1948–49 BAA season
| 1948–49 BAA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Basketball Association of America |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
|
| Number of games | 60 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Andy Tonkovich |
| Picked by | Providence Steamrollers |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Rochester Royals |
| Top scorer | George Mikan (Minneapolis) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Washington Capitols |
| Eastern runners-up | New York Knicks |
| Western champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Western runners-up | Rochester Royals |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Runners-up | Washington Capitols |
The 1948–49 BAA season was the third and final season of the Basketball Association of America. (Following the season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.[1]) The postseason tournament (the 1949 BAA Playoffs) at its conclusion, ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the BAA Championship, beating the Washington Capitols 4 games to 2 in the BAA Finals.
The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history, sometimes without comment,[2] so the 1948–49 BAA season is sometimes considered the third NBA season.
Notable occurrences[]
Four National Basketball League teams (Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Rochester) joined the BAA for the 1948–49 season.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1947–48 coach | 1948–49 coach |
| Boston Celtics | Honey Russell | Doggie Julian |
| Providence Steamrollers | Nat Hickey | Ken Loeffler |
| St. Louis Bombers | Ken Loeffler | Grady Lewis |
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Chicago Stags | Harold Olsen | Philip Brownstein |
Final standings[]
Eastern Division[]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Western Division[]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs[]
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | BAA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | |||||||||||
| E4 | Philadelphia | 0 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| E2 | New York | 1 | |||||||||||
| E2 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Baltimore | 1 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 4 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Rochester* | 2 | |||||||||||
| W4 | St. Louis | 0 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Rochester* | 0 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Chicago | 0 | |||||||||||
* Division winner
Bold Series winner
Statistics leaders[]
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | George Mikan | Minneapolis Lakers | 1,698 |
| Assists | Bob Davies | Rochester Royals | 321 |
| FG% | Arnie Risen | Rochester Royals | .423 |
| FT% | Bob Feerick | Washington Capitols | .859 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
BAA awards[]
- All-BAA First Team:
- G Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags
- G/F Bob Davies, Rochester Royals
- C George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
- F Jim Pollard, Minneapolis Lakers
- F Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors
- All-BAA Second Team
- C Arnie Risen, Rochester Royals
- C Bob Feerick, Washington Capitols
- F/C Bones McKinney, Washington Capitols
- G Ken Sailors, Providence Steamrollers
- G John Logan, St. Louis Bombers
References[]
- ^ "NBA is born". History. November 16, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "NBA Season Recaps: 1946-2019". NBA.com. July 24, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
External links[]
- NBA History at NBA.com
- 1948–49 BAA Season Summary at Basketball-Reference.com
- 1948–49 BAA season