1954 NBA Finals
1954 basketball championship series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1954 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1954 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1953–54 season. The Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion Syracuse Nationals in a best-of-seven series with Minneapolis having home-court advantage.[1] The Lakers won their third consecutive NBA championship and fifth title in six years dating from 1949.
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Clyde Lovellette (1988)
Vern Mikkelsen (1995)
Slater Martin (1982)
Nationals:
Dolph Schayes (1973)
Earl Lloyd (2003)
Coaches:
John Kundla (1995)
Al Cervi (1985, player)
| ||||||||||
| Dates | March 31–April 12 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Lakers: George Mikan (1959) Jim Pollard (1978) Clyde Lovellette (1988) Vern Mikkelsen (1995) Slater Martin (1982) Nationals: Dolph Schayes (1973) Earl Lloyd (2003) Coaches: John Kundla (1995) Al Cervi (1985, player) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Nationals defeated Celtics, 2–0 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Lakers defeated Royals, 2–1 | |||||||||
Minneapolis won Game 1 and the teams thereafter alternated victories, with the Lakers winning the decisive game by a seven-point margin at home. The seven games were played in thirteen days, beginning Wednesday, March 31 and concluding Monday, April 12. The entire postseason tournament spanned 28 days in which both Minneapolis and Syracuse played 13 games.[1][2] This was the Lakers’ last championship during their time in Minneapolis, as the team would move to Los Angeles and would not win the championship again until 1972.
This was the last major professional sports championship won by a Minneapolis-St. Paul-based team until the Minnesota Twins won the 1987 World Series.
Team rosters
Minneapolis Lakers
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Legend
|
Syracuse Nationals
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Legend
|
Series summary
| Game | Date | Home team | Result | Road team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | March 31 | Minneapolis Lakers | 79–68 (1–0) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 2 | April 3 | Minneapolis Lakers | 60–62 (1–1) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 3 | April 4 | Syracuse Nationals | 67–81 (1–2) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 4 | April 8 | Syracuse Nationals | 80–69 (2–2) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 5 | April 10 | Syracuse Nationals | 73–84 (2–3) | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Game 6 | April 11 | Minneapolis Lakers | 63–65 (3–3) | Syracuse Nationals |
| Game 7 | April 12 | Minneapolis Lakers | 87–80 (4–3) | Syracuse Nationals |
Lakers win series 4–3
Box scores
March 31 |
| Syracuse Nationals 68, Minneapolis Lakers 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 13–10, 18–24, 19–22, 18–23 | ||
| Pts: Bob Lavoy 15 Rebs: Wally Osterkorn 8 Asts: Paul Seymour 6 |
Pts: Clyde Lovellette 16 Rebs: George Mikan 10 Asts: Slater Martin 6 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 1–0 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 4,579 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
April 3 |
| Syracuse Nationals 62, Minneapolis Lakers 60 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–15, 13–12, 20–11, 14–22 | ||
| Pts: Wally Osterkorn 20 Rebs: Wally Osterkorn 17 Asts: Lavoy, Seymour 3 each |
Pts: George Mikan 15 Rebs: George Mikan 15 Asts: Vern Mikkelsen 3 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 6,277 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
- With seven seconds remaining, Paul Seymour hit a shot from 43 feet away to give Syracuse the victory. The 62 points scored by the Nationals set a record that still stands (as of 2026) for lowest amount of points scored in an NBA Finals game from the winning team.[3]
April 4 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 81, Syracuse Nationals 67 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–16, 14–17, 20–11, 23–23 | ||
| Pts: George Mikan 30 Rebs: George Mikan 15 Asts: Slater Martin 7 |
Pts: Bob Lavoy 18 Rebs: Bob Lavoy 15 Asts: Paul Seymour 7 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 2–1 | ||
April 8 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 69, Syracuse Nationals 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–18, 20–18, 18–21, 17–23 | ||
| Pts: Whitey Skoog 16 Rebs: Jim Pollard 9 Asts: Slater Martin 6 |
Pts: Paul Seymour 25 Rebs: Bob Lavoy 11 Asts: Paul Seymour 6 | |
| Series tied, 2–2 | ||
April 10 |
| Minneapolis Lakers 84, Syracuse Nationals 73 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–17, 19–14, 21–21, 22–21 | ||
| Pts: Vern Mikkelsen 21 Rebs: Mikan, Lovellette 13 each Asts: Slater Martin 7 |
Pts: Dolph Schayes 17 Rebs: Earl Lloyd 8 Asts: Paul Seymour 5 | |
| Minneapolis leads series, 3–2 | ||
April 11 |
| Syracuse Nationals 65, Minneapolis Lakers 63 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–27, 19–16, 16–6, 11–14 | ||
| Pts: Paul Seymour 16 | Pts: George Mikan 30 | |
| Series tied, 3–3 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 6,776 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
April 12 |
| Syracuse Nationals 80, Minneapolis Lakers 87 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 14–17, 18–21, 22–27, 26–22 | ||
| Pts: Dolph Schayes 18 | Pts: Jim Pollard 21 | |
| Minneapolis wins series, 4–3 | ||
Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Attendance: 7,274 Referees: Charles Eckman, Joe Serafin |
Television
Game two was the first NBA Finals contest to be carried live on national television, with the DuMont network providing the coverage. Game five was also aired by DuMont, featuring Marty Glickman doing play-by-play and Lindsey Nelson as the color analyst.