1952–53 NBA season

1952–53 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
DurationOctober 31, 1952 – March 17, 1953
March 17 – April 2, 1953 (Playoffs)
April 4–10, 1953 (Finals)
Games69-71
Teams10
Draft
Top draft pickMark Workman
Picked byBaltimore Bullets
Regular season
Top seedMinneapolis Lakers
Top scorerNeil Johnston (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern championsNew York Knicks
  Eastern runners-upBoston Celtics
Western championsMinneapolis Lakers
  Western runners-upFort Wayne Pistons
Finals
ChampionsMinneapolis Lakers
  Runners-upNew York Knicks

The 1952–53 NBA season was the seventh season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
Offseason
Team 1951–52 coach 1952–53 coach
Milwaukee Hawks Doxie Moore Andrew Levane
In-season
Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach
Baltimore Bullets Chick Reiser Clair Bee

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-New York Knicks 47 23 .671 - 22-4 15-14 10-5 30-10
x-Syracuse Nationals 47 24 .662 0.5 32-2 10-20 5-2 26-15
x-Boston Celtics 46 25 .648 1.5 21-3 11-18 14-4 28-13
x-Baltimore Bullets 16 54 .229 31 11-20 1–19 4-15 10-30
Philadelphia Warriors 12 57 .174 34.5 5-12 1–28 6-17 7-33

Western Division

Western Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
x-Minneapolis Lakers 48 22 .686 - 24–2 16–15 8–5 17–13
x-Rochester Royals 44 26 .629 4 24–8 13–17 7–1 27–13
x-Fort Wayne Pistons 36 33 .522 11.5 25–9 8–19 3–5 18–22
x-Indianapolis Olympians 28 43 .394 20.5 19–14 4–23 5–6 15–26
Milwaukee Hawks 27 44 .380 21.5 14–8 3–24 10–12 15–26

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Main article: 1953 NBA playoffs
Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals
         
E1 New York* 2
E4 Baltimore 0
E1 New York* 3
Eastern Division
E3 Boston 1
E3 Boston 2
E2 Syracuse 0
E1 New York* 1
W1 Minneapolis* 4
W1 Minneapolis* 2
W4 Indianapolis 0
W1 Minneapolis* 3
Western Division
W3 Fort Wayne 2
W3 Fort Wayne 2
W2 Rochester 1
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner
  • Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Statistics leaders

Category Player Team Stat
Points Neil Johnston Philadelphia Warriors 1,564
Rebounds George Mikan Minneapolis Lakers 1,007
Assists Bob Cousy Boston Celtics 547
FG% Neil Johnston Philadelphia Warriors .452
FT% Bill Sharman Boston Celtics .850

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

NBA awards

This season marked the first official season where the NBA would officially name the NBA Rookie of the Year Award winner after previously having Rookie of the Year winners only being recognized by newspaper writers when the NBA officially didn't recognize them in the past. (While the NBA would eventually later publish official recorded results for the pre-1953 Rookie of the Year winners in their 1994–95 edition of the Official NBA Guide and the 1994 Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia, those winners have not been listed in subsequent publications ever since then.[1][2][3])

See also

References

  1. ^ Friedman, David (March 2, 2009). "Bill Tosheff: NBA Co-Rookie of the Year and Tireless Advocate for the "Pre-1965ers". 20 Second Timeout. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  2. ^ Goldstein, Allan (October 30, 1994). "NBA forgot it honored Hoffman". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  3. ^ Sachare, Alex (1994). The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. New York: Villard Books. p. 371. ISBN 978-0-679-43293-7.


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