1953–54 Minneapolis Lakers season

The 1953–54 Minneapolis Lakers season was the sixth season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers won the Western Division with a 46–26 record. George Mikan was hampered by knee troubles as he averaged only 18.1 points per game. The Lakers signed a promising rookie named Clyde Lovellette, who was able to alleviate the pressure on Mikan.[1] In the first round, the Lakers won 3 straight to face the Rochester Royals in the Western Finals. The Lakers would beat the Royals to qualify for the NBA Finals. In the finals, the Lakers and Syracuse Nationals alternated wins. In the end, the Lakers emerged with their 3rd straight title, and 5th overall in the franchise's first six seasons in the NBA. They became the first NBA team to win three consecutive NBA championships.[2] In the seventh and final game, the Lakers won by a score of 87–80, for the franchise's final NBA title before their relocation to Los Angeles in 1960. Following the season, Mikan would announce his retirement.[1]

1953–54 Minneapolis Lakers season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coachJohn Kundla
ArenaMinneapolis Auditorium
Results
Record46–26 (.639)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Nationals 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
RadioWLOL

The Lakers would not win another NBA championship until 1972.

Roster
1953–54 Minneapolis Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PF Fritsche, Jim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1931-12-10 Hamline University
G 16 Harrison, Bob 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1927-08-12 Michigan
SF 12 Holstein, Jim 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1930-09-24 Cincinnati
C 34−89 Lovellette, Clyde 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) 1929-09-07 Kansas
PG 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
PF 19 Mikkelsen, Vern 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1928-10-21 Hamline University
SF 17 Pollard, Jim 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1922-07-09 Stanford
SG 18 Saul, Pep 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1924-02-16 Seton Hall
SF 15−24 Schnittker, Dick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1928-05-27 Ohio State
SG 20 Skoog, Whitey 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1926-11-02 Minnesota
Head coach

John Kundla

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings
Western Division W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Minneapolis Lakers4626.639–20–413–1513–719–13
x-Rochester Royals4428.611218–1012–1514–322–10
x-Fort Wayne Pistons4032.556619–811–1710–717–15
Milwaukee Hawks2151.2922511–145–176–206–26

Record vs. opponents
1953–54 NBA records
Team BAL BOS FWP MIL MIN NYK PHI ROC SYR
Baltimore —1–90–82–62–63–74–61–73–7
Boston 9–1—4–46–23–55–56–44–45–5
Fort Wayne 8–04–4—9–25–53–56–23–82–6
Milwaukee 6–22–62–9—3–83–53–51–91–7
Minneapolis 6–25–35–58–3—5–36–26–55–3
New York 7–35–55–35–33–5—7–37–15–5
Philadelphia 6–44–62–65–32–63–7—1–76–4
Rochester 7–14–48–39–15–61–77–1—3–5
Syracuse 7–35–56–27–13–55–54–65–3—

Playoffs
1954 playoff game log
Division Round Robin Semifinals: 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocationRecord
1 March 17 Rochester W 109–88 Slater Martin (24) Minneapolis Auditorium 1–0
2 March 18 @ Fort Wayne W 90–85 George Mikan (28) War Memorial Coliseum 2–0
3 March 20 Fort Wayne W 78–73 George Mikan (21) Minneapolis Auditorium 3–0
Division Finals: 2–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocationSeries
1 March 24 Rochester W 89–76 George Mikan (28) Minneapolis Auditorium 1–0
2 March 27 @ Rochester L 73–74 George Mikan (17) Edgerton Park Arena 1–1
3 March 28 Rochester W 82–72 George Mikan (17) Minneapolis Auditorium 2–1
NBA Finals: 4–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 March 31 Syracuse W 79–68 Clyde Lovellette (16) George Mikan (10) Slater Martin (6) Minneapolis Auditorium
4,579		 1–0
2 April 3 Syracuse L 60–62 George Mikan (15) George Mikan (15) Vern Mikkelsen (3) Minneapolis Auditorium
6,277		 1–1
3 April 4 @ Syracuse W 81–67 George Mikan (30) George Mikan (15) Slater Martin (7) Onondaga War Memorial
8,719		 2–1
4 April 8 @ Syracuse L 69–80 Whitey Skoog (16) Jim Pollard (9) Slater Martin (6) Onondaga War Memorial
7,655		 2–2
5 April 10 @ Syracuse W 84–73 Vern Mikkelsen (21) Mikan, Lovellette (13) Slater Martin (7) Onondaga War Memorial
7,283		 3–2
6 April 11 Syracuse L 63–65 George Mikan (30) — — Minneapolis Auditorium
6,776		 3–3
7 April 12 Syracuse W 87–80 Jim Pollard (21) — — Minneapolis Auditorium
7,274		 4–3
1954 schedule

Awards and honors

References
  1. "Minneapolis Lakers – Sports Ecyclopedia".
  2. Numbelivable!, p.95, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
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