1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers season

1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers season
NBA Champions
Division Champions
Third NBA Championship
Head coach	John Kundla
Arena	Minneapolis Auditorium
Results
Record	40–26 (.606)
Place	Division: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (Won 4-3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	WLOL

The 1951–52 NBA season was the franchise's fourth season in the NBA. The NBA widened the foul lane before the 1951–52 season in an attempt to slow down George Mikan. Despite the change, it had little effect on Mikan. He still averaged 23.8 points per game, although he lost the scoring title to Paul Arizin, from the Philadelphia Warriors.^[1] The Lakers went into the campaign with essentially the same lineup. Rochester took first place in the Western Division by a game, but the Lakers ousted the Royals in four games in the division finals. The NBA Finals would have the Lakers oppose the New York Knickerbockers.^[1] Games 3 and 4 of the Finals were played at the 69th Regiment Armory instead of at Madison Square Garden. This was because the circus was in town. The teams split those games, and Games 5 and 6 as well. Game 7 was dominated by Minneapolis. The Lakers pounded out an 82–65 win, at home, to claim their third NBA crown in their first four seasons.^[1]

Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve
C	George Mikan	Lew Hitch
PF	Vern Mikkelsen	Howie Schultz
SF	Jim Pollard
SG	Pep Saul	Bob Harrison
PG	Slater Martin	Joe Hutton	Whitey Skoog

Regular season

Season standings

Western Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Rochester Royals	41	25	.621	–	28–5	12–18	1–2	22–14
x-Minneapolis Lakers	40	26	.606	1	21–5	13–20	6–1	24–12
x-Indianapolis Olympians	34	32	.515	7	25–6	4–24	5–2	18–18
x-Fort Wayne Pistons	29	37	.439	12	22–11	6–24	1–2	17–19
Milwaukee Hawks	17	49	.258	24	8–13	3–22	6–14	9–27

Record vs. opponents

1951-52 NBA Records
Team	BAL	BOS	FWP	IND	MIL	MIN	NYK	PHI	ROC	SYR
Baltimore	—	1–8	2–4	2–4	4–2	0–6	2–7	4–5	2–4	3–6
Boston	8–1	—	3–3	3–3	5–1	3–3	4–5	6–3	3–3	4–5
Fort Wayne	4–2	3–3	—	5–4	4–5	5–4	3–3	2–4	3–6	0–6
Indianapolis	4–2	3–3	4–5	—	7–2	4–5	3–3	2–4	3–6	4–2
Milwaukee	2–4	1–5	5–4	2–7	—	1–8	2–4	1–5	1–8	2–4
Minneapolis	6–0	3–3	4–5	5–4	8–1	—	4–2	2–4	7–2	1–5
New York	7–2	5–4	3–3	3–3	4–2	2–4	—	6–3	2–4	5–4
Philadelphia	5–4	3–6	4–2	4–2	5–1	4–2	3–6	—	2–4	3–6
Rochester	4–2	3–3	6–3	6–3	8–1	2–7	4–2	4–2	—	4–2
Syracuse	6–3	5–4	6–0	2–4	4–2	5–1	4–5	6–3	2–4	—

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG

Playoffs

West Division Semifinals

(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Indianapolis Olympians: Lakers win series 2–0

Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 78, Indianapolis 70
Game 2 @ Indianapolis: Minneapolis 94, Indianapolis 87

West Division Finals

(1) Rochester Royals vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers: Lakers win series 3–1

Game 1 @ Rochester: Rochester 88, Minneapolis 78
Game 2 @ Rochester: Minneapolis 83, Rochester 78 (OT)
Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 77, Rochester 67
Game 4 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 82, Rochester 80

NBA Finals

(W2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (E3) New York Knicks: Lakers win series 4–3

Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 83, New York 79 (OT)
Game 2 @ Minneapolis: New York 80, Minneapolis 72
Game 3 @ New York: Minneapolis 82, New York 77
Game 4 @ New York: New York 90, Minneapolis 89 (OT)
Game 5 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 102, New York 89
Game 6 @ New York: New York 76, Minneapolis 68
Game 7 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 82, New York 65

Awards and honors

References

1 2 3 LAKERS: Los Angeles Lakers History

External links

1951–52 NBA season by team

1951 NBA draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals Transactions

Eastern	Baltimore Boston New York Philadelphia Syracuse

Western	Fort Wayne Indianapolis Milwaukee Minneapolis Rochester

NBA champions

Los Angeles Lakers

Founded in 1947 Played in Minneapolis (1947–1960) Based in Los Angeles, California

Franchise	Franchise Team history All-time roster Draft history Seasons Records Head coaches Current season

Arenas	Minneapolis Auditorium Minneapolis Armory Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena The Forum Staples Center

D-League affiliate	Los Angeles D-Fenders

Administration	Jeanie, Jim, and Johnny Buss (majority owners) Anschutz Entertainment Group (minority owner) Edward P. Roski (minority owner) Patrick Soon-Shiong (minority owner) Mitch Kupchak (General Manager) Luke Walton (Head Coach)

Retired numbers	13 22 25 32 33 34 42 44 52 Chick Hearn (Microphone) Minneapolis Lakers Hall of Famers Mikan Mikkelsen Martin Lovellette Pollard Coach Kundla

NBA Championships (16)	1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1972 1980 1982 1985 1987 1988 2000 2001 2002 2009 2010

Western Conference Championships (31)	1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1959 1962 1963 1965 1966 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1991 2000 2001 2002 2004 2008 2009 2010

Rivalries	Boston Celtics Houston Rockets Detroit Pistons San Antonio Spurs Los Angeles Clippers

Culture and lore	Jack Kent Cooke Jerry Buss Showtime Chick Hearn Shaq–Kobe feud Lawrence Tanter Jack Nicholson "I Love L.A." Laker Girls Laker Band Dancing Barry

Media	TV Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles) Radio 710 ESPN Radio 1330 ESPN Deportes Announcers Bill Macdonald Stu Lantz John Ireland Mychal Thompson

Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers seasons

1940s

1947–48

1948–49

1950s

1949–50

1950–51

1951–52

1952–53

1953–54

1960s

1970s

1971–72

1980s

1979–80

1981–82

1984–85

1986–87

1987–88

1990s

2000s

1999–00

2000–01

2001–02

2008–09

2010s

2009–10

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

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