1953-1954 Minneapolis Lakers: Minnesota’s Curtain Call

1953-1954 Minneapolis Lakers: Minnesota’s Curtain Call

1953-1954 Minneapolis Lakers: Minnesota’s Curtain Call

The Lakers franchise in the NBA had always been royalty in the sense that they always had a winning tradition. Well before they called Los Angeles, California home the Lakers had heir fair share of winning up north in the state of Minnesota. Especially in the 1950’s the Lakers were the toast of the NBA as they found ways to win night in and night out. Being the 2-time defending NBA Champions at this point in time, the Lakers were positioned to go on yet another championship run.

In the 1953-1954 NBA season the Minneapolis Lakers went 46-26, finishing 2 games ahead of the Rochester Royals to win the Western Division. The Lakers went 20-4 in their original home of the Minneapolis Auditorium while going only 13-15 on the road. The Lakers went 13-7 in games that were held in neutral sites and 19-13 in divisional play. In head-to-head play the Lakers fared well as they went 8-3 against the Milwaukee Hawks, 6-2 against the Philadelphia Warriors and the Baltimore Bullets, 6-5 against the Rochester Royals, 5-3 against the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and the Syracuse Nationals, and 5-5 against the Fort Wayne Pistons.

Center George Mikan had a remarkable career in professional basketball, and little did anyone know at the time that this would be his final season playing in the NBA. Mikan led the Lakers with 1,306 points and 1,028 rebounds along with 174 assists, making 441 of 1,160 field goal shots and 424 of 546 free throws. Small forward Jim Pollard had 831 points, 500 rebounds and 214 assists, making 179 of 230 free throws. Power forward Vern Mikkelsen had 797 points, 615 rebounds and 119 assists, making 221 of 298 free throws. Point guard Slater Martin had 684 points and 253 assists, making 176 of 243 free throws.

Center Clyde Lovellette was a good secondary option for the Lakers to turn to if Mikan was ever having an off night. Lovellette had 588 points and 419 rebounds, making 114 of 164 free throws. Shooting guard Whitey Skoog had 496 points, 224 rebounds and 179 assists, making 72 of 97 free throws. Point guard Frank Benjamin “Pep” Saul had 452 points, 159 rebounds and 139 assists, making 128 of 170 free throws. Small forward Jim Holstein had 204 rebounds and made 64 of 112 free throws despite having only 240 points.

The 3 main leaders on offense for the Lakers were Mikan, Pollard and Mikkelsen as they averaged 18.1, 11.7 and 11.1 points per game respectively. Mikan averaged 14.3 rebounds per game. Along with Slater Martin, George Mikan and Jim Pollard would make the All-Star Game. Mikan would be named to the All-NBA First Team while Pollard would be named to the Second Team.

The regular season was basically a breeze for the Lakers to go through as they experienced two long winning streaks which set the tone for the rest of the way. Their first long winning streak was 10 games long, and this streak began with an 89-74 win over the Boston Celtics on November 15. This streak ended with a 71-67 win over the New York Knicks on December 12. The other long winning would be 11 games long, and this streak began with a 91-72 win over the Milwaukee Hawks on January 18, and it ended with a 97-94 win over the Philadelphia Warriors on February 6.

The Lakers would find themselves in a Round Robin along with the Rochester Royals and the Fort Wayne Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. Only 2 of these 3 teams would advance to the next round by having better Round Robin records. The Lakers easily passed this test as they went a perfect 3-0 in this Round Robin.

In Game 1 on March 17 at the Minneapolis Auditorium the Lakers beat the Royals 109-88. Slater Martin had 24 points while Clyde Lovellette had 18 points. In Game 2 on March 18 at War Memorial Coliseum the Lakers defeated the Pistons 90-85. George Mikan led the way with 28 points. In Game 3 on March 20 at the Minneapolis Auditorium the Lakers once again beat the Pistons 78-73. Mikan had 21 points while Jim Pollard had 20 points.

In the Western Division Finals the Lakers faced the Rochester Royals, and the Lakers would prevail in the series limit, winning 2 games to 1. In Game 1 on March 24 at the Minneapolis Auditorium the Lakers beat the Royals 89-76. Mikan had 28 points and Pollard had 23 points. In Game 2 on March 27 at Edgerton Park Arena the Royals managed to beat the Lakers 74-73. In the deciding Game 3 on on March 28 at the Minneapolis Auditorium the Lakers beat the Royals 82-72, eliminating them from the playoffs. Mikan had 17 points and Lovellette had 16 points.

The 1954 NBA Finals pitted the Minneapolis Lakers against the Syracuse Nationals, and it would be a back and forth battle to determine which team would win the NBA Championship.

In Game 1 on March 31 at the Minneapolis Auditorium the Lakers beat the Nationals 79-68. Clyde Lovellette had 16 points and George Mikan jad 15 points. In Game 2 on April 3 the Nationals won 62-60. In Game 3 on April 4 at the Onondago War Memorial the Lakers beat the Nationals 81-67. Mikan was the star of the game as he had 30 points. In Game 4 on April 8 the Nationals won 80-69. In Game 5 on April 10 the Lakers won 84-73. Vern Mikkelsen had 21 points.

In Game 6 on April 11 at the Minneapolis Auditorium the Nationals won 65-63 to force a deciding Game 7. In this Game 7 on April 12 the Lakers pulled away from the Nationals, winning 87-80. Jim Pollard had 21 points. The Lakers had made history by becoming the first NBA team to have a “three-peat”, winning 3 NBA Championships in consecutive seasons. Unfortunately for basketball fans in the northern United States, this would be Minnesota’s curtain call for the time being as the Minneapolis Lakers folded up their tents and relocated to Los Angeles before the start of the 1960-1961 NBA season, where they would start a new chapter of winning NBA Championships.