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| Dates | April 8−23 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Lakers: 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 finals | Nationals defeatedKnicks, 2–1 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Not the Western final (see text). Central finalistLakers defeated Western finalistPackers, 2–0 | |||||||||
The1950 NBA World Championship Series was thechampionship round of theNational Basketball Association (NBA)'s inaugural1949–50 season following the merger of theNational Basketball League (NBL) and theBasketball Association of America (BAA). The Central Division championMinneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division championSyracuse 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 entirepostseason 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 the1950 NBA playoffs generated three Division champions. With the league's bestregular 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 subBob "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 theNBL 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]
| 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
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| Head coach Legend
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| Head coach Legend
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April 8 |
| Minneapolis Lakers68,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 | ||
April 9 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 85,Syracuse Nationals91 | ||
| 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 Lakers91 | ||
| 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 Lakers77 | ||
| 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 Nationals83 | ||
| 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 Lakers110 | ||
| 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 | ||
| 1940s |  | |
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See also:WNBA Finals | ||
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