1950 Minneapolis Lakers

Minneapolis went 51-17 and finished first in the NBA's Central Division. The roster added two rookies who would matter for years, Slater Martin at guard and Vern Mikkelsen at forward, giving Kundla a deeper lineup around Mikan.

Mikan led the league at 27.4 points. Pollard scored 14.7 and Mikkelsen, the rookie, 11.6. Martin took over the backcourt. The Lakers paired the best scorer in the game with the stingiest defense in the league.

Minneapolis won every series before the Finals without dropping a game, then beat Syracuse four games to two for the championship of the newly named NBA.

Bud Grant, a reserve forward, averaged a few points off the bench that year. He soon left basketball for football and reached the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the Vikings' head coach. He is one of the rare people to play for an NBA champion and later coach in a Super Bowl.

The starting five was George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, and Herm Schaefer. John Kundla coached the group with Jim Krebs as the primary bench scorer.

This was title number 3 in a Minneapolis Lakers run that stretched across consecutive or near-consecutive seasons. Repeat winners carried continuity from one year to the next.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Bob Harrison (rookie guard); Bud Grant (later a Hall of Fame Vikings head coach).

Playoff formats in the late 1940s were still settling. The 1950 Minneapolis Lakers had to win multiple series against the best teams in the BAA, with travel and rest unlike the modern schedule.

The Minneapolis Lakers share a lineage with other banners from 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010, 2020. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the 1950 Minneapolis Lakers were the first NBA champions, winning the title in the season the BAA and NBL merged into one league. George Mikan led the NBA in scoring at 27.4 a game, and Minneapolis beat the Syracuse Nationals four games to two in the Finals. A reserve forward on that team, Bud Grant, later coached the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Minneapolis Lakers titles, use the franchise hub linked below.