1949 BAA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Minneapolis Lakers John Kundla 4
Washington Capitols Red Auerbach 2
DatesApril 4–13
Hall of FamersCoaches:
Red Auerbach (1969)
John Kundla (1995)
Players:
George Mikan (1959)
Jim Pollard (1978)
Eastern FinalsCapitols defeated Knicks, 2–1
Western FinalsLakers defeated Royals, 2–0

The 1949 BAA Finals was the championship round following the Basketball Association of America (BAA)'s 1948–49 season, its third and last. Later that year, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association (NBA).

6'10" George Mikan and the Minneapolis Lakers proved dominant. They routed the Washington Capitols in six games. This was the first of several successive NBA titles for the Lakers. It was the beginning of the George Mikan and the Lakers Dynasty. As for the Capitols, they would never reach the Finals again, but their coach in Red Auerbach would do so several times over the next two decades, and this represented his only loss in a Final until 1958 (Auerbach would win nine of his eleven appearances in a Final); this would be the first of six overall finals that featured Auerbach against the Lakers, for which he beat them five times, including in 1959 when he beat Kundla in his last game as head coach of the Lakers.

The six games of the final series were played in ten days – Monday, April 4, to Wednesday, April 13 – with one day off except after game three, the first of three played in Washington (Minneapolis led 3–0). Prior to its start, however, Minneapolis had been idle for five days, having qualified on the preceding Tuesday; Washington idle for only one day, having qualified on Saturday. The entire playoff tournament extended 23 days.[1]

Series summary

GameDateHome teamResultRoad team
Game 1April 4Minneapolis Lakers88–84 (1–0)Washington Capitols
Game 2April 6Minneapolis Lakers76–62 (2–0)Washington Capitols
Game 3April 8Washington Capitols74–94 (0–3)Minneapolis Lakers
Game 4April 9Washington Capitols83–71 (1–3)Minneapolis Lakers
Game 5April 11Washington Capitols74–65 (2–3)Minneapolis Lakers
Game 6April 13Minneapolis Lakers77–56 (4–2)Washington Capitols

Lakers win series 4–2

Team rosters

Minneapolis Lakers

Washington Capitols

References

  1. ↑ "1948–49 BAA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
      Select "Next Season" from the heading for 1949–50, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
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