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1952-53 NBA Season Summary

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1952-53 NBA:

League Standings

Glossary ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Team W L W-L% GB PS/G PA/G SRS
Eastern Division              
New York Knickerbockers* 47 23 .671 — 85.5 80.3 4.39
Syracuse Nationals* 47 24 .662 0.5 85.6 81.3 3.62
Boston Celtics* 46 25 .648 1.5 88.1 85.8 1.93
Baltimore Bullets* 16 54 .229 31.0 84.4 90.9 -5.80
Philadelphia Warriors 12 57 .174 34.5 80.2 87.4 -7.75
Western Division              
Minneapolis Lakers* 48 22 .686 — 85.3 79.2 5.53
Rochester Royals* 44 26 .629 4.0 86.3 83.5 2.62
Fort Wayne Pistons* 36 33 .522 11.5 81.0 81.1 0.17
Indianapolis Olympians* 28 43 .394 20.5 74.6 77.4 -2.31
Milwaukee Hawks 27 44 .380 21.5 75.9 77.4 -2.49

League Playoffs

Finals (4-1): Minneapolis Lakers over New York Knickerbockers
 
Eastern Division Finals (3-1): New York Knickerbockers over Boston Celtics
Western Division Finals (3-2): Minneapolis Lakers over Fort Wayne Pistons
 
Eastern Division Semifinals (2-0): Boston Celtics over Syracuse Nationals
Eastern Division Semifinals (2-0): New York Knickerbockers over Baltimore Bullets
Western Division Semifinals (2-1): Fort Wayne Pistons over Rochester Royals
Western Division Semifinals (2-0): Minneapolis Lakers over Indianapolis Olympians

Team Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 Boston Celtics* 71 2177 5555 .392 1904 2617 .728 3865 1666 1911 6258 88.1
2 Rochester Royals* 70 2019 5432 .372 2005 2747 .730 3625 1520 2210 6043 86.3
3 Syracuse Nationals* 71 1942 5329 .364 2197 2950 .745 3472 1459 2132 6081 85.6
4 New York Knickerbockers* 70 2059 5339 .386 1867 2652 .704 4007 1575 2053 5985 85.5
5 Minneapolis Lakers* 70 2166 5559 .390 1641 2221 .739 3406 1351 1917 5973 85.3
6 Baltimore Bullets* 70 2083 5615 .371 1745 2542 .686 3727 1514 2141 5911 84.4
7 Fort Wayne Pistons* 69 1876 5230 .359 1839 2491 .738 3548 1438 2119 5591 81.0
8 Philadelphia Warriors 69 1987 5546 .358 1560 2298 .679 3763 1513 1860 5534 80.2
9 Milwaukee Hawks 71 1873 5320 .352 1643 2400 .685 3429 1427 2120 5389 75.9
10 Indianapolis Olympians* 71 1829 5204 .351 1637 2277 .719 3326 1281 1765 5295 74.6
League Average 70 2001 5413 .370 1804 2520 .716 3617 1474 2023 5806 82.7

Opponent Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 Indianapolis Olympians* 71 5493 77.4
2 Milwaukee Hawks 71 5496 77.4
3 Minneapolis Lakers* 70 5544 79.2
4 New York Knickerbockers* 70 5619 80.3
5 Fort Wayne Pistons* 69 5599 81.1
6 Syracuse Nationals* 71 5775 81.3
7 Rochester Royals* 70 5847 83.5
8 Boston Celtics* 71 6090 85.8
9 Philadelphia Warriors 69 6031 87.4
10 Baltimore Bullets* 70 6360 90.9
League Average 70 5785 82.4

Miscellaneous Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Offense Four Factors Defense Four Factors
Rk Team W Pyth L Pyth SRS ORtg DRtg Pace eFG% TOV% ORB% FT/FGA eFG% TOV% DRB% FT/FGA Arena Attendance
1 Minneapolis Lakers* 51.8 18.2 5.53 .390 .295 Minneapolis Auditorium
2 New York Knickerbockers* 49.5 20.5 4.39 .386 .350 Madison Square Garden (III) 195,240
3 Syracuse Nationals* 47.8 23.2 3.62 .364 .412 Onondaga War Memorial
4 Boston Celtics* 42.2 28.8 1.93 .392 .343 Boston Garden 161,808
5 Rochester Royals* 42.9 27.1 2.62 .372 .369 Edgerton Park Arena
6 Fort Wayne Pistons* 34.2 34.8 0.17 .359 .352 War Memorial Coliseum
7 Indianapolis Olympians* 26.6 44.4 -2.31 .351 .315 Hinkle Fieldhouse
8 Milwaukee Hawks 30.6 40.4 -2.49 .352 .309 Milwaukee Arena
9 Baltimore Bullets* 18.5 51.5 -5.80 .371 .311 Baltimore Coliseum
10 Philadelphia Warriors 15.9 53.1 -7.75 .358 .281 Philadelphia Civic Center 56,882
League Average 36.0 34.2 0.00 .370 .333 137,977

League Awards

Rookie of the Year: Monk Meineke

League Leaders

Glossary ▪ Rate statistic requirements

Minutes Played

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 3166
2. Bob Cousy*-BOS 2945
3. Ed Macauley*-BOS 2902
4. Mel Hutchins-MLH 2891
5. Leo Barnhorst-INO 2871

Field Goals

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 504
2. George Mikan*-MNL 500
3. Bob Cousy*-BOS 464
4. Ed Macauley*-BOS 451
5. Jack Nichols-MLH 425

Field Goal Attempts

1. Bob Cousy*-BOS 1320
2. George Mikan*-MNL 1252
3. Jack Nichols-MLH 1170
4. Neil Johnston*-PHW 1114
5. Leo Barnhorst-INO 1034

Field Goal Pct

1. Ed Macauley*-BOS .452
  Neil Johnston*-PHW .452
3. Harry Gallatin*-NYK .444
4. Bill Sharman*-BOS .436
5. Vern Mikkelsen*-MNL .435

Free Throws

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 556
2. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 512
3. Ed Macauley*-BOS 500
4. Bob Cousy*-BOS 479
5. George Mikan*-MNL 442

Free Throw Attempts

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 794
2. Ed Macauley*-BOS 667
3. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 619
4. Bob Cousy*-BOS 587
5. George Mikan*-MNL 567

Free Throw Pct

1. Bill Sharman*-BOS .850
2. Fred Scolari-FTW .844
3. Dolph Schayes*-SYR .827
4. Carl Braun-NYK .825
5. Fred Schaus-FTW .821

Total Rebounds

1. George Mikan*-MNL 1007
2. Neil Johnston*-PHW 976
3. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 920
4. Harry Gallatin*-NYK 916
5. Mel Hutchins-MLH 793

Assists

1. Bob Cousy*-BOS 547
2. Andy Phillip*-TOT 397
3. George King-SYR 364
4. Dick McGuire*-NYK 296
5. Paul Seymour-SYR 294

Personal Fouls

1. Monk Meineke-FTW 334
2. Joe Fulks*-PHW 319
3. Joe Graboski-INO 303
4. George Mikan*-MNL 290
5. Vern Mikkelsen*-MNL 289

Points

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 1564
2. George Mikan*-MNL 1442
3. Bob Cousy*-BOS 1407
4. Ed Macauley*-BOS 1402
5. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 1262

Minutes Per Game

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 45.2
2. Ed Macauley*-BOS 42.1
3. Bob Cousy*-BOS 41.5
4. Mel Hutchins-MLH 40.7
5. Leo Barnhorst-INO 40.4

Points Per Game

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 22.3
2. George Mikan*-MNL 20.6
3. Ed Macauley*-BOS 20.3
4. Bob Cousy*-BOS 19.8
5. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 17.8

Rebounds Per Game

1. George Mikan*-MNL 14.4
2. Neil Johnston*-PHW 13.9
3. Harry Gallatin*-NYK 13.1
4. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 13.0
5. Larry Foust-FTW 11.5

Assists Per Game

1. Bob Cousy*-BOS 7.7
2. Andy Phillip*-TOT 5.7
3. George King-SYR 5.1
4. Dick McGuire*-NYK 4.9
5. Paul Seymour-SYR 4.4

Player Efficiency Rating

1. George Mikan*-MNL 28.4
2. Neil Johnston*-PHW 25.8
3. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 24.9
4. Ed Macauley*-BOS 24.2
5. Harry Gallatin*-NYK 23.2

True Shooting Pct

1. Ed Macauley*-BOS .543
2. Neil Johnston*-PHW .534
3. Harry Gallatin*-NYK .525
4. Bill Sharman*-BOS .521
5. Vern Mikkelsen*-MNL .504

Effective Field Goal Pct

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW .452
2. Ed Macauley*-BOS .452
3. Harry Gallatin*-NYK .444
4. Bill Sharman*-BOS .436
5. Vern Mikkelsen*-MNL .435

Offensive Win Shares

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 13.0
2. Ed Macauley*-BOS 12.2
3. Bill Sharman*-BOS 8.4
4. George Mikan*-MNL 7.7
5. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 7.4

Defensive Win Shares

1. George Mikan*-MNL 6.9
2. Mel Hutchins-MLH 5.5
3. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 5.1
4. Vern Mikkelsen*-MNL 4.9
5. Harry Gallatin*-NYK 4.4

Win Shares

1. Neil Johnston*-PHW 15.3
2. George Mikan*-MNL 14.6
3. Ed Macauley*-BOS 14.5
4. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 12.5
5. Vern Mikkelsen*-MNL 12.0
     

All-NBA Teams

1st Team
Bob Cousy*
Neil Johnston*
Ed Macauley*
George Mikan*
Dolph Schayes*
 2nd Team
Bob Davies*
Vern Mikkelsen*
Andy Phillip*
Bill Sharman*
Bobby Wanzer*

All-Star Game Rosters

East
Don Barksdale
Carl Braun
Bob Cousy*
Bill Gabor
Harry Gallatin*
Neil Johnston*
Ed Macauley*
Dolph Schayes*
Fred Scolari
Paul Seymour
Bill Sharman*
 West
Leo Barnhorst
Bob Davies*
Larry Foust
Mel Hutchins
Slater Martin*
George Mikan*
Vern Mikkelsen*
Andy Phillip*
Arnie Risen*
Bobby Wanzer*