1950 Overview

From Hoopedia

1949-50 NBA Season

The Minneapolis Lakers, already loaded with talent, hauled in two Hall of Famers in the 1949 draft: point guard Slater Martin and power forward Vern Mikkelsen.

So what if the Syracuse Nationals rang up a 51-13 record during the regular season? The Mikan Machine still rolled in the springtime.

The season marked a major convergence in pro hoops. The six surviving teams of the National Basketball League joined the Basketball Association of America to form the newly named NBA. The league was split into Eastern, Central and Western divisions.

Syracuse, the only original NBL team in the East, won that division behind the play of 6-8 Dolph Schayes, who averaged 16.8 points per game. Alex Groza averaged 23.4 points per game for a new Indianapolis team that won the West, while Mikan led the league again with 27.4 points per game and helped the Lakers win the Central Division.

With three divisions, the playoffs were a jumble. Minneapolis had to beat Chicago, Fort Wayne and Anderson to reach the Finals, while Syracuse had to defeat only Philadelphia and New York to qualify. The Nationals, though, offered speed and finesse, no match for the Lakers’ power. Syracuse fell in six.

Helping out the Lakers was Minneapolis Auditorium, a court several feet narrower than the standard. “They used to say that when Mikan, Mikkelsen and Pollard stretched their arms across that narrow court, nobody could get through,” said Syracuse player-coach Al Cervi.

“Those three made every court look narrow,” Nationals guard Paul Seymour said.