The 1950–51 Rochester Royals season was the third season for the team in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). The Royals finished the season by winning their first NBA Championship. The Royals scored 84.6 points per game and allowed 81.7 points per game.1950–51 Rochester Royals Statistics – Basketball-Reference.com
/ref> Rochester was led up front by

Arnie Risen Arnold Denny "Stilts" Risen (October 9, 1924 – August 4, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'9" (2.06 m) center, he led the Ohio State University Buckeyes to two straight Final Four appearances. Risen had transferred to ...

, a 6–9, 200-pound center nicknamed "Stilts", along with 6–5 Arnie Johnson and 6–7 Jack Coleman. The backcourt was manned by

Bob Davies Robert Edris Davies (January 15, 1920 – April 22, 1990) was an American professional basketball player. Alongside Bobby Wanzer he formed one of the best backcourt duos in the National Basketball Association's early years. Davies and Wanzer led ...

and Bobby Wanzer. Among the key reserves was a guard from City College of New York named William "Red" Holzman.NBA.com: Their Royal Highnesses
/ref>

Regular season

Standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Roster

Playoffs

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W 110–81
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Edgerton Park Arena Edgerton Park Arena was an indoor arena in Rochester, New York. The building was originally constructed in 1892 as the drill hall for a training school for delinquent boys. When the school moved early in the 20th century, the building was turned ...

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L 78–83
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Davies Davies is a patronymic surname of English or Welsh origin. There are two main theories concerning its beginnings, neither of which has been definitively proven. The first theory contends that it may be a corruption of "Dyfed", the name of a medie ...

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W 97–78
, Bobby Wanzer (20) ,

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Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

L 73–76
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Minneapolis Auditorium Minneapolis Auditorium was an indoor arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It hosted the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers from 1947 until they moved to the Minneapolis Armory in 1959. The arena held 10,000 people and was built in 1927. The building fell into ...

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W 70–66
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Red Holzman William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to ...

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W 83–70
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Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

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W 80–75
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, 3–1 , - , - , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 1 , April 7 , New York
W 92–65
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4,200 , 1–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 2 , April 8 , New York
W 99–84
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(24) , Jack Coleman (28) , Jack Coleman (8) ,

4,200 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 3 , April 11 , @ New York
W 78–71
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69th Regiment Armory __NOTOC__ The 69th Regiment Armory is a historic National Guard armory building located at 68 Lexington Avenue between East 25th and 26th Streets in the Rose Hill section of Manhattan, New York City. The building began construction in 1904 an ...

5,000 , 3–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 4 , April 13 , @ New York
L 73–79
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(20) , Jack Coleman (9) ,

4,000 , 3–1 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 5 , April 15 , New York
L 89–92
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(10) ,

4,200 , 3–2 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 6 , April 18 , @ New York
L 73–80
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4,500 , 3–3 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" , 7 , April 21 , New York
W 79–75
,

(24) ,

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4,200 , 4–3 , -

NBA Finals

The Royals took Game 1 easily, 92–65, as Risen and Wanzer recorded 24 and 19 points. Rochester won Game 2 99–84, behind 24 points from Davies and 28 rebounds from Coleman. Three nights later, the finals shifted to the 69th Regiment Armory in New York, but the result was no different. The Royals defeated the Knicks 78–71 and took a 3–0 series lead, thanks to 27 points and 18 rebounds from Risen. The Knicks rebounded in Game 4 by a score of 79–73. The Knicks key player was Harry Gallatin who scored 22 points and 14 rebounds. Game 5 took place in Rochester and the Knicks won 92–89. Connie Simmons had 26 points; and then tied the series by taking Game 6 back in New York 80–73. Max Zaslofsky led the way with 23 points. The seventh and deciding game was held on April 21 back in Rochester. The Royals jumped to an early 14-point lead, but the Knicks came back. With 44 seconds left and the score tied at 75, Davies was fouled by the Knicks’ Dick McGuire and sunk two free throws. Rochester would go on to win the seventh game and the NBA Championship. Davies finished the game with 20 points, and Risen scored 24 points and 13 rebounds in the deciding game. Risen finished the series with averages of 21.7 points and 14.3 rebounds, Davies averaged 17 points and 5.3 assists, Wanzer 12.4 points and Coleman 13.1 rebounds. The Knicks remain the only time in NBA history a team has bounced back from a 3–0 deficit to force a Game 7.

Awards and honors

, All-NBA First Team

References

Royals on Basketball Reference

{{DEFAULTSORT:1950-51 Rochester Royals season Sacramento Kings seasons Rochester Royals seasons NBA championship seasons

Rochester Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...