The 1950–51 NBA season was the fifth season of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
. The season ended with the
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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
winning the NBA Championship, beating the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
4 games to 3 in the
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
.
Notable occurrences
* The NBA began recording rebounds.
* The NBA contracted, losing six teams (
Anderson Packers,
Sheboygan Red Skins
The Sheboygan Red Skins (or Redskins) were a professional basketball team based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which was an original National Basketball Association franchise during the 1949–50 NBA season, 1949–50 season.
History
Overview
The Re ...
and
Waterloo Hawks jumped to the
NPBL, while the
Chicago Stags
The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago from 1946 to 1950.
History
1946–47 season
In the BAA's inaugural year, the Chicago Stags were originally meant to start out as the ''Chicago Atomics'', to the point ...
,
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
and
St. Louis Bombers folded) and shrank from 17 teams to 11 before the season started. Midway through the season, the
Washington Capitols
The Washington Capitols were a former Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. from 1946 to 1951. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerb ...
folded as well, bringing the number of teams in the league down to ten.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
would not have another professional basketball team until the
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...
’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
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
.
*
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.
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
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...
by the final score of 19–18. It would be a catalyst for the NBA to implement the
shot clock
A shot clock is a countdown timer used in a variety of games and sports, indicating a set amount of time that a team may possess the object of play before attempting to score a goal. Shot clocks are used in several sports including basketball, w ...
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 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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
. The game, held in Rochester at
Edgerton Park Arena, ended 75–73 after 78 minutes, including six overtimes. 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.
* During the month of January 1951, it was discovered by New York District Attorney
Frank Hogan that Sol Levy, a referee that has been a part of the NBA for three seasons, had arranged to
fix the outcomes of six different NBA games under an accomplice of his. Levy would later be suspended, arrested, and subsequently permanently banned from the NBA for his role in fixing NBA games, becoming the first official to be banned in such a case.
Baltimore Bullets rookie
Norm Mager would subsequently be the first official NBA player to be permanently banned afterward when it was discovered he was involved in the
CCNY point-shaving scandal back when he was a senior there.
* The first annual
NBA All-Star Game
The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is the annual all-star game hosted each February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's All-star, star players. Since 2022, it was held on the third Sunday of ...
, a showcase of the league's top players, was played in
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, with the
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
beating the
West
West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
111–94.
Ed Macauley of the
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
received the first NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award.
Final standings
Eastern Division
Western Division
:x – Clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
Statistics leaders
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
The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...
:
**
Alex Groza,
Indianapolis Olympians
**
Ralph Beard
Ralph Milton Beard Jr. (December 2, 1927 – November 29, 2007) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player.
He won two NCAA national basketball championships at the University of Kentucky and played two years in the National ...
, Indianapolis Olympians
**
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 le ...
,
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 Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...
**
George Mikan
George Lawrence Mikan Jr. (; June 18, 1924 – June 1, 2005), nicknamed "Mr. Basketball", was an American professional basketball player for the Chicago American Gears of the National Basketball League (NBL) and the Minneapolis Lakers of ...
,
Minneapolis Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...
**
Ed Macauley,
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
*All-NBA Second Team:
**
Frank Brian,
Tri-Cities Blackhawks
**
Joe Fulks
Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks (October 26, 1921 – March 21, 1976) was an American professional basketball player. The NBA's first scoring champion, he was sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was posthumously en ...
,
Philadelphia Warriors
The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden ...
**
Dick McGuire
Richard Joseph McGuire (January 26, 1926 – February 3, 2010) was an American professional basketball player and coach. McGuire was one of the premier guards of the 1950s, playing 11 seasons in the NBA (1949–60), eight with the New York Knicks ...
,
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
**
Vern Mikkelsen
Arild Verner Agerskov Mikkelsen (October 21, 1928 – November 21, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. One of the National Basketball Association's first power forwards in the 1950s, he was known for his tenacious defense and ...
, Minneapolis Lakers
**
Dolph Schayes,
Syracuse Nationals
The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA ...
See also
*
List of NBA regular season records
This article lists all-time records achieved in the National Basketball Association, NBA regular season in major statistical categories recognized by the league, including those set by teams and individuals in a game, season, and career. The NB ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1950-51 NBA season