1950 NBA Playoffs

The 1950 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1949-50 season. The tournament concluded with the Central Division champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Division champion Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. 1950 was the NBA's first year.

Minneapolis defeated Rochester in a 1-game playoff for first place in the Central Division. Fort Wayne defeated Chicago in a 1-game playoff for third place in the Central Division.

Bracket

With the merger of the BAA and NBL, the new NBA utilized an unusual 3-Division format. The top 4 teams in each of the 3 Divisions qualified for the playoffs, were seeded 1-4, and played off for the Division Championships.

Eastern Division

Central Division

Western Division

League Finals

The three Division Champions were seeded 1-3, based on their respective regular season records, with the top seed earning a bye into the NBA Finals.

Central Division Tiebreakers

Rochester Royals vs. Minneapolis Lakers: Lakers win series 1-0

• Game 1 @ Rochester: Minneapolis 78, Rochester 76

Fort Wayne Pistons vs. Chicago Stags: Pistons win series 1-0

• Game 1 @ Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne 86, Chicago 69

Minneapolis gets #1 seed, Rochester gets #2 seed, Fort Wayne gets #3 seed, Chicago gets #4 seed.

Divisional Semifinals

Western Division

• (1) Indianapolis Olympians vs. (4) Sheboygan Red Skins: Olympians win series 2-1
• Game 1 @ Indianapolis: Indianapolis 86, Sheboygan 85
• Game 2 @ Sheboygan: Sheboygan 95, Indianapolis 85
• Game 3 @ Indianapolis: Indianapolis 91, Sheboygan 84

• (2) Anderson Packers vs. (3) Tri-Cities Blackhawks: Packers win series 2-1
• Game 1 @ Anderson: Anderson 89, Tri-Cities 77
• Game 2 @ Tri-Cities: Tri-Cities 76, Anderson 75
• Game 3 @ Anderson: Anderson 94, Tri-Cities 71

Eastern Division

• (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (4) Philadelphia Warriors: Nationals win series 2-0
• Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 93, Philadelphia 76
• Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Syracuse 59, Philadelphia 53

• (2) New York Knicks vs. (3) Washington Capitols: Knicks win series 2-0
• Game 1 @ Washington: New York 90, Washington 87
• Game 2 @ New York: New York 103, Washington 83

Central Division

• (1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (4) Chicago Stags: Lakers win series 2-0
• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 85, Chicago 75
• Game 2 @ Chicago: Minneapolis 75, Chicago 67

• (2) Rochester Royals vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons: Pistons win series 2-0
• Game 1 @ Rochester: Fort Wayne 90, Rochester 84
• Game 2 @ Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne 79, Rochester 78 (OT)

Divisional Finals

• Western Division: (1) Indianapolis Olympians vs. (2) Anderson Packers: Packers win series 2-1
• Game 1 @ Indianapolis: Indianapolis 77, Anderson 74
• Game 2 @ Anderson: Anderson 84, Indianapolis 67
• Game 3 @ Indianapolis: Anderson 67, Indianapolis 65

• Eastern Division: (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (2) New York Knicks: Nationals win series 2-1
• Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, New York 83 (OT)
• Game 2 @ New York: New York 80, Syracuse 76
• Game 3 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, New York 80

• Central Division: (1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons: Lakers win series 2-0
• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 93, Fort Wayne 79
• Game 2 @ Fort Wayne: Minneapolis 89, Fort Wayne 82

NBA Semifinals

(1) Syracuse Nationals have Division semifinals byes.

• (1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (1) Anderson Packers: Lakers win series 2-0
• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 75, Anderson 50
• Game 2 @ Anderson: Minneapolis 90, Anderson 71

NBA Finals

• (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (1) Minneapolis Lakers: Lakers win series 4-2
• Game 1 @ Syracuse: Minneapolis 68, Syracuse 66 (Bob Harrison hits the game-winning shot from 40 feet at the buzzer)
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, Minneapolis 85
• Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 91, Syracuse 77
• Game 4 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 77, Syracuse 69
• Game 5 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 83, Minneapolis 76
• Game 6 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 110, Syracuse 95

External links

• Basketball-Reference.com's 1950 NBA Playoffs page