| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | March 20 – April 21, 1951 |
| Season | 1950–51 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Rochester Royals(1st title) |
| Runners-up | New York Knicks |
| Semifinalists | |
The1951 NBA playoffs was thepostseason tournament of theNational Basketball Association1950–51 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Division championRochester Royals defeating the Eastern Division championNew York Knicks 4 games to 3 in theNBA Finals.
The eight qualified teams began tournament play on Tuesday and Wednesday, March 20 and 21, and the Finals concluded on Saturday, April 21. Rochester and New York played 14 games in a span of 33 days; their seven final games in fifteen days.[1]
The Rochester Royals (now theSacramento Kings) were "royalty" in their first nine seasons, from 1945–46 to 1953–54 always one of the strong teams in their league. Rochester had played three seasons in theNational Basketball League, winning the 1946 NBL championship and losing the Finals in 1947 and 1948. In one BAA and one NBA season, the team had won 75% of its games before losing in the second round, then first round, of the 1949 and 1950 playoffs. The 1950–51 team won more than 60% of its games, as the Royals would do for three more seasons, and participated in the club's only NBA Finals. That remains true more than 60 years later, covering stints in Rochester, Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Sacramento.
The New York Knicks were an originalBasketball Association of America franchise, now in its sixth season and participating in the BAA or NBA Finals for the first time. It would be the first three consecutive years as losing finalist.
Another six-year-old, original BAA team, theBoston Celtics had qualified only for the1948 BAA Playoffs. Now the second-place Eastern Division team, Boston had earned home-court advantage for a first-round series with third-place New York. It was the first playoff meeting in theCeltics–Knicks rivalry and it would be the first of 19 consecutive years in the playoffs.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia* | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Syracuse | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Syracuse | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 0 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Indianapolis | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 2 | ||||||||||||
March 20 |
| Syracuse Nationals91,Philadelphia Warriors 89 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27,29–23,19–18,22–21, Overtime:2–0 | ||
| Pts:Fred Scolari 23 Rebs:Dolph Schayes 13 Asts:Seymour,Cervi 7 each | Pts:Joe Fulks 30 Rebs:Ed Mikan 16 Asts:George Senesky 10 | |
| Syracuse leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22 |
| Philadelphia Warriors 78,Syracuse Nationals90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 11–20,23–22,26–24 | ||
| Pts:Joe Fulks 22 Rebs:Arizin,Phillip 8 each Asts:Andy Phillip 9 | Pts:Dolph Schayes 24 Rebs:Dolph Schayes 16 Asts:Seymour,Hannum 5 each | |
| Syracuse wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning the first meeting.
| Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 20 |
| New York Knicks83,Boston Celtics 69 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:28–14, 9–17,19–15,27–23 | ||
| Pts:Vince Boryla 20 | Pts:Ed Macauley 23 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22 |
| Boston Celtics 78,New York Knicks92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–20, 15–19, 24–26, 27–27 | ||
| Pts:Ed Macauley 21 Asts:Bob Cousy 6 | Pts:Max Zaslofsky 27 Asts:Dick McGuire 9 | |
| New York wins series, 2–0 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[3]
March 21 |
| Indianapolis Olympians 81,Minneapolis Lakers95 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–29, 19–20,28–19, 20–27 | ||
| Pts:Groza,Beard 19 each | Pts:George Mikan 41 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 23 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 88,Indianapolis Olympians108 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 7–28,29–27, 29–30, 23–23 | ||
| Pts:Vern Mikkelsen 30 | Pts:Alex Groza 40 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 25 |
| Indianapolis Olympians 80,Minneapolis Lakers85 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:22–15,19–18, 18–29, 21–23 | ||
| Pts:Alex Groza 38 | Pts:George Mikan 30 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.
March 20 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 81,Rochester Royals110 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–30,29–27, 20–25, 18–28 | ||
| Pts:Dick Mehen 19 | Pts:Bob Davies 21 | |
| Rochester leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 22 |
| Rochester Royals 78,Fort Wayne Pistons83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 23–24, 18–18,24–21 | ||
| Pts:Risen,Davies 16 each | Pts:Fred Schaus 21 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 24 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons 78,Rochester Royals97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 19–23, 11–27,26–24 | ||
| Pts:Fred Schaus 12 | Pts:Bobby Wanzer 20 | |
| Rochester wins series, 2–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Pistons winning the first meeting.
| Fort Wayne leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 28 |
| Syracuse Nationals 92,New York Knicks103 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–23, 17–25, 19–24,34–31 | ||
| Pts:George Ratkovicz 22 Asts:Alex Hannum 7 | Pts:Vince Boryla 30 Asts:Dick McGuire 13 | |
| New York leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 29 |
| New York Knicks 80,Syracuse Nationals102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 17–21, 17–27, 27–32 | ||
| Pts:Ray Lumpp 16 Asts:Vandeweghe,McGuire 5 each | Pts:Dolph Schayes 21 Asts:Al Cervi 9 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
March 31 |
| Syracuse Nationals 75,New York Knicks77 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter:20–16,16–12, 15–22, 19–20, Overtime: 5–7 | ||
| Pts:Dolph Schayes 17 | Pts:Harry Gallatin 18 | |
| New York leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 1 |
| New York Knicks 83,Syracuse Nationals90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 12–25,22–21,26–19, 23–25 | ||
| Pts:Max Zaslofsky 20 Asts:Dick McGuire 9 | Pts:Dolph Schayes 34 Asts:Al Cervi 8 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 4 |
| Syracuse Nationals 81,New York Knicks83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25,22–17,22–15, 17–26 | ||
| Pts:Dolph Schayes 14 Asts:four players 3 each | Pts:Vince Boryla 23 Asts:Ernie Vandeweghe 5 | |
| New York wins series, 3–2 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning the first meeting.
| Syracuse leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
March 29 |
| Rochester Royals 73,Minneapolis Lakers76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 18–18, 10–16,25–22 | ||
| Pts:Arnie Risen 24 | Pts:Vern Mikkelsen 23 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
March 31 |
| Rochester Royals70,Minneapolis Lakers 66 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:17–16,20–14, 16–19, 17–17 | ||
| Pts:Red Holzman 23 | Pts:Jim Pollard 20 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
April 1 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 70,Rochester Royals83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 17–17, 20–20, 11–15 | ||
| Pts:George Mikan 23 | Pts:Johnson,Wanzer 20 each | |
| Rochester leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 3 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 75,Rochester Royals80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:26–25, 14–16, 16–18, 19–21 | ||
| Pts:George Mikan 32 | Pts:Arnie Risen 26 | |
| Rochester wins series, 3–1 | ||
This was the second playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning the first meeting.
As of 2026, this is the last time the Royals/Kings won a conference championship.
| Minneapolis leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
April 7 |
| New York Knicks 65,Rochester Royals92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–24, 16–27, 16–21, 15–20 | ||
| Pts:Vince Boryla 13 Rebs:Simmons,Clifton 10 each Asts:Ernie Vandeweghe 4 | Pts:Arnie Risen 24 Rebs:Arnie Risen 15 Asts:Bobby Wanzer 9 | |
| Rochester leads series, 1–0 | ||
April 8 |
| New York Knicks 84,Rochester Royals99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–26, 21–21,28–26, 18–26 | ||
| Pts:Max Zaslofsky 28 Rebs:Harry Gallatin 17 Asts:Vince Boryla 7 | Pts:Bob Davies 24 Rebs:Jack Coleman 28 Asts:Jack Coleman 8 | |
| Rochester leads series, 2–0 | ||
April 11 |
| Rochester Royals78,New York Knicks 71 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–17,20–16,16–15,27–23 | ||
| Pts:Arnie Risen 27 Rebs:Arnie Risen 18 Asts:Bob Davies 8 | Pts:Vince Boryla 20 Rebs:Nat Clifton 11 Asts:Dick McGuire 7 | |
| Rochester leads series, 3–0 | ||
April 13 |
| Rochester Royals 73,New York Knicks79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 10–21, 18–19,28–17, 17–22 | ||
| Pts:Arnie Risen 26 Rebs:Arnie Risen 20 Asts:Jack Coleman 9 | Pts:Harry Gallatin 22 Rebs:Nat Clifton 17 Asts:Zaslofsky,Clifton 6 each | |
| Rochester leads series, 3–1 | ||
April 15 |
| New York Knicks92,Rochester Royals 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 25–28, 19–21,29–21, 19–19 | ||
| Pts:Connie Simmons 26 Rebs:Nat Clifton 10 Asts:Nat Clifton 7 | Pts:Bobby Wanzer 21 Rebs:Arnie Risen 14 Asts:Bob Davies 10 | |
| Rochester leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 18 |
| Rochester Royals 73,New York Knicks80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter:21–19, 17–19, 12–15, 23–27 | ||
| Pts:Arnie Johnson 27 Rebs:Arnie Johnson 15 Asts:Jack Coleman 8 | Pts:Max Zaslofsky 23 Rebs:Ernie Vandeweghe 8 Asts:Dick McGuire 6 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
April 21 |
| New York Knicks 75,Rochester Royals79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–22, 18–18,26–22, 15–17 | ||
| Pts:Zaslofsky,Boryla 16 each Rebs:Harry Gallatin 10 Asts:Ernie Vandeweghe 5 | Pts:Arnie Risen 24 Rebs:Arnie Risen 13 Asts:Jack Coleman 9 | |
| Rochester wins series, 4–3 | ||
This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.[7]