1954 Minneapolis Lakers

Minneapolis went 46-26 and won the Western Division. The playoff format was odd that year: the West opened with a round-robin among its top three teams before the usual series. The Lakers came through it and reached the Finals again.

Mikan, now 29 and a step slower, still led the team at 18.1 points and 14.3 rebounds. Pollard scored 11.7 and Mikkelsen 11.1. Lovellette, a rookie out of Kansas, added 8.2 behind Mikan. Slater Martin and Whitey Skoog handled the guard spots.

The Lakers beat Rochester in the Western finals, then went the full seven games with Syracuse before winning the decider at home.

It was the third straight title for Minneapolis, the first three-peat the league had seen. Mikan retired after the season, and the Lakers did not win again before they left for Los Angeles. The next year the NBA added the 24-second clock, and the slow, Mikan-style game gave way to something faster.

The starting five was George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Slater Martin, Vern Mikkelsen, and Whitey Skoog. John Kundla coached the group with Clyde Lovelle 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 1954 playoffs ran through divisional rounds before the Finals. The Minneapolis Lakers still needed four series wins in many years, but the league had fewer teams than the 30-franchise map used today.

The Minneapolis Lakers share a lineage with other banners from 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 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 1954 Minneapolis Lakers beat the Syracuse Nationals in a seven-game Finals to complete the first three-peat in NBA history. George Mikan led the team a final time at 18.1 points before his first retirement. Rookie Clyde Lovellette gave the Lakers a second scoring big man behind him.

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.