1953 NBA Finals

The 1953 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1953 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1952–53 season. The Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series with Minneapolis having home-court advantage.^[1] By winning four games to one, the Lakers won their fifth title in six years dating from 1948, the club's final season in the National Basketball League.

1953 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla 4 New York Knicks Joe Lapchick 1
Dates	April 4–10
Hall of Famers	Lakers: George Mikan (1959) Jim Pollard (1978) Slater Martin (1982) Vern Mikkelsen (1995) Knicks: Harry Gallatin (1991) Al McGuire (1992, coach) Dick McGuire (1993) Nat Clifton (2014) Carl Braun (2019) Coaches: Joe Lapchick (1966, player) John Kundla (1995)
Eastern finals	Knicks defeated Celtics, 3–1
Western finals	Lakers defeated Pistons, 3–2
← 1952 NBA Finals 1954 →

The five games were played in seven days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5, in Minneapolis and concluding there on the following Friday. Meanwhile, two mid-week games were played in New York City. The entire postseason tournament spanned 25 days in which Minneapolis played 12 games, New York 11.^[1]

Series summary

Game	Date	Home team	Result	Road team
Game 1	April 4	Minneapolis Lakers	88–96 (0–1)	New York Knicks
Game 2	April 5	Minneapolis Lakers	73–71 (1–1)	New York Knicks
Game 3	April 7	New York Knicks	75–90 (1–2)	Minneapolis Lakers
Game 4	April 8	New York Knicks	69–72 (1–3)	Minneapolis Lakers
Game 5	April 10	New York Knicks	84–91 (1–4)	Minneapolis Lakers

Lakers win series 4–1

Team rosters

Minneapolis Lakers

1952–53 Minneapolis Lakers roster

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Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SG 16 Bob Harrison 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1927-08-12 Michigan PF 11 Lew Hitch 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1929-07-16 Kansas State SF 12, 13 Jim Holstein 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1930-09-24 Cincinnati PG 22 Slater Martin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1925-10-22 Texas C 99 George Mikan 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1924-06-18 DePaul PF 19 Vern Mikkelsen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1928-10-21 Hamline SF 17 Jim Pollard 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1922-07-09 Stanford SG 18 Pep Saul 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1924-02-16 Seton Hall F Dick Schnittker 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1928-05-27 Ohio State PF 12 Howie Schultz 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1922-07-03 Hamline SG 20 Whitey Skoog 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1926-11-02 Minnesota

Head coach John Kundla Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

New York Knicks

1952–53 Eastern Division Champions New York Knicks roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From SF 12 Vince Boryla 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1927-03-11 Denver SG 4 Carl Braun 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1927-09-25 Colgate PF 8 Nat Clifton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1922-10-13 Xavier (LA) G/F Jerry Fleishman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1922-02-14 NYU PF 11 Harry Gallatin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1927-04-26 Truman State PG 3, 16 Al McGuire 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1928-09-07 St. John's PG 15 Dick McGuire 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1926-01-25 St. John's G 5 Sherwin Raiken 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1928-10-29 Villanova C 18 Connie Simmons 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 222 lb (101 kg) 1925-03-15 Flushing High School SF 14, 17 Dick Surhoff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1929-11-16 Long Island SF 9 Ernie Vandeweghe 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1928-09-12 Colgate

Head coach Joe Lapchick Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Game summaries

April 4

Boxscore

New York Knicks 96, Minneapolis Lakers 88
Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 24–29, 23–20, 30–21
Pts: Carl Braun 21		Pts: George Mikan 25
New York leads series, 1–0

Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 5,000 Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft

April 5

Boxscore

New York Knicks 71, Minneapolis Lakers 73
Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 14–21, 24–11, 17–15
Pts: Connie Simmons 17		Pts: George Mikan 18
Series tied, 1–1

Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 4,848 Referees: Sid Borgia, Arnie Heft

April 7

Boxscore

Minneapolis Lakers 90, New York Knicks 75
Scoring by quarter: 21–14, 18–24, 26–22, 25–15
Pts: George Mikan 20		Pts: Connie Simmons 18
Minneapolis leads series, 2–1

69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York Attendance: 5,100

April 8

Boxscore

Minneapolis Lakers 71, New York Knicks 69
Scoring by quarter: 21–16, 20–18, 13–16, 17–19
Pts: George Mikan 27		Pts: Connie Simmons 17
Minneapolis leads series, 3–1

69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York Attendance: 5,200

April 10

Boxscore

Minneapolis Lakers 91, New York Knicks 84
Scoring by quarter: 19–18, 25–17, 25–25, 22–24
Pts: Jim Pollard 17 Asts: Vern Mikkelsen 6		Pts: Carl Braun 19 Asts: Ernie Vandeweghe 4
Minneapolis wins series, 4–1

69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York Attendance: 5,200