1950–51 NBA season

The 1950–51 NBA season was the fifth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Rochester Royals winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

1950–51 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 31, 1950 – March 18, 1951 March 20 – April 4, 1951 (Playoffs) April 7–21, 1951 (Finals)
Number of games	68
Number of teams	11 (10 midway through the season)
Draft
Top draft pick	Chuck Share
Picked by	Boston Celtics
Regular season
Top seed	Minneapolis Lakers
Top scorer	George Mikan (Minneapolis)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	New York Knicks
Eastern runners-up	Syracuse Nationals
Western champions	Rochester Royals
Western runners-up	Minneapolis Lakers
Finals
Champions	Rochester Royals
Runners-up	New York Knicks
NBA seasons
← 1949–50 1951–52 →

Notable occurrences

• The NBA began recording rebounds.
• The NBA contracted, losing six teams (Anderson Packers, Sheboygan Red Skins and Waterloo Hawks jumped to the NPBL, while the Chicago Stags, Denver Nuggets and St. Louis Bombers folded) and shrank from 17 teams to 11 before the season started. Midway through the season, the Washington Capitols folded as well, bringing the number of teams in the league down to ten. Washington, D.C. would not have another professional basketball team until the American Basketball Association’s Oakland Oaks relocated there for one season in 1969–70. Washington’s next NBA team would not be established until a future reformed version of the Baltimore Bullets relocated there in 1973.
• Earl Lloyd became the NBA's first Black player when (in the opening game of the season in Rochester) the Washington Capitols put him in the game after halftime. He went on to score six points and grab a game-high 10 rebounds, but the breaking of the color barrier merited barely a mention in news reports of the time.^[1] Chuck Cooper of the Boston Celtics and Nat "Sweetwater" Clifton of the New York Knicks also played in their teams' openers within a few days.
• The lowest scoring game in NBA history occurred on November 22, 1950, where the Fort Wayne Pistons would defeat the Minneapolis Lakers by the final score of 19–18. It would be a catalyst for the NBA to implement the shot clock a few seasons later.
• The longest game in NBA history (by playing time) took place on January 6, 1951, between the Indianapolis Olympians and the Rochester Royals. The game, held in Rochester at Edgerton Park Arena, ended 75–73 after 78 minutes, including six overtimes.^[2] The overtimes saw only 18 points scored between the two teams, so this game also became a factor in the introduction of the shot clock.^[1]
• The first annual NBA All-Star Game, a showcase of the league's top players, was played in Boston, Massachusetts, with the East beating the West 111–94. Ed Macauley of the Boston Celtics received the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	1949–50 coach	1950–51 coach
Boston Celtics	Doggie Julian	Red Auerbach
Tri-Cities Blackhawks	Red Auerbach	Dave MacMillan
Washington Capitols	Bob Feerick	Bones McKinney
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Baltimore Bullets	Buddy Jeannette	Walt Budko
Indianapolis Olympians	Cliff Barker	Wally Jones
Tri-Cities Blackhawks	Dave MacMillan	Johnny Logan Mike Todorovich

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Philadelphia Warriors	40	26	.606	–	28–4	11–21	1–1	22–14
x-Boston Celtics	39	30	.565	1	25–5	10–23	4–2	21–19
x-New York Knicks	36	30	.545	4	22–5	10–25	4–0	21–15
x-Syracuse Nationals	32	34	.485	8	23–10	9–24	–	19–17
Baltimore Bullets	24	42	.364	16	20–12	4–24	0–6	12–24
Washington Capitols	10	25	.286	30	7–12	3–12	0–1	6–12

Western Division

Western Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Minneapolis Lakers	44	24	.647	–	29–3	12–21	3–0	24–12
x-Rochester Royals	41	27	.603	3	29–5	12–22	–	18–15
x-Fort Wayne Pistons	32	36	.471	12	27–7	5–27	0–2	18–6
x-Indianapolis Olympians	31	37	.456	13	19–12	10–24	2–1	15–20
Tri-Cities Blackhawks	25	43	.368	19	22–13	2–28	1–2	12–24

x – Clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Main article: 1951 NBA playoffs

Division Semifinals

Division Finals

NBA Finals

E1

Philadelphia*

0

E4

Syracuse

2

E4

Syracuse

2

Eastern Division

E3

New York

3

E3

New York

2

E2

Boston

0

E3

New York

3

W2

Rochester

4

W1

Minneapolis*

2

W4

Indianapolis

1

W1

Minneapolis*

1

Western Division

W2

Rochester

3

W3

Fort Wayne

1

W2

Rochester

2

* Division winner
Bold Series winner
Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

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Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points	George Mikan	Minneapolis Lakers	1,932
Rebounds	Dolph Schayes	Syracuse Nationals	1,080
Assists	Andy Phillip	Philadelphia Warriors	414
FG%	Alex Groza	Indianapolis Olympians	.470
FT%	Joe Fulks	Philadelphia Warriors	.855

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

NBA awards

All-NBA First Team: Alex Groza, Indianapolis Olympians Ralph Beard, Indianapolis Olympians Bob Davies, Rochester Royals George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics

All-NBA Second Team: Frank Brian, Tri-Cities Blackhawks Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors Dick McGuire, New York Knicks Vern Mikkelsen, Minneapolis Lakers Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals

References

1. Maiorana, Sal. "Remembering the Royals". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York: USA Today Network. pp. 1A, 6A. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
2. "Longest NBA basketball game". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 5 September 2019.