Detroit Gems
Basketball team in Detroit, Michigan
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The Detroit Gems were an American professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. Supposedly, the Detroit Gems had played some sort of team-based basketball at a competitive level earlier on either as an independent team or as a more local, competitive team within the state of Michigan before joining the National Basketball League.[1] The team played only one season, the 1946–47 season, in the Western Division of the National Basketball League,[2] which eventually became a predecessor organization to the National Basketball Association. Following the season, the franchise was sold and moved to Minneapolis to become the Minneapolis Lakers. In 1960, they relocated again, this time to Los Angeles, and became the Los Angeles Lakers.[3]
1946–1947 (NBL)
Minneapolis Lakers
1947–1948 (NBL)
1948–1960 (NBA)
Los Angeles Lakers
1960–present
| Detroit Gems | |
|---|---|
| |
| Division | Western Division |
| Leagues | National Basketball League |
| Founded | 1946 |
| History | Detroit Gems 1946–1947 (NBL) Minneapolis Lakers 1947–1948 (NBL) 1948–1960 (NBA) Los Angeles Lakers 1960–present |
| Arena | Dearborn Forum (Planned) |
| Location | Detroit, Michigan |
| Team colors | Blue, white, red |
| Ownership | Maurice Winston C. King Boring |
History
| 1946–47 Detroit Gems season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Joel Mason (3–13) Fred Campbell (1–27) |
| Arena | Holy Redeemer High School Gymnasium Lincoln High School Gymnasium Detroit Olympia (doubleheaders only) |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–40 (.091) |
| Place | Division: 6th (Western) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
The Gems were a team mostly made up of local players and coached by Joel Mason.[4] The only season of the Gems under that name was also the NBL's first official season where they actually implemented a drafting system similar to what the future rivaling Basketball Association of America (and later merging partner to become the National Basketball Association) had for the eventual NBA draft system a year later following the conclusion of their inaugural league season for the purpose of controlled player salaries and limiting the idea of outbidding other players outside of their own 12-player teams at hand (with the NBL having a budget of $6,000 this season), as well as implementing key players to signing binding contracts as soon as they could and the NBL looking to have full-time referees on display.[5] They started their season with an exhibition game against the Oshkosh All-Stars,[6] which ended with a 54–69 loss.[7] They later started their 44-game regular season schedule on November 11 in Anderson, Indiana,[8] with a 52–64 loss against the Anderson Duffey Packers.[9] The Gems, who were owned by local jewelers Maurice Winston and C. King Boring, planned to build a "sports palace" in Dearborn, which was mooted to hold 7,000–10,000 people. But the Dearborn Forum was never built; instead, they played their home games at various locations, including the Holy Redeemer High School Gymnasium in Detroit and Lincoln High School Gym in Ferndale. They also played a few doubleheaders with the Basketball Association of America's Detroit Falcons at the Detroit Olympia, and even transferred some home games out into Flint, Michigan. Attendance for their games was slim, with an estimated average being about 300 per game.
For their only season of existence in the NBL, the Gems won only four out of 44 games (excluding exhibition games on January 27, 1947 with a 59–48 win against the Midland Dow Chemicals and unknown dated games against the Dayton Metropolitans and the Utica Utes, the Gems won all of their NBL scheduled games at home with a 61–54 victory on November 26, 1946 against the Syracuse Nationals; a close 57–54 victory on December 3, 1946 against the Youngstown Bears; a 60–56 victory on December 16, 1947 against the eventual champion Chicago American Gears (minus star center George Mikan); and a close 56–55 win on January 16, 1947 against the Indianapolis Kautskys (a controversially confusing 74–73 overtime win on December 25, 1946 against the Youngstown Bears was also originally tabbed as a victory for the Gems at first, but it ultimately was overturned on January 6, 1947 by NBL commissioner Ward "Piggy" Lambert and led to Youngstown being rewarded another victory to their season with a 74–75 defeat for Detroit instead[10])) – ending that season with a woeful 23-game losing streak – and finishing last in the league; ownership claimed the poor crowds had cost them some $30,000.[11] If the Gems' only season of play were to count as a part of the Lakers franchise's history, this season would be marked as not just the worst season of all time, but also worse than the most dubious failed seasons ever recorded in NBA history. Not only that, but the Gems' record would be considered the worst record in NBL history in terms of teams that completed their seasons properly (some teams would either fold operations entirely or otherwise leave the NBL during a season of play with another team taking on said team's place at various points throughout their 12-year history). Despite this, NBL commissioner Ward "Piggy" Lambert announced in May that the Gems would return for another season; however, the franchise was put up for sale and purchased for US$15,000 by Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen. The new owners relocated the franchise to Minneapolis and renamed it the Minneapolis Lakers, effectively hard rebooting the franchise.[12] Many years afterwards, it was reported by Boring's granddaughter that C. King Boring later lamented that he did not maintain a minority ownership interest in the team that now became the Lakers for himself.[10]
Roster
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Head coach
Legend
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National Basketball League
1946–47 Regular season
Detroit Gems NBL Schedule
Not to be confused with exhibition or other non-NBL scheduled games that did not count towards Detroit's official NBL record for this season. An official database created by John Grasso detailing every NBL match possible (outside of two matches that the Kankakee Gallagher Trojans won over the Dayton Metropolitans in 1938) would be released in 2026 showcasing every team's official schedules throughout their time spent in the NBL. As such, these are the official results recorded for the Detroit Gems during their first season in the NBL (and only season when they used the Detroit Gems name as a franchise altogether).
| # | Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 1 | November 11 | @ Anderson | 52–64 | 0–1 |
| 2 | November 12 | Toledo | 40–46 | 0–2 |
| 3 | November 19 | Fort Wayne | 44–60 | 0–3 |
| 4 | November 22 | @ Youngstown | 54–62 | 0–4 |
| 5 | November 23 | @ Buffalo | 35–45 | 0–5 |
| 6 | November 26 | Syracuse | 61–54 | 1–5 |
| 7 | November 30 | @ Oshkosh | 53–63 | 1–6 |
| 8 | December 1 | @ Fort Wayne | 52–64 | 1–7 |
| 9 | December 3 | Youngstown | 57–54 | 2–7 |
| 10 | December 8 | @ Sheboygan | 37–50 | 2–8 |
| 11 | December 10 | Rochester | 54–65 | 2–9 |
| 12 | December 12 | @ Syracuse | 40–60 | 2–10 |
| 13 | December 15 | @ Chicago | 43–58 | 2–11 |
| 14 | December 17 | @ Indianapolis | 37–50 | 2–12 |
| 15 | December 18 | Chicago | 60–56 | 3–12 |
| 16 | December 25 | Youngstown | 74–75 (OT) [74–73 (OT)†] | 3–13 [4–12†] |
| 17 | January 4 | @ Rochester | 54–72 | 3–14 [4–13†] |
| — | January 6 | @ Buffalo | Cancelled[15] | |
| 18 | January 9 | Tri-Cities | 42–57 | 3–15 |
| 19 | January 13 | @ Toledo | 51–69 | 3–16 |
| 20 | January 15 | @ Tri-Cities | 39–47 | 3–17 |
| 21 | January 16 | Indianapolis | 56–55 | 4–17 |
| 22 | January 19 | Sheboygan | 39–47 | 4–18 |
| 23 | January 25 | @ Oshkosh | 55–69 | 4–19 |
| 24 | January 27 | N Oshkosh | 58–71 | 4–20 |
| 25 | January 29 | N Toledo | 36–50 | 4–21 |
| 26 | January 30 | @ Toledo | 51–73 | 4–22 |
| 27 | February 3 | @ Youngstown | 52–62 | 4–23 |
| 28 | February 4 | @ Syracuse | 55–84 | 4–24 |
| 29 | February 5 | Anderson | 38–44 | 4–25 |
| 30 | February 6 | Rochester | 53–71 | 4–26 |
| 31 | February 7 | @ Chicago | 44–76 | 4–27 |
| 32 | February 9 | @ Sheboygan | 52–59 | 4–28 |
| 33 | February 11 | Chicago | 53–58 | 4–29 |
| 34 | February 15 | @ Rochester | 56–93 | 4–30 |
| 35 | February 16 | Indianapolis | 42–52 | 4–31 |
| 36 | February 20 | N Fort Wayne | 36–59 | 4–32 |
| 37 | February 23 | @ Fort Wayne | 50–75 | 4–33 |
| 38 | February 24 | N Anderson | 57–85 | 4–34 |
| 39 | February 25 | @ Indianapolis | 41–83 | 4–35 |
| 40 | February 26 | Tri-Cities | 43–51 | 4–36 |
| 41 | March 5 | N Oshkosh | 49–70 | 4–37 |
| 42 | March 7 | N Sheboygan | 42–57 | 4–38 |
| 43 | March 10 | @ Anderson | 51–72 | 4–39 |
| 44 | March 11 | Syracuse | 50–68 | 4–40 |
† – Game was originally recorded as a 74–73 overtime victory for Detroit, but a faulty time clock in the overtime period near the end of the game when Youngstown looked to make an extra, final shot in their game caused the Bears to protest the initial results to NBL Commissioner Ward Lambert. While the game was still recorded as a Gems victory for at least one more scheduled NBL game the Gems played in, the results of the December 25, 1946 game ended with the commissioner accepting Youngstown's grievances and led to the Gems getting a 75–74 overtime defeat that day instead.[10]
Western Division standings
| Pos. | Western Division | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oshkosh All-Stars | 28 | 16 | .636 |
| 2 | Indianapolis Kautskys | 27 | 17 | .614 |
| T–3 | Chicago American Gears | 26 | 18 | .591 |
| Sheboygan Red Skins | 26 | 18 | .591 | |
| 5 | Anderson Duffey Packers | 24 | 20 | .545 |
| 6 | Detroit Gems | 4 | 40 | .091 |
