1952–53 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 31, 1952 – March 17, 1953 March 17 – April 2, 1953 (Playoffs) April 4–10, 1953 (Finals) |
Number of games | 69-71 |
Number of teams | 10 |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Mark Workman |
Picked by | Baltimore Bullets |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Minneapolis Lakers |
Top scorer | Neil Johnston (Philadelphia) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | New York Knicks |
Eastern runners-up | Boston Celtics |
Western champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
Western runners-up | Fort Wayne Pistons |
Finals | |
Champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
Runners-up | New York Knicks |
The 1952–53 NBA season was the seventh season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
[edit]- The 1953 NBA All-Star Game was played in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the West beating the East 79–75. George Mikan of the Minneapolis Lakers won the game's MVP award.
- Don Meineke of the Fort Wayne Pistons wins the inaugural Rookie of the Year award.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1951–52 coach | 1952–53 coach |
Milwaukee Hawks | Doxie Moore | Andrew Levane |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Baltimore Bullets | Chick Reiser | Clair Bee |
Teams
[edit]1952-53 National Basketball Association | ||||
Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern | Baltimore Bullets | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Coliseum | 4,500 |
Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 | |
New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 18,496 | |
Philadelphia Warriors | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Municipal Auditorium | 12,000 | |
Syracuse Nationals | Syracuse, New York | Onondaga War Memorial | 6,230 | |
Western | Fort Wayne Pistons | Fort Wayne, Indiana | War Memorial Coliseum | 10,000 |
Indianapolis Olympians | Indianapolis, Indiana | Hinkle Fieldhouse | 15,000 | |
Milwaukee Hawks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Milwaukee Arena | 10,783 | |
Minneapolis Lakers | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Minneapolis Auditorium | 10,000 | |
Rochester Royals | Rochester, New York | Edgerton Park Arena | 4,200 |
Map of teams
[edit]Final standings
[edit]Eastern Division
[edit]W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-New York Knicks | 47 | 23 | .671 | - | 22-4 | 15-14 | 10-5 | 30-10 |
x-Syracuse Nationals | 47 | 24 | .662 | 0.5 | 32-2 | 10-20 | 5-2 | 26-15 |
x-Boston Celtics | 46 | 25 | .648 | 1.5 | 21-3 | 11-18 | 14-4 | 28-13 |
x-Baltimore Bullets | 16 | 54 | .229 | 31 | 11-20 | 1–19 | 4-15 | 10-30 |
Philadelphia Warriors | 12 | 57 | .174 | 34.5 | 5-12 | 1–28 | 6-17 | 7-33 |
Western Division
[edit]W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-Minneapolis Lakers | 48 | 22 | .686 | - | 24-2 | 16-15 | 8-5 | 17-13 |
x-Rochester Royals | 44 | 26 | .629 | 4 | 24-8 | 13-17 | 7-1 | 27-13 |
x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 36 | 33 | .522 | 11.5 | 25-9 | 8-19 | 3-5 | 18-22 |
x-Indianapolis Olympians | 28 | 43 | .394 | 20.5 | 19-14 | 4-23 | 5-6 | 15-26 |
Milwaukee Hawks | 27 | 44 | .380 | 21.5 | 14-8 | 3-24 | 10-12 | 15-26 |
x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
[edit]Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
E1 | New York* | 2 | ||||||||||||
E4 | Baltimore | 0 | ||||||||||||
E1 | New York* | 3 | ||||||||||||
Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
E3 | Boston | 1 | ||||||||||||
E3 | Boston | 2 | ||||||||||||
E2 | Syracuse | 0 | ||||||||||||
E1 | New York* | 1 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Minneapolis* | 4 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | ||||||||||||
W4 | Indianapolis | 0 | ||||||||||||
W1 | Minneapolis* | 3 | ||||||||||||
Western Division | ||||||||||||||
W3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | ||||||||||||
W3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | ||||||||||||
W2 | Rochester | 1 |
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Statistics leaders
[edit]Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Neil Johnston | Philadelphia Warriors | 1,564 |
Rebounds | George Mikan | Minneapolis Lakers | 1,007 |
Assists | Bob Cousy | Boston Celtics | 547 |
FG% | Neil Johnston | Philadelphia Warriors | .452 |
FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .850 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
NBA awards
[edit]- All-NBA First Team:
- All-NBA Second Team:
- Bob Davies, Rochester Royals
- Vern Mikkelsen, Minneapolis Lakers
- Andy Phillip, Philadelphia Warriors
- Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics
- Bobby Wanzer, Rochester Royals
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1952–53 NBA Season Summary basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 10, 2010