1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season

The 1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season was the first season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Nationals played its previous three seasons in the National Basketball League, which merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA.

1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season
Division champions
Head coach	Al Cervi
Arena	State Fair Coliseum
Results
Record	51–13 (.797)
Place	Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (eliminated 2–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WHEN 5
Radio	WSYR
< 1948–49 1950–51 >

Al Cervi, nicknamed "Digger" for his superior defensive skills, guided the team with his competitive nature while serving as a player-coach. As the Syracuse Post-Standard describes, "The Nationals shot poorly but succeeded because they played Cervi-style basketball: nasty, with an emphasis on defense."^[1]

The Nationals went to the NBA Finals after beating the Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knicks, but lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in six games.

Draft picks

Main article: 1949 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Roster

Syracuse Nationals 1949–50 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. From G/F 15 Cervi, Al 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) East HS (NY) F 9 Chollet, Leroy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Canisius G 4 Corley, Ray 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Georgetown G/F 7 Gabor, Bill 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Syracuse F/C 10 Hannum, Alex 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) USC G/F 14 Levane, Andrew 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) St. John's G/F 5 Macknowski, Johnny 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Seton Hall C 50 Peterson, Ed 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Cornell F/C 65 Ratkovicz, George 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Lindblom HS (IL) F/C 55 Schayes, Dolph 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) NYU G/F 25 Seymour, Paul 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Toledo	Head coach Al Cervi (East HS (NY)) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended   Injured Roster

Regular season

Standings

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Syracuse Nationals	51	13	.797	–	31–1	15–12	5–0	9–1
x-New York Knicks	40	28	.588	13	19–10	18–16	3–2	20–6
x-Washington Capitols	32	36	.471	21	21–13	10–20	1–3	13–13
x-Philadelphia Warriors	26	42	.382	25	15–15	8–23	3–4	9–17
Baltimore Bullets	25	43	.368	26	16–15	8–25	1–3	8–18
Boston Celtics	22	46	.324	29	12–14	5–28	5–4	11–15

Record vs. opponents

1949–50 NBA records
Team	AND	BAL	BOS	CHI	DEN	FWP	IND	MIN	NYK	PHI	ROC	SHE	STL	SYR	TCB	WAS	WAT
Anderson	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–3	1–1	2–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	5–2	2–0	3–4	7–2	1–1	7–0
Baltimore	1–1	—	2–4	1–5	1–1	3–3	1–1	1–5	1–5	3–3	3–3	2–0	3–3	0–2	0–2	2–4	1–1
Boston	2–0	4–2	—	0–6	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–5	1–5	3–3	0–6	1–1	2–4	0–2	0–2	3–3	1–1
Chicago	1–1	5–1	6–0	—	2–0	2–4	1–1	2–4	2–4	4–2	2–4	2–0	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0
Denver	3–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	—	0–2	0–7	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–4	0–2	1–6	0–7	0–2	2–5
Fort Wayne	1–1	3–3	4–2	4–2	2–0	—	1–1	2–4	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	5–1	0–2	2–0	2–4	1–1
Indianapolis	5–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	7–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–2	1–1	2–7	4–3	1–1	5–2
Minneapolis	1–1	5–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	4–2	1–1	—	5–1	4–2	3–3	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	6–0	2–0
New York	1–1	5–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–4	1–1	1–5	—	1–5	1–5	1–1	4–2	0–2	1–1	5–1	2–0
Philadelphia	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–4	2–0	2–4	0–2	2–4	1–5	—	1–5	2–0	2–4	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0
Rochester	2–0	3–3	6–0	4–2	2–0	3–3	1–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	—	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	6–0	2–0
Sheboygan	2–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	4–3	0–2	2–5	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	1–6	3–4	2–0	4–3
St. Louis	0–2	3–3	4–2	1–5	2–0	1–5	1–1	1–5	2–4	4–2	1–5	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	0–6	1–1
Syracuse	4–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	6–1	2–0	7–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	6–1	1–1	—	6–1	1–1	6–1
Tri-Cities	2–7	2–0	2–0	1–1	7–0	0–2	3–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–3	0–2	1–6	—	1–1	4–3
Washington	1–1	4–2	3–3	3–3	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–6	1–5	4–2	0–6	0–2	6–0	1–1	1–1	—	1–1
Waterloo	0–7	1–1	1–1	0–2	5–2	1–1	2–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–4	1–1	1–6	3–4	1–1	—

Game log

1949–50 Game Log Total: 51–13 (Home: 31–1 ; Road: 15–12 ; Neutral: 5–0)
November: 13–1 (Home: 8–0 ; Road: 3–1 ; Neutral: 2–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 1 November 3 Denver Nuggets 78–58 State Fair Coliseum Al Cervi (17) 1–0 2 November 5 vs Denver Nuggets 84–51 (Auburn, New York) Billy Gabor (12) 2–0 3 November 6 Philadelphia Warriors 82–72 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (17) 3–0 4 November 9 Indianapolis Olympians 103–73 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (22) 4–0 5 November 10 @ St. Louis Bombers 67–73 St. Louis Arena Gabor, Hannum (13) 4–1 6 November 12 @ Anderson Packers 84–69 Anderson High School Wigwam Al Cervi (23) 5–1 7 November 13 New York Knicks 80–66 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (20) 6–1 8 November 15 @ New York Knicks 77–74 Madison Square Garden III Dolph Schayes (13) 7–1 9 November 17 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 79–76 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (20) 8–1 10 November 20 Denver Nuggets 102–76 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (22) 9–1 11 November 21 vs Denver Nuggets 77–67 (Oneida, New York) Andrew Levane (20) 10–1 12 November 24 Anderson Packers 125–123 (5OT) State Fair Coliseum Johnny Macknowski (21) 11–1 13 November 27 Waterloo Hawks 80–62 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (27) 12–1 14 November 30 @ Boston Celtics 87–71 Boston Garden Billy Gabor (16) 13–1
December: 11–3 (Home: 5–0 ; Road: 5–3 ; Neutral: 1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 15 December 4 Indianapolis Olympians 67–61 State Fair Coliseum Al Cervi (18) 14–1 16 December 7 @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks 77–69 Wharton Field House Dolph Schayes (31) 15–1 17 December 8 @ Sheboygan Red Skins 86–72 Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory Dolph Schayes (18) 16–1 18 December 10 @ Rochester Royals 63–69 Edgerton Park Arena Peterson, Schayes (15) 16–2 19 December 11 Sheboygan Red Skins 89–72 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (23) 17–2 20 December 14 Fort Wayne Pistons 96–83 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (29) 18–2 21 December 15 @ Anderson Packers 88–100 Anderson High School Wigwam Al Cervi (17) 18–3 22 December 18 Chicago Stags 86–73 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (23) 19–3 23 December 20 @ Waterloo Hawks 95–70 McElroy Auditorium Ratkovicz, Schayes (14) 20–3 24 December 21 @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks 96–84 Wharton Field House Billy Gabor (23) 21–3 25 December 22 @ Sheboygan Red Skins 83–74 Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory Alex Hannum (17) 22–3 26 December 25 Anderson Packers 94–88 State Fair Coliseum Paul Seymour (24) 23–3 27 December 28 @ Washington Capitols 85–87 Uline Arena Billy Gabor (23) 23–4 28 December 29 vs Philadelphia Warriors 64–62 (Atlantic City, New Jersey) Dolph Schayes (18) 24–4
January: 9–3 (Home: 7–1 ; Road: 1–2 ; Neutral: 1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 29 January 1 Washington Capitols 79–73 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (20) 25–4 30 January 5 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 82–73 State Fair Coliseum Al Cervi (18) 26–4 31 January 8 Waterloo Hawks 84–68 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (19) 27–4 32 January 10 @ Waterloo Hawks 84–86 (OT) McElroy Auditorium Paul Seymour (14) 27–5 33 January 11 @ Minneapolis Lakers 88–98 Minneapolis Auditorium Al Cervi (19) 27–6 34 January 12 @ Fort Wayne Pistons 64–62 North Side High School Gym Al Cervi (17) 28–6 35 January 15 Indianapolis Olympians 82–69 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (23) 29–6 36 January 19 Denver Nuggets 107–86 State Fair Coliseum Johnny Macknowski (19) 30–6 37 January 22 Anderson Packers 75–77 (OT) State Fair Coliseum George Ratkovicz (15) 30–7 38 January 26 Rochester Royals 76–72 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (20) 31–7 39 January 29 Sheboygan Red Skins 85–70 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (21) 32–7 40 January 30 vs Indianapolis Olympians 91–75 (Louisville, Kentucky) Dolph Schayes (24) 33–7
February: 11–4 (Home: 7–0 ; Road: 3–4 ; Neutral: 1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 41 February 1 @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks 83–91 Wharton Field House Dolph Schayes (25) 33–8 42 February 2 @ Indianapolis Olympians 73–67 Butler Fieldhouse George Ratkovicz (16) 34–8 43 February 3 Waterloo Hawks 103–79 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (32) 35–8 44 February 5 Baltimore Bullets 96–87 State Fair Coliseum Johnny Macknowski (22) 36–8 45 February 8 Sheboygan Red Skins 106–81 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (19) 37–8 46 February 11 @ Baltimore Bullets 77–76 Baltimore Coliseum Al Cervi (18) 38–8 47 February 12 Waterloo Hawks 102–98 State Fair Coliseum Andrew Levane (21) 39–8 48 February 16 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 105–74 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (17) 40–8 49 February 19 Indianapolis Olympians 82–78 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (29) 41–8 50 February 21 @ Denver Nuggets 78–89 Denver Auditorium Arena Dolph Schayes (31) 41–9 51 February 23 @ Denver Nuggets 108–80 Denver Auditorium Arena Dolph Schayes (25) 42–9 52 February 24 vs Indianapolis Olympians 72–67 (Chicago) George Ratkovicz (19) 43–9 53 February 26 Chicago Stags 73–64 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (24) 44–9 54 February 27 @ Anderson Packers 73–97 Anderson High School Wigwam Dolph Schayes (17) 44–10 55 February 28 @ Indianapolis Olympians 72–110 Butler Fieldhouse Alex Hannum (13) 44–11
March: 7–2 (Home: 4–0 ; Road: 3–2 ; Neutral: 0–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 56 March 1 @ Waterloo Hawks 93–72 McElroy Auditorium Dolph Schayes (24) 45–11 57 March 2 @ Sheboygan Red Skins 85–95 Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory Dolph Schayes (26) 45–12 58 March 5 Minneapolis Lakers 84–75 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (28) 46–12 59 March 9 St. Louis Bombers 85–74 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (19) 47–12 60 March 12 Boston Celtics 96–72 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (21) 48–12 61 March 14 @ Indianapolis Olympians 65–68 Butler Fieldhouse George Ratkovicz (20) 48–13 62 March 16 @ Sheboygan Red Skins 88–75 Sheboygan Municipal Auditorium and Armory Dolph Schayes (18) 49–13 63 March 18 @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks 89–88 (OT) Wharton Field House Johnny Macknowski (25) 50–13 64 March 19 Anderson Packers 72–67 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (20) 51–13
1949–50 Schedule

Playoffs

1950 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High assists Location Series 1 March 22 Philadelphia W 93–76 George Ratkovicz (25) Dolph Schayes (6) State Fair Coliseum 1–0 2 March 23 @ Philadelphia W 59–53 Dolph Schayes (16) Al Cervi (2) Philadelphia Arena 2–0
Division Finals: 2–1 (home: 2–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High assists Location Series 1 March 26 New York W 91–83 (OT) Dolph Schayes (26) Andrew Levane (4) State Fair Coliseum 1–0 2 March 30 @ New York L 76–80 George Ratkovicz (17) Al Cervi (4) Madison Square Garden III 1–1 3 April 2 New York W 91–80 Dolph Schayes (24) Schayes, Cervi (3) State Fair Coliseum 2–1
NBA Finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 8 Minneapolis L 66–68 Dolph Schayes (19) — State Fair Coliseum 7,552 0–1 2 April 9 Minneapolis W 91–85 George Ratkovicz (17) — State Fair Coliseum 8,280 1–1 3 April 14 @ Minneapolis L 77–91 Johnny Macknowski (25) Paul Seymour (5) St. Paul Auditorium 10,288 1–2 4 April 16 @ Minneapolis L 69–77 Schayes, Hannum (18) Bill Gabor (6) St. Paul Auditorium 10,512 1–3 5 April 20 Minneapolis W 83–76 Dolph Schayes (19) — State Fair Coliseum 9,024 2–3 6 April 23 @ Minneapolis L 95–110 Dolph Schayes (23) Johnny Macknowski (5) Minneapolis Auditorium 9,812 2–4
1950 schedule

• Nationals had a bye in the NBA Semifinals as the team with the best record amongst teams who advanced past the Division Finals.

Awards and records

• Al Cervi, All-NBA Second Team
• Dolph Schayes, All-NBA Second Team

References

1. Al Cervi, Hall of Fame N.B.A. Player-Coach, Dies at 92, New York Times, November 10, 2009.