 | 82.9 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 15.9 |
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 9.9 | 35.5 | 87.5 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 3.6 | ||||||
| 10 | 30.1 | 38.0 | 75.0 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 9.7 | ||||||
| 10 | 36.3 | 38.1 | 62.2 | 12.4 | 2.1 | 13.4 | ||||||
| 10 | 27.3 | 44.3 | 68.2 | 9.3 | 1.1 | 10.1 | ||||||
| 10 | 37.0 | 39.0 | 70.3 | 12.5 | 3.4 | 12.2 | ||||||
| 2 | 5.0 | 50.0 | — | 2.0 | 0.5 | 3.0 | ||||||
| 10 | 47.1 | 45.5 | 85.8 | 8.9 | 8.4 | 29.3 | ||||||
| 7 | 9.4 | 30.8 | 71.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 3.0 | ||||||
| 7 | 10.0 | 47.8 | 78.9 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 5.3 | ||||||
| 6 | 7.2 | 26.1 | 25.0 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 2.2 | ||||||
| 10 | 35.4 | 47.2 | 79.6 | 8.7 | 1.6 | 20.5 |