The 1961/62 EuroLeague season brought together 24 teams, including two Soviet Union sides – the 1961 EuroLeague champions, CSKA Moscow, and the Soviet League champions, Dinamo Tbilisi. Once again, the Soviet team was dominating the competition, making this season the fifth consecutive with a Soviet team as a EuroLeague champion.
The Dinamo Tbilisi has a stellar run, winning 7 games in a row on their way to the title. They had a well-balanced roster that featured a 210-centimeters-tall Georgian center – Anzor Lezhava. He averaged 17.7 points per game, being one of the best scorers of this season. In the Final against the Spanish side, Real Madrid, the 22-year-old Valeri Altabaev stepped up, scoring 17 points and winning the Finals MVP award in a 90-83 victory. Unlike the previous seasons, the champion was decided in a single game, since FIBA decided to play it in Geneva due to the political tensions between Soviet Union and Spain. It was also the first season without the legendary ASK Rīga team taking part in this tournament.
The Real Madrid power forward, Wayne Hightower, was the Top Scorer of this season, recording 223 points in 9 games, averaging 24.8 points per game. He also scored 30 points in the Final against Dinamo, but since he was on the losing team, Altabaev deservedly got the Finals MVP award as the winning-team’s leading scorer.
1961/62 EUROLEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Team
Dinamo Tbilisi
NAT
G
7
W
7
L
0
1961/62 EUROLEAGUE FINALS MVP
Team
Player
Valeri Altabaev
Age
22
G
6
PPG
11.0
PTS
85
1961/62 EUROLEAGUE TOP SCORER
Team
Player
W.Hightower
Age
22
G
9
PPG
24.8
PTS
223
1961/62 EUROLEAGUE FINALS
GM1
90
83
AGG.
90
83
DINAMO TBILISI
REAL MADRID
GAME 1 BOXSCORE
TEAM
TEAM
PLAYER
Valeri Altabaev
Aleksander Kiladze
Vladimir Ugrekhelidze
Aleksandr Petrov
Anzor Lezhava
Guram Minashvili
Ilarion Khazaradze
Levan Moseshvili
Revaz Gogelia
Amiran Skhiereli
PLAYER
Wayne Hightower
Emiliano Rodriguez
Carlos Sevillano
Jose Lluis
Stan Morrison
Lolo Sainz
Julio Descartin
Lorenzo Alocen
POINTS
17
14
14
12
6
6
3
3
0
0
90
POINTS
30
21
11
5
5
4
0
0
83
SEMIFINALS
GM1
75
71
GM2
77
66
AGG.
152
137
DINAMO TBILISI
CSKA MOSCOW
GM1
105
91
GM2
69
53
AGG.
160
158
REAL MADRID
AŠK OLIMPIJA
1/4 FINALS
GM1
80
67
GM2
84
49
AGG.
164
116
DINAMO TBILISI
DARUSSAFAKA
GM1
83
87
GM2
90
56
AGG.
173
143
AŠK OLIMPIJA
ANTWERPSE BC
GM1
85
53
GM2
55
57
AGG.
140
110
CSKA MOSCOW
ISKRA SVIT
GM1
62
73
GM2
100
71
AGG.
162
144
REAL MADRID
LEGIA WARSAW
SECOND ROUND
GM1
77
76
GM2
82
77
AGG.
159
153
DINAMO TBILISI
STEAUA BUCURESTI
GM1
87
61
GM2
50
66
AGG.
137
127
ANTWERPSE BC
ALSACE BAGNOLET
GM1
74
90
GM2
75
58
AGG.
149
148
ISKRA SVIT
HONVED BUDAPEST
GM1
65
69
GM2
75
70
AGG.
140
139
DARUSSAFAKA
HAPOEL TEL AVIV
GM1
95
81
GM2
97
58
AGG.
192
139
AŠK OLIMPIJA
USC HEIDELBERG
GM1
86
65
GM2
93
80
AGG.
179
145
LEGIA WARSAW
HELSINGIN KT
GM1
80
82
GM2
83
62
AGG.
163
144
REAL MADRID
IGNIS VARESE
FIRST ROUND
GM1
84
46
GM2
82
38
AGG.
166
84
REAL MADRID
CS CASABLANCAIS
GM1
82
62
GM2
144
60
AGG.
226
122
ANTWERPSE BC
CELTIC BELFAST
GM1
52
40
GM2
61
47
AGG.
113
87
ALSACE BAGNOLET
WOLVES AMSTERDAM
GM1
66
51
GM2
83
59
AGG.
149
110
USC HEIDELBERG
BBC ETZELLA
GM1
99
77
GM2
86
64
AGG.
185
141
AŠK OLIMPIJA
ENGELMANN WIEN
GM1
70
57
GM2
86
33
AGG.
156
90
HELSINGIN KT
SISU BK
GM1
82
58
GM2
84
72
AGG.
166
130
HAPOEL TEL AVIV
PANATHINAIKOS BC
GM1
84
58
GM2
113
61
AGG.
197
119
HONVED BUDAPEST
WISSENSCHAFT
GM1
73
49
GM2
101
48
AGG.
174
97
IGNIS VARESE
SL BENFICA
1961/62 EUROLEAGUE TOP 50 BEST SCORERS LIST
The best scorers of the 1961/62 EuroLeague season are ranked based on the total points scored by a player throughout the season. The totality gives a better insight on the value of the player than the scoring averages.
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
Team
Player
Wayne Hightower
Ivo Daneu
Carlos Sevillano
Emiliano Rodriguez
Rene Aerts
Jef Eygel
Igor Jelnikar
Anzor Lezhava
Janusz Wichowski
Nedret Uyguç
Vladimer Ugrekhelidze
Matija Dermastija
Stan Morrison
Valeri Altabaev
Boris Lukašik
Kari Liimo
Raimo Vartia
Martti Koli
Aleksandr Petrov
Franco Bertini
Zdeno Setnička
Maxime Dorigo
Janos Bencze
Andrzej Pstrokonski
Levan Moseshvili
Viktor Zubkov
Giovanni Gavagnin
Zvi Lubetzky
Ilan Zayger
Bogdan Muller
Haşim Ülkü
Jose Lluis
Martti Liimo
Remo Maggetti
Haim Hazan
Miha Lokar
Gennady Volnov
Llevin Vinck
Gibbe Ibens
Wladyslaw Pawlak
Noel Nugent
Rassem Yahya
Aleksandr Travin
Tibor Czinkan
Erez Lustig
Guram Minashvili
Marjan Kandus
Ernst Tutschek
Karel Kapelj
Otto Temesvari
G
9
8
9
8
6
6
8
7
4
4
7
8
9
6
4
4
4
4
5
4
4
3
3
4
7
4
4
4
5
8
4
9
3
4
4
8
4
6
4
4
2
2
4
3
4
7
8
2
8
3
PPG
24.8
26.8
17.6
19.7
23.0
21.7
16.0
17.7
30.5
24.5
14.0
11.6
10.3
11.0
19.3
18.0
16.3
16.3
13.0
16.0
15.8
20.7
20.7
15.5
8.9
15.3
15.0
15.0
14.5
7.3
14.3
6.3
18.3
13.8
13.8
6.9
13.5
9.0
12.8
12.5
24.5
24.5
11.5
15.0
11.0
6.3
5.5
21.5
5.1
13.3
PTS
223
214
159
157
138
130
128
124
122
98
98
93
93
85
77
72
65
65
65
64
63
62
62
62
62
61
60
61
58
58
57
57
55
55
55
55
54
54
51
50
49
49
46
45
44
44
44
43
41
40
1961/62 EUROLEAGUE BEST OFFENSIVE TEAMS
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Team
AŠK OLIMPIJA
HONVED BUDAPEST
ANTWERPSE
REAL MADRID
LEGIA WARSAW
DINAMO TBILISI
IGNIS VARESE
STEAUA BUCURESTI
HAPOEL TEL AVIV
HENSINGIN KT
USC HEIDELBERG
ENGELMANN WIEN
CSKA MOSCOW
PANATHINAIKOS BC
ISKRA SVIT
DARUSSAFAKA
CELTIC BELFAST
ALSACE BAGNOLET
WISSENSCHAFT
BBC ETZELLA
SL BENFICA
SISU BK
WOLVES AMSTERDAM
CS CASABLANCAIS
G
8
4
6
9
3
7
4
2
4
4
4
2
4
2
4
4
2
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
PTS
708
345
506
734
323
565
318
153
305
301
288
141
277
130
259
256
122
240
119
110
97
90
87
84
PPG
88.5
86.3
84.3
81.5
80.8
80.7
79.5
76.5
76.3
75.3
72.0
70.5
69.3
65.0
64.8
64.0
61.0
60.0
59.5
55.0
48.5
45.0
43.5
42.0
1961/62 EUROLEAGUE BEST DEFENSIVE TEAMS
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
Team
DINAMO TBILISI
ALSACE BAGNOLET
WOLVES AMSTERDAM
IGNIS VARESE
CSKA MOSCOW
HONVED BUDAPEST
HELSINGIN KT
HAPOEL TEL AVIV
REAL MADRID
ANTWERPSE BC
ISKRA SVIT
AŠK OLIMPIJA
BBC ETZELLA
USC HEIDELBERG
DARUSSAFAKA
LEGIA WARSAW
SISU BK
STEAUA BUCURESTI
PANATHINAIKOS BC
US CASABLANCAIS
SL BENFICA
ENGELMANN WIEN
WISSENSCHAFT
CELTIC BELFAST
G
7
4
2
4
4
4
4
4
9
6
4
8
2
4
4
4
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
PTS
373
214
113
260
262
268
269
270
620
422
288
581
149
302
303
307
156
159
166
166
174
185
197
226
PPG
53.3
53.5
56.5
65.0
65.6
67.0
67.3
67.5
68.9
70.3
72.0
72.6
74.5
75.5
75.8
76.8
78.0
79.5
83.0
83.0
87.0
92.5
98.5
113.0
Fiero Sportivo 