1950–51 Minneapolis Lakers season

1950–51 Minneapolis Lakers season
Head coach	John Kundla
Arena	Minneapolis Auditorium
Results
Record	44–24 (.647)
Place	Division: 1st (Western)
Playoff finish	Division Finals (Lost to Royals 1–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	WLOL

The 1950-51 NBA season was the franchise's third season in the NBA. In 1950–51, the NBA reduced the number of teams to 11. The Lakers continued to dominate by winning the Western Division with a 44–24 record. In the playoffs, the Lakers needed 3 games to eliminate the Indianapolis Olympians in the first round. In the Western Finals, the Lakers took Game 1, but were defeated by the Rochester Royals, who came back to win the next 3 games.

Regular season

Standings

Western Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Minneapolis Lakers	44	24	.647	–	29–3	12–21	3–0	24–12
x-Rochester Royals	41	27	.603	3	29–5	12–22	–	18–15
x-Fort Wayne Pistons	32	36	.471	12	27–7	5–27	0–2	18–6
x-Indianapolis Olympians	31	37	.456	13	19–12	10–24	2–1	15–20
Tri-Cities Blackhawks	25	43	.368	19	22–13	2–28	1–2	12–24

Record vs. opponents

1950-51 NBA Records
Team	BAL	BOS	FWP	IND	MIN	NYK	PHI	ROC	SYR	TCB	WAS
Baltimore	—	3–6	4–2	2–4	2–4	2–5	3–6	1–5	3–5	3–3	1–2
Boston	6–3	—	5–1	4–1	3–3	4–4	4–4	2–4	2–5	4–2	4–3
Fort Wayne	2–4	1–5	—	5–3	5–3	2–4	3–3	3–5	3–3	5–5	3–1
Indianapolis	4–2	1–4	3–5	—	3–7	5–1	1–5	5–4	3–3	4–4	2–2
Minneapolis	4–2	3–3	3–5	7–3	—	3–3	4–2	4–4	4–2	10–0	2–0
New York	5–2	4–4	4–2	1–5	3–3	—	5–3	3–3	5–5	4–2	2–1
Philadelphia	6–3	4–4	3–3	5–1	2–4	3–5	—	4–2	6–2	4–2	3–0
Rochester	5–3	5–2	3–3	3–3	2–4	5–5	2–6	—	4–2	5–3	5–0
Syracuse	5–3	5–2	3–3	3–3	2–4	5–5	2–6	2–4	—	3–3	2–0
Tri-Cities	3–3	2–4	5–5	4–4	0–10	2–4	2–4	3–5	3–3	—	1–1
Washington	2–1	3–4	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–2	0–3	0–5	0–2	1–1	—

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG

Playoffs

West Division Semifinals

(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (4) Indianapolis Olympians: Lakers win series 2-1

• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 95, Indianapolis 81
• Game 2 @ Indianapolis: Indianapolis 108, Minneapolis 88
• Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 85, Indianapolis 80

West Division Finals

(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (2) Rochester Royals: Royals win series 3-1

• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 76, Rochester 73
• Game 2 @ Minneapolis: Rochester 70, Minneapolis 66
• Game 3 @ Rochester: Rochester 83, Minneapolis 70
• Game 3 @ Rochester: Rochester 80, Minneapolis 75

Awards and honors

• George Mikan, All-NBA First Team
• Vern Mikkelsen, All-NBA Second Team
• George Mikan, NBA All-Star Game
• Vern Mikkelsen, NBA All-Star Game
• Jim Pollard, NBA All-Star Game

References

General

• Lakers on Database Basketball
• Lakers on Basketball Reference

Specific