1949 BAA Finals

1949 BAA finals
TeamCoachWins
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla 4
Washington Capitols Red Auerbach 2
DatesApril 4–13
Hall of FamersLakers:
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Coaches:
Red Auerbach (1969)
John Kundla (1995)
Eastern finalsCapitols defeated Knicks, 2–1
Western finalsLakers defeated Royals, 2–0
← 1948 BAA finals 1950 →

The 1949 BAA Finals was the championship round following the Basketball Association of America (BAA)'s 1948–49 season, its third and last. Later that year, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association (NBA).

6'10" George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers proved dominant. They routed the Washington Capitols in six games. This was the first of several successive NBA titles for the Lakers. It was the beginning of the George Mikan and the Lakers Dynasty. As for the Capitols, they would never reach the Finals again, but their coach in Red Auerbach would do so several times over the next two decades, and this represented his only loss in a Final until 1958 (Auerbach would win nine of his eleven appearances in a Final); this would be the first of six overall finals that featured Auerbach against the Lakers, for which he beat them five times, including in 1959 when he beat Kundla in his last game as head coach of the Lakers.

The six games of the final series were played in ten days – Monday, April 4, to Wednesday, April 13 – with one day off except after game three, the first of three played in Washington (Minneapolis led 3–0). Prior to its start, however, Minneapolis had been idle for five days, having qualified on the preceding Tuesday; Washington idle for only one day, having qualified on Saturday. The entire playoff tournament extended 23 days.[1]

Series summary

[edit]
Game Date Home team Result Road team
Game 1 April 4 Minneapolis Lakers 88–84 (1–0) Washington Capitols
Game 2 April 6 Minneapolis Lakers 76–62 (2–0) Washington Capitols
Game 3 April 8 Washington Capitols 74–94 (0–3) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 4 April 9 Washington Capitols 83–71 (1–3) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 5 April 11 Washington Capitols 74–65 (2–3) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 6 April 13 Minneapolis Lakers 77–56 (4–2) Washington Capitols

Lakers win series 4–2

Team rosters

[edit]

Minneapolis Lakers

[edit]
1948–49 Minneapolis Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
F/C 11 Bloom, Mike 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1915-01-14 Temple
G/F 15 Carlson, Don 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1919-03-22 Minnesota
G/F 19 Dwan, Jack 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1921-05-03 Loyola Chicago
C 18 Ellefson, Ray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1922-11-18 West Texas A&M
G/F 18 Ferrin, Arnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1925-07-29 Utah
G 22 Forman, Donnie 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1926-01-17 NYU
F 14 Gardner, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1923-09-18 DePauw
G/F 13 Jaros, Tony 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1920-02-22 Minnesota
G/F 16 Jorgensen, Johnny 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1921-12-28 DePaul
G 20 Kachan, Whitey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1925-09-15 DePaul
C 99 Mikan, George 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1924-06-18 DePaul
SF 17 Pollard, Jim 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1922-07-09 Stanford
G/F 24 Schaefer, Herm 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1918-12-20 Indiana
G/F 12 Smith, Don 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1920-07-27 Minnesota
F 19 Tingle, Jack 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1924-12-30 Kentucky
Head coach

John Kundla

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Washington Capitols

[edit]
1948–49 Washington Capitols roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G/F 10 Feerick, Bob 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1920-01-02 Santa Clara
F/C 11 Hermsen, Kleggie 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1923-03-12 Minnesota
G 29 Hertzberg, Sonny 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1922-07-29 CCNY
G 23 Katkaveck, Leo 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1923-04-17 NC State
SF 17 McKinney, Bones 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1919-01-01 North Carolina
PF 15 Nichols, Jack 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1926-04-09 Washington
F 16 Norlander, Johnny 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1921-03-05 Hamline
G/F 13 O'Keefe, Dick 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1923-09-29 Santa Clara
G/F 22 Schulz, Dick 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1917-01-03 Wisconsin
PG 20 Scolari, Fred 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1922-03-01 San Francisco
F/C 15 Toomay, Jack 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1922-08-09 Pacific
G/F 18 Zunic, Matt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1919-12-19 George Washington
Head coach

Red Auerbach

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Box scores

[edit]
April 4
Washington Capitols 84, Minneapolis Lakers 88
Scoring by quarter: 13–23, 27–25, 21–19, 23–21
Pts: Fred Scolari 20 Pts: George Mikan 42
Minneapolis leads series, 1–0
April 6
Washington Capitols 62, Minneapolis Lakers 76
Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 19–27, 13–11, 17–18
Pts: Sonny Hertzberg 13 Pts: Don Carlson 16
Minneapolis leads series, 2–0
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 10,212
Referees: Pat Kennedy, Phil Fox
April 8
Minneapolis Lakers 94, Washington Capitols 74
Scoring by quarter: 26–14, 17–15, 28–24, 23–21
Pts: George Mikan 35 Pts: Nichols, Zunic 12 each
Minneapolis leads series, 3–0
Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 4,919
April 9
Minneapolis Lakers 71, Washington Capitols 83
Scoring by quarter: 23–22, 12–23, 16–20, 20–18
Pts: George Mikan 27 Pts: Jack Nichols 27
Minneapolis leads series, 3–1
Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 4,471
April 11
Minneapolis Lakers 65, Washington Capitols 74
Scoring by quarter: 12–22, 18–19, 22–15, 13–18
Pts: George Mikan 22 Pts: Hermsen, Nichols 13 each
Minneapolis leads series, 3–2
Uline Arena, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 3,840
April 13
Washington Capitols 56, Minneapolis Lakers 77
Scoring by quarter: 12–19, 12–21, 17–22, 15–15
Pts: Kleggie Hermsen 12 Pts: George Mikan 29
Minneapolis wins series, 4–2

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1948–49 BAA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
      Select "Next Season" from the heading for 1949–50, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
[edit]
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