1949 BAA Finals
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| Dates | April 4–13 | |||||||||
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| Hall of Famers | Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) John Kundla (1995) Players: George Mikan (1959) Jim Pollard (1978) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Capitols defeated Knicks, 2–1 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Lakers defeated Royals, 2–0 | |||||||||
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] This is the earliest NBA championship with a living player, Arnie Ferrin.
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Series summary
| 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
Minneapolis Lakers
Washington Capitols
References
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"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.
External links
- 1949 Finals at NBA.com
- 1949 BAA Playoffs at Basketball-Reference.com
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See also: WNBA Finals | ||
- 1948–49 BAA season
- Minneapolis Lakers games
- Washington Capitols games
- Basketball Association of America Finals
- April 1949 sports events in the United States
- Sports competitions in Minneapolis
- Sports competitions in Washington, D.C.
- 1949 in sports in Washington, D.C.
- 1940s in Minneapolis
- 1949 in sports in Minnesota