1952–53 Indianapolis Olympians season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 1952-53 Indianapolis Olympians season was the Olympians' 4th and final season in the NBA.[1] Leo Barnhorst and Joe Graboski led the team in scoring; while Graborski dominated on the boards. Despite the Olympians struggling with their worst season as a franchise following the aftermath of the 1951 college basketball point-shaving scandal that led to two of their best players (Alex Groza and Ralph Beard) being banned for life by the NBA, the Olympians would still barely qualify for the 1953 NBA playoffs due to them being one game ahead of the Milwaukee Hawks for the last playoff spot in the Western Division. However, they would be quickly swept and eliminated by the eventual two-time (later three-time) defending NBA champion Minneapolis Lakers in the Western Division Semifinals due to Indianapolis' poor 28–43 record being far too reflective of the difference in talent between the Lakers and Olympians franchises by this point in time. Following the conclusion of the playoffs, the Olympians franchise would fold on April 23, 1953, despite their consistent successes as a team due to the financial burdens following the 1951 college basketball point-shaving scandal being far too much for the franchise to overcome in the end. As a result of their folding, the Olympians would be the last NBL-adjacent franchise out of the five currently surviving franchises that started out within the NBL to fold operations entirely within the NBA.
| 1952–53 Indianapolis Olympians season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Herm Schaefer |
| Arena | Hinkle Fieldhouse |
| Results | |
| Record | 28–43 (.394) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | West Division Semifinals (eliminated 0-2) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Radio | WXLW |
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position(s) | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Joe Dean | SG |  United States |
LSU |
| 2 | 14 | Zeke Zawoluk | PF/C | United States |
St. John's |
| 3 | 24 | Skippy Whitaker | PG | United States |
Kentucky |
| 4 | 34 | Gene Rhodes | PG | United States |
Western Kentucky |
| 5 | 44 | Jay Handlan | SF | United States |
Washington & Lee |
| 6 | 54 | Billy Harrell | PG | United States |
St. Bernadine of Siena |
| 7 | 64 | Jim Hoverder | PF/C | United States |
Central Missouri State |
| 8 | 74 | Gordon C. Stauffer | PG | United States |
Michigan State |
| 9 | 83 | Dale Toft | F | United States |
Denver |
Indianapolis would only utilize nine out of the 17 total rounds of this draft before opting out of using the rest of the available rounds entirely. This draft would later become the Olympians' final draft that they would ever do as a franchise. While they were initially slated to appear in the 1953 NBA draft, the Olympians franchise would end up folding operations the day before the 1953 draft officially began following the aftermath of former Olympians players Ralph Beard and Alex Groza's involvement in the CCNY point-shaving scandal back when they were college players for the University of Kentucky, thus leaving the NBA with only nine operable teams by the start of the following year's draft.
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 48 | 22 | .686 | - | 24–2 | 16–15 | 8–5 | 17–13 |
| x-Rochester Royals | 44 | 26 | .629 | 4 | 24–8 | 13–17 | 7–1 | 27–13 |
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 36 | 33 | .522 | 11.5 | 25–9 | 8–19 | 3–5 | 18–22 |
| x-Indianapolis Olympians | 28 | 43 | .394 | 20.5 | 19–14 | 4–23 | 5–6 | 15–26 |
| Milwaukee Hawks | 27 | 44 | .380 | 21.5 | 14–8 | 3–24 | 10–12 | 15–26 |
Game log
| 1952–53 Game log | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | |||||
| 1 | October 31 | Boston | 83–68 | Bob Lavoy (20) | 0–1 | |||||
| 2 | November 1 | @ Milwaukee | 71–73 | Leo Barnhorst (20) | 0–2 | |||||
| 3 | November 7 | Rochester | 65–63 | Leo Barnhorst (22) | 0–3 | |||||
| 4 | November 8 | @ Rochester | 96–99 (4OT) | Leo Barnhorst (22) | 0–4 | |||||
| 5 | November 9 | @ Fort Wayne | 71–74 | Graboski, Walther (16) | 0–5 | |||||
| 6 | November 11 | Fort Wayne | 63–78 | Joe Graboski (23) | 1–5 | |||||
| 7 | November 14 | @ Philadelphia | 77–71 | Bob Lavoy (17) | 2–5 | |||||
| 8 | November 15 | N Philadelphia | 76–79 | Joe Graboski (18) | 3–5 | |||||
| 9 | November 16 | @ Syracuse | 78–84 | Barnhorst, Tosheff (15) | 3–6 | |||||
| 10 | November 18 | New York | 90–100 | Joe Graboski (23) | 4–6 | |||||
| 11 | November 20 | N New York | 72–67 | Joe Graboski (21) | 4–7 | |||||
| 12 | November 22 | @ Boston | 91–96 (OT) | Leo Barnhorst (24) | 4–8 | |||||
| 13 | November 23 | @ Baltimore | 100–90 | Barnhorst, Tosheff (23) | 5–8 | |||||
| 14 | November 25 | Milwaukee | 78–66 | Leo Barnhorst (14) | 5–9 | |||||
| 15 | November 27 | @ Minneapolis | 69–90 | Leo Barnhorst (19) | 5–10 | |||||
| 16 | November 28 | Minneapolis | 97–82 | Joe Graboski (22) | 5–11 | |||||
| 17 | November 29 | @ New York | 72–94 | Bill Tosheff (15) | 5–12 | |||||
| 18 | December 2 | Rochester | 76–85 | Barnhorst, Graboski (19) | 6–12 | |||||
| 19 | December 5 | Fort Wayne | 74–84 | Barnhorst, Walther (17) | 7–12 | |||||
| 20 | December 6 | @ Rochester | 79–82 | Bill Tosheff (18) | 7–13 | |||||
| 21 | December 8 | N Minneapolis | 76–81 | Joe Graboski (20) | 8–13 | |||||
| 22 | December 9 | Syracuse | 87–70 | Leo Barnhorst (20) | 8–14 | |||||
| 23 | December 12 | Milwaukee | 49–63 | Paul Walther (19) | 9–14 | |||||
| 24 | December 14 | @ Fort Wayne | 71–86 | Barnhorst, Graboski (14) | 9–15 | |||||
| 25 | December 16 | Rochester | 84–71 | Graboski, Lavoy (15) | 9–16 | |||||
| 26 | December 19 | Minneapolis | 87–69 | Bob Lavoy (14) | 9–17 | |||||
| 27 | December 21 | N Rochester | 83–65 | Mel Payton (16) | 9–18 | |||||
| 28 | December 23 | Fort Wayne | 59–72 | Bill Tosheff (19) | 10–18 | |||||
| 29 | December 25 | @ Minneapolis | 73–90 | Mel Payton (16) | 10–19 | |||||
| 30 | December 26 | Boston | 74–85 | Joe Graboski (25) | 11–19 | |||||
| 31 | December 27 | @ Rochester | 73–94 | Bill Tosheff (22) | 11–20 | |||||
| 32 | December 28 | @ Syracuse | 73–84 | Joe Graboski (12) | 11–21 | |||||
| 33 | December 30 | Minneapolis | 69–74 | Joe Graboski (19) | 12–21 | |||||
| 34 | December 31 | @ Fort Wayne | 85–91 | Mel Payton (22) | 12–22 | |||||
| 35 | January 2 | Baltimore | 66–73 | Joe Graboski (24) | 13–22 | |||||
| 36 | January 3 | N Boston | 63–78 | Joe Graboski (17) | 13–23 | |||||
| 37 | January 6 | Philadelphia | 76–71 | Joe Graboski (15) | 13–24 | |||||
| 38 | January 9 | New York | 58–54 | Gene Rhodes (15) | 13–25 | |||||
| 39 | January 11 | @ Fort Wayne | 68–72 | Gene Rhodes (16) | 13–26 | |||||
| 40 | January 15 | N Milwaukee | 68–75 | Leo Barnhorst (22) | 14–26 | |||||
| 41 | January 16 | N Fort Wayne | 68–75 | Joe Graboski (15) | 14–27 | |||||
| 42 | January 17 | @ Baltimore | 66–82 | Mel Payton (17) | 14–28 | |||||
| 43 | January 18 | N Philadelphia | 74–76 (OT) | Paul Walther (16) | 15–28 | |||||
| 44 | January 20 | Rochester | 59–70 | Joe Graboski (15) | 16–28 | |||||
| 45 | January 23 | Boston | 85–90 | Joe Graboski (20) | 17–28 | |||||
| 46 | January 24 | @ Milwaukee | 64–72 | Leo Barnhorst (22) | 17–29 | |||||
| 47 | January 27 | Syracuse | 72–76 | Bob Lavoy (18) | 18–29 | |||||
| 48 | January 31 | @ Baltimore | 90–97 | Leo Barnhorst (24) | 18–30 | |||||
| 49 | February 3 | Minneapolis | 93–96 (3OT) | Leo Barnhorst (27) | 19–30 | |||||
| 50 | February 5 | @ Fort Wayne | 63–68 | Bill Tosheff (21) | 19–31 | |||||
| 51 | February 6 | New York | 84–73 | Leo Barnhorst (14) | 19–32 | |||||
| 52 | February 8 | @ Minneapolis | 67–71 | Paul Walther (20) | 19–33 | |||||
| 53 | February 10 | Baltimore | 83–88 | Leo Barnhorst (19) | 20–33 | |||||
| 54 | February 11 | N Milwaukee | 67–65 (OT) | Lavoy, Tosheff (10) | 20–34 | |||||
| 55 | February 13 | Syracuse | 89–86 (2OT) | Leo Barnhorst (19) | 20–35 | |||||
| 56 | February 14 | @ New York | 79–91 | Zeke Zawoluk (22) | 20–36 | |||||
| 57 | February 15 | @ Boston | 76–89 | Leo Barnhorst (26) | 20–37 | |||||
| 58 | February 17 | Philadelphia | 77–80 | Leo Barnhorst (23) | 21–37 | |||||
| 59 | February 20 | Baltimore | 58–59 | Mel Payton (17) | 22–37 | |||||
| 60 | February 21 | N Milwaukee | 61–60 | Leo Barnhorst (22) | 22–38 | |||||
| 61 | February 22 | @ Milwaukee | 64–71 | Gene Rhodes (18) | 22–39 | |||||
| 62 | February 24 | Milwaukee | 69–71 (OT) | Zeke Zawoluk (16) | 23–39 | |||||
| 63 | March 3 | Philadelphia | 73–90 | Leo Barnhorst (26) | 24–39 | |||||
| 64 | March 6 | Fort Wayne | 73–64 | Leo Barnhorst (20) | 24–40 | |||||
| 65 | March 9 | N Minneapolis | 83–95 | Mel Payton (19) | 25–40 | |||||
| 66 | March 10 | Rochester | 61–59 | Joe Graboski (16) | 25–41 | |||||
| 67 | March 13 | Milwaukee | 50–52 (OT) | Leo Barnhorst (12) | 26–41 | |||||
| 68 | March 14 | @ Rochester | 90–82 | Joe Graboski (25) | 27–41 | |||||
| 69 | March 15 | @ Syracuse | 68–84 | Joe Graboski (19) | 27–42 | |||||
| 70 | March 17 | Minneapolis | 73–71 | Joe Graboski (23) | 27–43 | |||||
| 71 | March 18 | @ Milwaukee | 74–69 | Bill Tosheff (18) | 28–43 | |||||
Playoffs
West Division Semifinals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (4) Indianapolis Olympians: Lakers win series 2-0
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 85, Indianapolis 69
- Game 2 @ Indianapolis: Minneapolis 81, Indianapolis 79
Last Playoff Meeting: 1952 Western Division Semifinals (Minneapolis won 2–0)
This was the third and final playoff meeting between the Lakers and the Olympians.
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Dispersal Draft
After the Olympians franchise folded operations on April 23, 1953 (one day before the 1953 NBA draft began), a few of their players were dispersed to other teams throughout the 1953 free agency period. Joe Graboski and Paul Walther were sent off to the Philadelphia Warriors during the month of May 1953, while Bob Lavoy and Bill Tosheff went to the Milwaukee Hawks on August 22 that year and Leo Barnhorst went to the Baltimore Bullets on September 2, 1953.