The 1963–64 season was the Royals 16th season in the NBA and its 7th 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, Bucky 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.

...
Wikipedia