# 1953–54 Minneapolis Lakers season

The 1953–54 Minneapolis Lakers season was the sixth season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers won the Western Division with a 46–26 record. George Mikan was hampered by knee troubles as he averaged only 18.1 points per game. The Lakers signed a promising rookie named Clyde Lovellette, who was able to alleviate the pressure on Mikan. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers won three straight to face the Rochester Royals in the Western Finals. The Lakers beat the Royals to qualify for the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Lakers and Syracuse Nationals alternated wins. In the end, the Lakers emerged with their third straight title, and fifth overall in the franchise's first six seasons in the NBA. They became the first NBA team to win three consecutive NBA championships. In the seventh and final game, the Lakers won by a score of 87–80, for the franchise's final NBA title before their relocation to Los Angeles in 1960. Following the season, Mikan announced his retirement.
The Lakers would not win another NBA championship until 1972.

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Western Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 46 | 26 | .639 | – | 20–4 | 13–15 | 13–7 | 19–13 |
| x-Rochester Royals | 44 | 28 | .611 | 2 | 18–10 | 12–15 | 14–3 | 22–10 |
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 40 | 32 | .556 | 6 | 19–8 | 11–17 | 10–7 | 17–15 |
| Milwaukee Hawks | 21 | 51 | .292 | 25 | 11–14 | 5–17 | 6–20 | 6–26 |

### Record vs. opponents

1953–54 NBA records :
| Team | BAL | BOS | FWP | MIL | MIN | NYK | PHI | ROC | SYR |
| Baltimore | — | 1–9 | 0–8 | 2–6 | 2–6 | 3–7 | 4–6 | 1–7 | 3–7 |
| Boston | 9–1 | — | 4–4 | 6–2 | 3–5 | 5–5 | 6–4 | 4–4 | 5–5 |
| Fort Wayne | 8–0 | 4–4 | — | 9–2 | 5–5 | 3–5 | 6–2 | 3–8 | 2–6 |
| Milwaukee | 6–2 | 2–6 | 2–9 | — | 3–8 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 1–9 | 1–7 |
| Minneapolis | 6–2 | 5–3 | 5–5 | 8–3 | — | 5–3 | 6–2 | 6–5 | 5–3 |
| New York | 7–3 | 5–5 | 5–3 | 5–3 | 3–5 | — | 7–3 | 7–1 | 5–5 |
| Philadelphia | 6–4 | 4–6 | 2–6 | 5–3 | 2–6 | 3–7 | — | 1–7 | 6–4 |
| Rochester | 7–1 | 4–4 | 8–3 | 9–1 | 5–6 | 1–7 | 7–1 | — | 3–5 |
| Syracuse | 7–3 | 5–5 | 6–2 | 7–1 | 3–5 | 5–5 | 4–6 | 5–3 | — |

### Game log

| # | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record |
| 1 | October 30 | @ Milwaukee | 59–69 | George Mikan (12) | 0–1 |
| 2 | October 31 | @ New York | 67–91 | George Mikan (16) | 0–2 |
| 3 | November 1 | @ Boston | 84–79 | Jim Pollard (20) | 1–2 |
| 4 | November 4 | @ Baltimore | 77–75 | George Mikan (24) | 2–2 |
| 5 | November 5 | @ Syracuse | 77–65 | Slater Martin (20) | 3–2 |
| 6 | November 7 | New York | 62–70 | George Mikan (22) | 4–2 |
| 7 | November 10 | N Fort Wayne | 62–78 | Slater Martin (12) | 4–3 |
| 8 | November 13 | @ Milwaukee | 92–84 | George Mikan (26) | 5–3 |
| 9 | November 14 | @ Rochester | 91–98 (3OT) | George Mikan (30) | 5–4 |
| 10 | November 15 | N Boston | 89–74 | Jim Pollard (17) | 6–4 |
| 11 | November 17 | N Fort Wayne | 83–66 | Clyde Lovellette (19) | 7–4 |
| 12 | November 19 | @ Philadelphia | 107–79 | Vern Mikkelsen (24) | 8–4 |
| 13 | November 21 | Rochester | 70–76 | George Mikan (36) | 9–4 |
| 14 | November 22 | @ Milwaukee | 57–55 | George Mikan (24) | 10–4 |
| 15 | November 26 | Philadelphia | 80–88 | George Mikan (23) | 11–4 |
| 16 | November 29 | Boston | 82–95 | George Mikan (28) | 12–4 |
| 17 | December 3 | N Syracuse | 74–87 | George Mikan (27) | 13–4 |
| 18 | December 5 | Syracuse | 80–90 | George Mikan (18) | 14–4 |
| 19 | December 12 | New York | 67–71 | Martin, Mikkelsen (14) | 15–4 |
| 20 | December 13 | N Rochester | 87–70 | Frank Saul (16) | 15–5 |
| 21 | December 15 | @ New York | 79–80 (OT) | George Mikan (17) | 15–6 |
| 22 | December 16 | N Milwaukee | 69–63 (OT) | George Mikan (21) | 16–6 |
| 23 | December 17 | @ Baltimore | 64–75 | George Mikan (18) | 16–7 |
| 24 | December 19 | @ Rochester | 91–78 | Slater Martin (20) | 17–7 |
| 25 | December 20 | @ Syracuse | 76–81 | Slater Martin (17) | 17–8 |
| 26 | December 25 | N Baltimore | 78–88 | Vern Mikkelsen (15) | 17–9 |
| 27 | December 26 | Fort Wayne | 71–77 | George Mikan (16) | 18–9 |
| 28 | December 27 | @ Fort Wayne | 79–75 | George Mikan (21) | 19–9 |
| 29 | December 30 | Fort Wayne | 97–80 | George Mikan (17) | 19–10 |
| 30 | January 2 | New York | 74–78 | George Mikan (26) | 20–10 |
| 31 | January 4 | N Rochester | 85–84 | George Mikan (32) | 20–11 |
| 32 | January 7 | Rochester | 71–89 | Mikan, Mikkelsen (20) | 21–11 |
| 33 | January 9 | @ Milwaukee | 78–67 | Lovellette, Mikan (17) | 22–11 |
| 34 | January 10 | Boston | 85–99 | Mikan, Pollard (16) | 23–11 |
| 35 | January 13 | @ Boston | 84–88 | George Mikan (21) | 23–12 |
| 36 | January 14 | @ Syracuse | 71–96 | George Mikan (19) | 23–13 |
| 37 | January 16 | Milwaukee | 64–58 | Clyde Lovellette (12) | 23–14 |
| 38 | January 17 | @ Fort Wayne | 83–86 | Vern Mikkelsen (24) | 23–15 |
| 39 | January 18 | N Milwaukee | 91–72 | Vern Mikkelsen (18) | 24–15 |
| 40 | January 23 | Fort Wayne | 72–75 | George Mikan (16) | 25–15 |
| 41 | January 26 | @ Milwaukee | 84–69 | Lovellette, Martin (14) | 26–15 |
| 42 | January 27 | Baltimore | 73–76 | Jim Pollard (24) | 27–15 |
| 43 | January 28 | N Baltimore | 104–82 | George Mikan (24) | 28–15 |
| 44 | January 30 | Milwaukee | 64–80 | Jim Pollard (13) | 29–15 |
| 45 | January 31 | Boston | 67–82 | Jim Pollard (22) | 30–15 |
| 46 | February 2 | @ Rochester | 87–78 | George Mikan (23) | 31–15 |
| 47 | February 3 | N New York | 79–91 | Frank Saul (18) | 32–15 |
| 48 | February 4 | @ Baltimore | 82–70 | George Mikan (20) | 33–15 |
| 49 | February 6 | Philadelphia | 94–97 | George Mikan (26) | 34–15 |
| 50 | February 7 | @ Fort Wayne | 83–90 | Jim Pollard (18) | 34–16 |
| 51 | February 8 | N Philadelphia | 91–106 | George Mikan (20) | 35–16 |
| 52 | February 9 | N Philadelphia | 67–70 | George Mikan (23) | 36–16 |
| 53 | February 11 | Baltimore | 82–110 | Dick Schnittker (17) | 37–16 |
| 54 | February 12 | N Milwaukee | 62–71 | George Mikan (21) | 37–17 |
| 55 | February 13 | N Philadelphia | 77–86 | George Mikan (27) | 38–17 |
| 56 | February 14 | Rochester | 77–105 | George Mikan (16) | 39–17 |
| 57 | February 16 | N Rochester | 79–85 | Jim Pollard (24) | 40–17 |
| 58 | February 18 | Boston | 105–92 | George Mikan (17) | 40–18 |
| 59 | February 20 | Syracuse | 68–83 | George Mikan (14) | 41–18 |
| 60 | February 21 | @ Syracuse | 73–100 | Lovellette, Mikan, Skoog (14) | 41–19 |
| 61 | February 22 | N Philadelphia | 79–72 | Vern Mikkelsen (17) | 41–20 |
| 62 | February 23 | @ New York | 100–82 | Mikan, Mikkelsen (20) | 42–20 |
| 63 | February 25 | @ Philadelphia | 72–81 | Mikan, Mikkelsen (17) | 42–21 |
| 64 | February 27 | @ Baltimore | 95–85 | George Mikan (29) | 43–21 |
| 65 | February 28 | @ Fort Wayne | 77–94 | Lovellette, Mikan (15) | 43–22 |
| 66 | March 2 | Syracuse | 87–91 | George Mikan (27) | 44–22 |
| 67 | March 5 | @ Boston | 106–128 | George Mikan (30) | 44–23 |
| 68 | March 6 | @ Rochester | 59–74 | George Mikan (15) | 44–24 |
| 69 | March 7 | Milwaukee | 63–65 | Vern Mikkelsen (17) | 45–24 |
| 70 | March 9 | N Rochester | 70–61 | George Mikan (11) | 45–25 |
| 71 | March 10 | New York | 85–76 | Jim Pollard (17) | 45–26 |
| 72 | March 13 | Fort Wayne | 66–93 | Slater Martin (27) | 46–26 |

## Playoffs

1954 playoff game log :
Division Round Robin Semifinals: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocationRecord
1
March 17
Rochester
W 109–88
Slater Martin (24)
Minneapolis Auditorium
1–0
2
March 18
@ Fort Wayne
W 90–85
George Mikan (28)
War Memorial Coliseum
2–0
3
March 20
Fort Wayne
W 78–73
George Mikan (21)
Minneapolis Auditorium
3–0 :
Division Finals: 2–1 (home: 2–0; road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsLocationSeries
1
March 24
Rochester
W 89–76
George Mikan (28)
Minneapolis Auditorium
1–0
2
March 27
@ Rochester
L 73–74
George Mikan (17)
Edgerton Park Arena
1–1
3
March 28
Rochester
W 82–72
George Mikan (17)
Minneapolis Auditorium
2–1 :
NBA Finals: 4–3 (home: 2–2; road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
March 31
Syracuse
W 79–68
Clyde Lovellette (16)
George Mikan (10)
Slater Martin (6)
Minneapolis Auditorium 4,579
1–0
2
April 3
Syracuse
L 60–62
George Mikan (15)
George Mikan (15)
Vern Mikkelsen (3)
Minneapolis Auditorium 6,277
1–1
3
April 4
@ Syracuse
W 81–67
George Mikan (30)
George Mikan (15)
Slater Martin (7)
Onondaga War Memorial 8,719
2–1
4
April 8
@ Syracuse
L 69–80
Whitey Skoog (16)
Jim Pollard (9)
Slater Martin (6)
Onondaga War Memorial 7,655
2–2
5
April 10
@ Syracuse
W 84–73
Vern Mikkelsen (21)
Mikan, Lovellette (13)
Slater Martin (7)
Onondaga War Memorial 7,283
3–2
6
April 11
Syracuse
L 63–65
George Mikan (30)
Minneapolis Auditorium 6,776
3–3
7
April 12
Syracuse
W 87–80
Jim Pollard (21)
Minneapolis Auditorium 7,274
4–3 :
1954 schedule :

## Awards and honors

* George Mikan, All-NBA First Team
* Jim Pollard, All-NBA Second Team
* George Mikan, NBA All-Star Game
* Jim Pollard, NBA All-Star Game
* Slater Martin, NBA All-Star Game