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1950 NBA Finals

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1950 NBA finals
TeamCoachWins
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla 4
Syracuse Nationals Al Cervi 2
DatesApril 8−23
Hall of FamersLakers:
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Vern Mikkelsen (1995)
Slater Martin (1982)
Nationals:
Dolph Schayes (1973)
Alex Hannum (1998, coach)
Al Cervi (1985)
Coaches:
John Kundla (1995)
Al Cervi (1985, player)
Officials:
Pat Kennedy (1959)
John Nucatola (1978)
Eastern finalsNationals defeated Knicks, 2–1
Western finalsNot the Western final (see text). Central finalist Lakers defeated Western finalist Packers, 2–0
← 1949 NBA finals 1951 →

The 1950 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s inaugural 1949–50 season following the merger of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The Central Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion Syracuse Nationals in a best-of-seven series with Syracuse having home-court advantage.[1]

In the event, six games were played in 16 days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 8 and 9, in Syracuse and incorporating two subsequent Sunday games in Minneapolis. Counting a Central Division tiebreaker played on Monday, March 20, the entire postseason tournament spanned five full weeks to Sunday, April 23.[2]

The NBA was arranged in three divisions (for its first season only) and the first two rounds of the 1950 NBA Playoffs generated three Division champions. With the league's best regular season record, Syracuse had earned a place in the Finals by winning the Eastern Division title on the preceding Sunday, and had been five days idle while the Central and Western champions had played a best-of-three series mid-week.[2]

In Game 1, the Lakers won on a buzzer beating shot by sub Bob "Tiger" Harrison, the first known case of a buzzer beater in the Finals. Six-foot-eight-inch (2.03 m) Dolph Schayes of Syracuse led his team out to the finals after a 16.8 ppg average during the regular season. George Mikan, however, averaged 27.4 ppg and led the league.[citation needed] Mikan would lead the Lakers past Syracuse in six games.[1]

The championship was the Lakers third professional championship in a row after winning the NBL championship in 1948 and the BAA championship in 1949.[1]

While the NBA was considered a new league at the time, it later retconned the three preceding BAA seasons as part of its own history, and thus presents the 1950 Finals as its fourth championship series.[3][4]

Series summary

[edit]
Game Date Home team Result Road team
Game 1 April 8 Syracuse Nationals 66−68 (0−1) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 2 April 9 Syracuse Nationals 91−85 (1−1) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 3 April 14 Minneapolis Lakers 91−77 (2−1) Syracuse Nationals
Game 4 April 16 Minneapolis Lakers 77−69 (3−1) Syracuse Nationals
Game 5 April 20 Syracuse Nationals 83−76 (2−3) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 6 April 23 Minneapolis Lakers 110−95 (4−2) Syracuse Nationals

Lakers win series 4−2

Rosters

[edit]
1949-50 Minneapolis Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G/F 15 Carlson, Don 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1919–03–22 Minnesota
G/F 18 Ferrin, Arnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1925-07-29 Utah
F 20 Grant, Bud 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1927–05–20 Minnesota
G 16 Harrison, Bob 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1927–08–12 Michigan
G 11 Hassett, William 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1921-10-21 Notre Dame
G/F 13 Jaros, Anthony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1920–02–22 Minnesota
G 22 Martin, Slater 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1925–10–22 Texas
C 99 Mikan, George 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1924–06–18 DePaul
F 19 Mikkelsen, Arild 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1928–10–21 Hamline
F 17 Pollard, James 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1922–07–09 Stanford
G/F 10 Schaefer, Herman 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1918–11–20 Indiana
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

1949–50 Syracuse Nationals Eastern Division Champions roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 15 Cervi, Alfred 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1917–02–12 East HS (NY)
F 11 Chollet, Leroy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1925–03–05 Canisius
G 9 Corley, Raymond 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1928–01–14 Georgetown
G 7 Gabor, William 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1922–05–13 Syracuse
F 10 Hannum, Alexander 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1923–07–19 USC
G 14 Levane, Andrew 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1920–04–11 St. John's
G/F 5 Macknowski, John 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1923–01–07 Seton Hall
C 13 Peterson, Edward 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1924–06–27 Cornell
F 6 Ratkovicz, George 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1922-11-13 Lindblom Academy (IL)
F/C 4 Schayes, Adolph 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1928–05–19 NYU
G 8 Seymour, Paul 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1928-01-30 Toledo
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Box scores

[edit]
April 8
Minneapolis Lakers 68, Syracuse Nationals 66
Scoring by quarter: 16–10, 18–20, 17–23, 17–13
Pts: George Mikan 37 Pts: Dolph Schayes 19
Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
  • Bob Harrison hits the game-winning shot from 40 feet at the buzzer.
April 9
Minneapolis Lakers 85, Syracuse Nationals 91
Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 14–28, 22–23, 32–24
Pts: George Mikan 32 Pts: George Ratkovicz 17
Series tied, 1–1
April 14
Syracuse Nationals 77, Minneapolis Lakers 91
Scoring by quarter: 15–21, 24–21, 16–24, 22–25
Pts: Johnny Macknowski 25
Asts: Paul Seymour 5		 Pts: George Mikan 28
Asts: George Mikan 8
Minneapolis leads series, 2–1
April 16
Syracuse Nationals 69, Minneapolis Lakers 77
Scoring by quarter: 22–27, 16–11, 19–24, 12–15
Pts: Schayes, Hannum 18 each
Asts: Bill Gabor 6		 Pts: George Mikan 28
Asts: Jim Pollard 4
Minneapolis leads series, 3–1
April 20
Minneapolis Lakers 76, Syracuse Nationals 83
Scoring by quarter: 16–14, 8–24, 19–23, 33–22
Pts: George Mikan 28 Pts: Dolph Schayes 19
Minneapolis leads series, 3–2
April 23
Syracuse Nationals 95, Minneapolis Lakers 110
Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 21–26, 17–30, 39–29
Pts: Dolph Schayes 23
Asts: Johnny Macknowski 5		 Pts: George Mikan 40
Asts: Jim Pollard 10
Minneapolis wins series, 4–2
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 9,812
Referees: Jim Biersdorf, John Nucatola

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Minneapolis Lakers capture NBA crown". Journal and Courier. Associated Press. April 24, 1950. p. 19. Retrieved June 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
  2. ^ a b "1949–50 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-03.
      Select "Previous Season" from the heading for 1948–49 BAA, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
  3. ^ Curtis Harris (January 21, 2022). "How the NBA's 75th anniversary sweeps away its early history". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "NBA Season Recaps: 1946-2019". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. July 24, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
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