1952 NBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla 4
New York Knicks Joe Lapchick 3
DatesApril 12–25
Hall of FamersLakers:
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Slater Martin (1982)
Vern Mikkelsen (1995)
Knicks:
Harry Gallatin (1991)
Al McGuire (1992, coach)
Dick McGuire (1993)
Nat Clifton (2014)
Coaches:
Joe Lapchick (1966, player)
John Kundla (1995)
Eastern FinalsKnicks defeated Nationals, 3–1
Western FinalsLakers defeated Royals, 3–1
← 1951 NBA Finals 1953 →

The 1952 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1952 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1951–52 season. The Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers faced the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in a best-of-seven series with Minneapolis having home-court advantage.

Minneapolis won game one and the teams thereafter alternated victories, Minneapolis winning the decisive game by a 17-point margin at home on Friday, April 25.

All but Game 7 were played in the teams' secondary arenas: the Lakers played at the Saint Paul Auditorium, while the Barnum circus bumped the Knicks from Madison Square Garden to the 69th Regiment Armory.

The seven games were played in fourteen days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13, in Minneapolis/St. Paul and returning to Minneapolis/St. Paul for games five and seven on the following Saturday and Friday. Meanwhile, three Wednesday or Friday games were played in New York City. The entire postseason tournament spanned 39 days in which Minneapolis played 13 games and New York 14.[1]

Series summary

Game Date Home team Result Road team
Game 1 April 12 Minneapolis Lakers 83–79 (OT) (1–0) New York Knicks
Game 2 April 13 Minneapolis Lakers 72–80 (1–1) New York Knicks
Game 3 April 16 New York Knicks 77–82 (1–2) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 4 April 18 New York Knicks 90–89 (OT) (2–2) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 5 April 20 Minneapolis Lakers 102–89 (3–2) New York Knicks
Game 6 April 23 New York Knicks 76–68 (3–3) Minneapolis Lakers
Game 7 April 25 Minneapolis Lakers 82–65 (4–3) New York Knicks

Lakers win series 4–3

Team rosters

Minneapolis Lakers

New York Knicks

References

  1. ^ "1951–52 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
      Select "Previous Season" from the heading for 1950–51, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.