Philadelphia Warriors forward Paul Arizin, fresh off a phenomenal season, left the league to serve in the Marines during the Korean War. This caused the Warriors to plummet from an average quality to an abysmal one, and the NBA lost its newest superstar.
On the positive side, this opened up an opportunity for Neil Johnston of the Warriors to develop, becoming the league’s scoring and percentage leader after an unimpressive rookie season.
Excessive Fouling
The biggest problem with the NBA was the increase in fouls during late-game situations, which took away from the intensity of the clutch. Teams would abuse fouling, opting to have an opponent possibly split their free throw points instead of getting a normal bucket.
There was an average of nearly fifty-eight fouls per game – it was an exhausting product to watch, and rule changes weren’t having any effect.
Standout Players
George Mikan
Mikan continued to decline a bit offensively but his presence in the paint never faltered.
He led Minneapolis to their best win total since 1950, and was the main reason they ranked as the best defense in the NBA.
Neil Johnston
The Warriors were horrible after Paul Arizin left, but center Neil Johnston gave fans something to look forward to.
He became the greatest scorer in the league, and crashed the glass effectively.
Bob Cousy
For the first time, the steadily growing Bob Cousy led the league in assists. He also finished top five in scoring, which instantly earned him the title of the best offensive player.
Boston also surpassed forty wins for the first time under his leadership.
Ed Macauley
Another one of Boston’s stars, Ed Macauley had the best season of his career.
He reached new heights as a passing big man, and still managed to be one of the most effective and noticeable scorers around.
Dolph Schayes
Yet another year of consistency for Dolph ended in him reaching a career high in scoring and helping the Nationals improve by seven wins.
He also begun to be known as one of the elite free throw shooters, largely in part to the mechanics he inherited from his outside shot.
Around the League
Team Standings
Notes An asterisk (*) indicates that the team qualified for the playoffs.
Eastern Division
W
L
Western Division
W
L
New York Knicks*
47
23
Minneapolis Lakers*
48
22
Syracuse Nationals*
47
24
Rochester Royals*
44
26
Boston Celtics*
46
25
Fort Wayne Pistons*
36
33
Baltimore Bullets*
16
54
Indianapolis Olympians*
28
43
Philadelphia Warriors
12
57
Milwaukee Hawks
27
44
Fun Facts
The Baltimore Bullets became the worst playoff team of all-time, clinching a spot with only sixteen wins.
This is because the top four seeds in each division advanced, regardless of record.
For the first time in league history, the reigning Finals teams – that being the New York Knicks and Minneapolis Lakers – carried their dominance over to the next regular season. Both held the first seed in their respective divisions.
Losing Paul Arizin caused the Philadelphia Warriors to drop by twenty-one games.
This was the worst change in win total since the defunct Providence Steamrollers went from twenty-eight to six in the first two years of the league.
The Hawks relocated from the “Tri-Cities” to Milwaukee.
Interestingly enough, the Indianapolis Olympians improved their record after losing stars Groza and Beard.
The primary force behind this was an improved defense, which puts into question how good Groza’s rim protection was.
The Boston Celtics continued to improve offensively, employing the same fast break techniques the Washington Capitols did many years ago. The denominator? Coach Red Auerbach.
Notable Movement
Key
The player stats listed are based on their last tenure, whether it be with their former team or the previous season. Name(s) under the “Top Draft Picks” section with a plus (+) opted to play in another league instead of the NBA this season. Name(s) under the “Top Draft Picks” section with an asterisk (*) were selected with a territorial draft pick. p – points r – rebounds a – assists
Milwaukee Hawks Baltimore Bullets Fort Wayne Pistons Philadelphia Warriors Indianapolis Olympians New York Knicks Boston Celtics Syracuse Nationals Rochester Royals Minneapolis Lakers
Mark Workman Jim Baechtold Dick Groat Bill Mlkvy Joe Dean + Ralph Polson Bill Stauffer Bob Lochmueller Chuck Darling Clyde Lovellette* +
If a stat is not listed, it was not recorded at the time. As time goes on, this section will begin to include steals per game, blocks per game, etc.
Key
PPG – points per game RPG – rebounds per game APG – assists per game FG% – field goal percentage (percentage of shots that hit) FT% – free throw percentage (percentage of foul shots that hit)
Despite finishing one win over Boston in the regular season, Syracuse didn’t often look in control of this series. Boston led the majority of Game 1, with a lot of the Nationals’ players fouling out and underperforming.
And then came Game 2 – the greatest playoff performance the basketball world had seen up to that point.
Bob Cousy cemented his place as the number one guard in the league, dropping fifty points in a quadruple overtime classic that got the Celtics their first playoff series win in franchise history. It proved his underrated reputation as a finisher, being sent to the line a whopping thirty-two times and draining almost every foul shot.
With Schayes out of the game early and Boston’s superstar on fire, Syracuse couldn’t hold up – they were handed a first-round exit, something the successful franchise had never experienced prior.
East /New York Knicksbeat Baltimore Bullets, 2-0
The outcome of this series wasn’t remotely surprising, given Baltimore had one of the worst records in the NBA – they practically handed New York a free series.
Neither game was terribly close, and more so served as an opportunity for some underrated Knicks players to show their worth. Nat Clifton and Ernie Vandeweghe were particularly good, considering that neither were known for their scoring.
West /Fort Wayne PistonsbeatRochester Royals, 2-1
Having acquired veteran guard Fred Scolari and the reigning assists champion in Andy Phillip, the Pistons had a sneakily good lineup. Not good enough to beat a team as elite as Rochester, though – or so everyone thought.
After trading the first two matches, the teams had a close tiebreaker in which Rochester struggled to get a lead over Fort Wayne – it didn’t help that their only player to score in double digits was Bobby Wanzer. Given that Bob Davies looked washed and Risen was inconsistent, it was safe to say the Royals “big three” that won a championship only two seasons ago had begun to decline.
West /Minneapolis Lakersbeat Indianapolis Olympians, 2-0
The reigning champions made quick work of the relatively average Indianapolis squad, largely thanks to their sheer star power. George Mikan had a bad series, but fellow stars Vern Mikkelsen and Jim Pollard took the pressure off of him. They both averaged more points per game, confirming that Minneapolis wasn’t just the Mikan show anymore – it was about the frontcourt as a whole.
The Knicks’ silent successes resulted from two things – concentrated ball movement and excellent defense. A system like this was hard to beat, even when you’re the best offensive team in the NBA like the Celtics.
New York effectively limited the impact of Boston’s three stars, with Bill Sharman having a terrible series in particular. Cousy and Macauley were decent for their standards, but nothing they did could outplay the Knicks, who had six players average double digits in points.
West /Minneapolis Lakers beat Fort Wayne Pistons, 3-2
The Pistons may have been able to stomp on the Royals, but nobody expected them to take Minneapolis to five games.
Both squads had great centers, with Fort Wayne’s Larry Foust playing nearly as well as George Mikan throughout. The difference maker was that the Lakers supporting cast was better, as underrated as the Pistons’ was. Even with Vern Mikkselsen underperforming, the former persevered and ended the series on a blowout win at home, led by Slater Martin’s eighteen points.
For the first time in league history, the Finals matchup was a repeat of last year’s – and this time around, the Lakers wasted no time giving the Knicks hope.
New York took the first game on the road, largely thanks to great performances from Harry Gallatin and the recently reacquired Carl Braun – the latter returned from the military this season, and gave the Knicks a scoring punch in the playoffs. Nonetheless, the Lakers took that surprise loss as motivation. They proceeded to win four games straight, including three on the road – there just wasn’t an answer for a team with four star-level guys like Mikan, Pollard, Mikkelsen, and Martin. In five years, the Lakers had now emerged victorious four times – and New York lost in the Finals for the third year in a row.
The Minneapolis Lakers win the 1953 NBA championship!
Notes All-Team selections were not yet selected based on position yet. Name(s) under the “All-Stars” section with an asterisk (*) were listed as the MVP of the All-Star Game that year. Those with “(IR)” next to their name were chosen to replace an injured star.
