1952 NBA playoffs
The 1952 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1951–52 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
The first NBA dynasty, the Lakers won their third NBA title in the last 4 years and what would become their first of 3 straight titles. If not for their division finals loss to the Rochester Royals the previous season, Minneapolis would have won 6 straight titles.
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Rochester | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Fort Wayne | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Rochester | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Minneapolis | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Indianapolis | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Minneapolis | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Syracuse | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Philadelphia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Syracuse | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Boston | 1 | ||||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: Minneapolis Lakers
Division Semifinals
(1) Rochester Royals vs. (4) Fort Wayne Pistons: Royals win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ Rochester: Rochester 95, Fort Wayne 78
- Game 2 @ Fort Wayne: Rochester 92, Fort Wayne 86
Last Playoff Meeting: 1951 NBA Western Division Semifinals (Rochester won 2–1)
(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Indianapolis Olympians: Lakers win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 78, Indianapolis 70
- Game 2 @ Indianapolis: Minneapolis 94, Indianapolis 87
Last Playoff Meeting: 1951 NBA Western Division Semifinals (Minneapolis won 2–1)
Division Finals
(1) Rochester Royals vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers: Lakers win series 3–1
- Game 1 @ Rochester: Rochester 88, Minneapolis 78
- Game 2 @ Rochester: Minneapolis 83, Rochester 78 (OT)
- Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 77, Rochester 67
- Game 4 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 82, Rochester 80
Last Playoff Meeting: 1951 NBA Western Division Finals (Rochester won 3–1)
Eastern Division
Champion: New York Knicks
Division Semifinals
(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (4) Philadelphia Warriors: Nationals win series 2–1
- Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 102, Philadelphia 83
- Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 100, Syracuse 95
- Game 3 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 84, Philadelphia 73
Last Playoff Meeting: 1951 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals (Syracuse won 2–0)
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 2–1
- Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 105, New York 94
- Game 2 @ New York: New York 101, Boston 97
- Game 3 @ Boston: New York 88, Boston 87 (2OT)
Last Playoff Meeting: 1951 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals (New York won 2–0)
Division Finals
(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) New York Knicks: Knicks win series 3–1
- Game 1 @ Syracuse: New York 87, Syracuse 85
- Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 102, New York 92
- Game 3 @ New York: New York 99, Syracuse 92
- Game 4 @ New York: New York 100, Syracuse 93
Last Playoff Meeting: 1951 NBA Eastern Division Finals (New York won 3–2)
NBA Finals
(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) New York Knicks: Lakers win series 4–3
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 83, New York 79 (OT)
- Game 2 @ Minneapolis: New York 80, Minneapolis 72
- Game 3 @ New York: Minneapolis 82, New York 77
- Game 4 @ New York: New York 90, Minneapolis 89 (OT)
- Game 5 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 102, New York 89
- Game 6 @ New York: New York 76, Minneapolis 68
- Game 7 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 82, New York 65
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Lakers and Knicks.