# 1953 NBA All-Star Game

The 1953 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on January 13, 1953, at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, home of the Fort Wayne Pistons. The game was the third edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 1952–53 NBA season. The Western All-Stars team defeated the Eastern All-Stars team 79–75. This was the West's first ever win over the East. Minneapolis Lakers' George Mikan, who led the West with 22 points and 16 rebounds, was named as the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.

## Roster

The players for the All-Star Game were chosen by sports writers in several cities. They were not allowed to select players from their own cities. Players were selected without regard to position. Ten players from each Division were selected to represent the Eastern and Western Division in the All-Star Game. However, Fred Scolari suffered an injury and was unable to participate in the game; one other player was added to the roster. Eight players from the previous year's Western All-Stars roster returned, while only five players from the previous year's Eastern All-Stars roster returned. Eight players, Don Barksdale, Carl Braun, Billy Gabor, Mel Hutchins, Neil Johnston, Slater Martin, Paul Seymour and Bill Sharman, were selected for the first time. Barksdale, one of the first African American players in the NBA, became the first African American to play in an All-Star Game. The Boston Celtics were represented by four players in the roster while three other teams, the Minneapolis Lakers, the New York Knickerbockers, and the Rochester Royals, were represented by three players each on the roster. The starters were chosen by each team's head coach. Minneapolis Lakers head coach John Kundla returned to coach the Western All-Stars for the third straight year. New York Knickerbockers head coach Joe Lapchick was named as the Eastern All-Stars head coach for the second time.
Eastern All-Stars :
| Pos. | Player | Team | No. of selections |
| Starters ||||
| G | Bob Cousy | Boston Celtics | 3rd |
| F/C | Harry Gallatin | New York Knickerbockers | 3rd |
| C/F | Ed Macauley | Boston Celtics | 3rd |
| F/C | Dolph Schayes | Syracuse Nationals | 3rd |
| G | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | 1st |
| Reserves ||||
| F/C | Don Barksdale | Baltimore Bullets | 1st |
| G/F | Carl Braun | New York Knickerbockers | 1st |
| G/F | Billy Gabor | Syracuse Nationals | 1st |
| C | Neil Johnston | Philadelphia Warriors | 1st |
| G | Fred Scolari | Baltimore Bullets | 2nd |
| G/F | Paul Seymour | Syracuse Nationals | 1st |
| Head coach: Joe Lapchick (New York Knicks) ||||
Western All-Stars :
| Pos. | Player | Team | No. of selections |
| Starters ||||
| F/C | Mel Hutchins | Milwaukee Hawks | 1st |
| C | George Mikan | Minneapolis Lakers | 3rd |
| F/C | Vern Mikkelsen | Minneapolis Lakers | 3rd |
| G/F | Andy Phillip | Fort Wayne Pistons | 3rd |
| G | Bobby Wanzer | Rochester Royals | 2nd |
| Reserves ||||
| F/G | Leo Barnhorst | Indianapolis Olympians | 2nd |
| G/F | Bob Davies | Rochester Royals | 3rd |
| C/F | Larry Foust | Fort Wayne Pistons | 3rd |
| G | Slater Martin | Minneapolis Lakers | 1st |
| C/F | Arnie Risen | Rochester Royals | 2nd |
| Head coach:John Kundla (Minneapolis Lakers) ||||

## Game

The West defeated the East by 4 points. The game was a tight contest with plenty of lead changes in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, West's Bob Davies scored eight successive points to give the West a lead. The West outscored the East 22–20 in the fourth quarter to win the game by four points. However, the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award went to Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan who scored a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds for the West. Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley led the East with 18 points while Syracuse Nationals' Dolph Schayes recorded 13 rebounds. Despite losing the game, the East had more balanced scoring with four players scoring in double-figures while the West only had Mikan and Larry Foust scoring in double-figures. Both teams did not shoot well, the East had 37.9 field goal percentage, while the West only managed to make 35.4 percent of its shots. The combined 154 points scored is the lowest total points scored in an All-Star Game.

### Box score

* January 13, 1953
Eastern All-Stars 75, Western All-Stars 79 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 14–15, 21–22, 20–22 |||
| Pts: Ed Macauley 18 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 13 Asts: Cousy, Macauley, Schayes 3 each | Pts: George Mikan 22 Rebs: George Mikan 16 Asts: Andy Phillip 8 |
* Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana Attendance: 10,322 Referees:
* Sid Borgia
* Bud Lowell
Eastern All-Stars :
| Player | Pos | Min | FGM | FGA | FTM | FTA | Reb | Ast | PF | Pts |
| Starters |||||||||||
| Bob Cousy | G | 36 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| Bill Sharman | G | 26 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Dolph Schayes | F/C | 26 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Harry Gallatin | F/C | 19 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Ed Macauley | C/F | 35 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 18 |
| Bench |||||||||||
| Neil Johnston | C | 27 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| Billy Gabor | G/F | 25 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Carl Braun | G/F | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Paul Seymour | G/F | 14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Don Barksdale | F/C | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Fred Scolari | G | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury | Did not play due to injury |
| Team totals | Team totals | 240 | 25 | 66 | 25 | 31 | 58 | 19 | 15 | 75 |
Western All-Stars :
| Player | Pos | Min | FGM | FGA | FTM | FTA | Reb | Ast | PF | Pts |
| Starters |||||||||||
| Bobby Wanzer | G | 22 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Andy Phillip | G/F | 36 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 9 |
| Mel Hutchins | F/C | 30 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Vern Mikkelsen | F/C | 19 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| George Mikan | C | 40 | 9 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 22 |
| Bench |||||||||||
| Slater Martin | G | 26 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Arnie Risen | C/F | 19 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Larry Foust | C/F | 18 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
| Bob Davies | G/F | 17 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Leo Barnhorst | F/G | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Team totals | Team totals | 240 | 34 | 96 | 11 | 18 | 59 | 27 | 21 | 79 |