1950–51 Syracuse Nationals season

The 1950–51 Syracuse Nationals season was the 5th season of the franchise and their second in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In the regular season, the Nationals finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division & their 32–34 record gave them an NBA playoffs berth. One match on November 19 against the New York Knicks had them inadvertently successfully rig a match against the Knicks by NBA referee Sol Levy's favor, which later led to him being arrested for his crime alongside being an accomplice in the CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1951.^[1][2] Syracuse faced the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1st round of the Eastern Division playoffs and won the best-of-three series 2–0 to advance to the division finals. In that series, the Nationals lost to the New York Knicks 2–3 in a best-of-five series.

1950–51 Syracuse Nationals season
Head coach	Al Cervi
Arena	State Fair Coliseum
Results
Record	32–34 (.485)
Place	Division: 4th (Atlantic)
Playoff finish	East Division Finals (Eliminated 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Radio	WNDR
< 1949–50 1951–52 >

NBA draft

Main article: 1950 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	11	Don Lofgran	F/C	United States	San Francisco
2	23	Gerald Calabrese	G	United States	St. John's

Roster

Syracuse Nationals 1950–51 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Ht. Wt. From SG 12 Gerald Calabrese 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) St. John's PG 15 Al Cervi 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) F 11 Leroy Chollet 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Canisius SG 7 Billy Gabor 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Syracuse PF 10 Alex Hannum 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) USC C 13 Noble Jorgensen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Iowa F/C 11 Don Lofgran 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) San Francisco G/F 5 Johnny Macknowski 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Seton Hall C 13 Ed Peterson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Cornell PF 6 George Ratkovicz 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) F/C 4 Dolph Schayes 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) NYU PG 14 Fred Scolari 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) San Francisco G/F 8 Paul Seymour 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Toledo SG 14 Belus Smawley 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Appalachian State	Head coach Al Cervi Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Philadelphia Warriors	40	26	.606	–	28–4	11–21	1–1	22–14
x-Boston Celtics	39	30	.565	1	25–5	10–23	4–2	21–19
x-New York Knicks	36	30	.545	4	22–5	10–25	4–0	21–15
x-Syracuse Nationals	32	34	.485	8	23–10	9–24	–	19–17
Baltimore Bullets	24	42	.364	16	20–12	4–24	0–6	12–24
Washington Capitols	10	25	.286	30	7–12	3–12	0–1	6–12

Record vs. opponents

1950–51 NBA records
Team	BAL	BOS	FWP	IND	MIN	NYK	PHI	ROC	SYR	TCB	WAS
Baltimore	—	3–6	4–2	2–4	2–4	2–5	3–6	1–5	3–5	3–3	1–2
Boston	6–3	—	5–1	4–1	3–3	4–4	4–4	2–4	2–5	4–2	4–3
Fort Wayne	2–4	1–5	—	5–3	5–3	2–4	3–3	3–5	3–3	5–5	3–1
Indianapolis	4–2	1–4	3–5	—	3–7	5–1	1–5	5–4	3–3	4–4	2–2
Minneapolis	4–2	3–3	3–5	7–3	—	3–3	4–2	4–4	4–2	10–0	2–0
New York	5–2	4–4	4–2	1–5	3–3	—	5–3	3–3	5–5	4–2	2–1
Philadelphia	6–3	4–4	3–3	5–1	2–4	3–5	—	4–2	6–2	4–2	3–0
Rochester	5–3	5–2	3–3	3–3	2–4	5–5	2–6	—	4–2	5–3	5–0
Syracuse	5–3	5–2	3–3	3–3	2–4	5–5	2–6	2–4	—	3–3	2–0
Tri-Cities	3–3	2–4	5–5	4–4	0–10	2–4	2–4	3–5	3–3	—	1–1
Washington	2–1	3–4	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–2	0–3	0–5	0–2	1–1	—

Game log

1950–51 Game Log Total: 32–34 (Home: 23–10; Road: 9–24)
November: 7–7 (Home: 6–2; Road: 1–5) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 1 November 2 Fort Wayne Pistons 92–77 State Fair Coliseum George Ratkovicz (23) 1–0 2 November 5 Minneapolis Lakers 90–87 State Fair Coliseum Paul Seymour (18) 2–0 3 November 9 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 89–70 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (15) 3–0 4 November 11 @ New York Knicks 72–74 (OT) Madison Square Garden Dolph Schayes (20) 3–1 5 November 12 Baltimore Bullets 83–57 State Fair Coliseum Paul Seymour (16) 4–1 6 November 14 @ Indianapolis Olympians 78–108 Butler Fieldhouse Belus Smawley (15) 4–2 7 November 15 @ Minneapolis Lakers 71–72 (OT) Minneapolis Auditorium Belus Smawley (16) 4–3 8 November 16 @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks 75–79 Wharton Field House Ed Peterson (19) 4–4 9 November 19 New York Knicks 96–83 State Fair Coliseum Belus Smawley (14) 5–4 10 November 23 Indianapolis Olympians 85–92 State Fair Coliseum Gabor, Hannum (17) 5–5 11 November 25 @ Washington Capitols 77–67 Uline Arena Billy Gabor (17) 6–5 12 November 26 Washington Capitols 90–76 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (22) 7–5 13 November 28 @ New York Knicks 84–108 Madison Square Garden Dolph Schayes (25) 7–6 14 November 30 @ Philadelphia Warriors 78–81 Philadelphia Arena George Ratkovicz (17) 7–7
December: 7–7 (Home: 3–3; Road: 4–4) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 15 December 2 @ Baltimore Bullets 99–96 (OT) Baltimore Coliseum Billy Gabor (31) 8–7 16 December 3 Indianapolis Olympians 84–81 State Fair Coliseum Cervi, Schayes (16) 9–7 17 December 7 Rochester Royals 69–76 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (27) 9–8 18 December 9 @ Boston Celtics 86–85 Boston Garden Don Lofgran (19) 10–8 19 December 10 Baltimore Bullets 76–86 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (16) 10–9 20 December 14 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 69–78 State Fair Coliseum Al Cervi (15) 10–10 21 December 16 @ Rochester Royals 79–75 (OT) Edgerton Park Arena Billy Gabor (24) 11–10 22 December 17 New York Knicks 95–86 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (23) 12–10 23 December 20 @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks 83–86 Wharton Field House Al Cervi (19) 12–11 24 December 21 @ Fort Wayne Pistons 72–97 North Side High School Gym Dolph Schayes (17) 12–12 25 December 25 Fort Wayne Pistons 81–69 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (16) 13–12 26 December 26 @ Boston Celtics 100–102 Boston Garden Noble Jorgensen (23) 13–13 27 December 28 @ Philadelphia Warriors 88–91 (OT) Philadelphia Arena Dolph Schayes (28) 13–14 28 December 30 @ Baltimore Bullets 90–80 (OT) Baltimore Coliseum Dolph Schayes (23) 14–14
January: 7–7 (Home: 5–3; Road: 2–4) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 29 January 1 Boston Celtics 106–89 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (21) 15–14 30 January 4 Minneapolis Lakers 77–80 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (20) 15–15 31 January 6 @ New York Knicks 87–85 (OT) Madison Square Garden Dolph Schayes (26) 16–15 32 January 7 Baltimore Bullets 73–65 State Fair Coliseum George Ratkovicz (18) 17–15 33 January 10 @ Tri-Cities Blackhawks 97–96 Wharton Field House Ratkovicz, Schayes (20) 18–15 34 January 11 @ Fort Wayne Pistons 76–84 North Side High School Gym Dolph Schayes (16) 18–16 35 January 14 Rochester Royals 92–63 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (17) 19–16 36 January 18 Rochester Royals 87–96 State Fair Coliseum George Ratkovicz (20) 19–17 37 January 21 Philadelphia Warriors 86–96 State Fair Coliseum Noble Jorgensen (18) 19–18 38 January 24 @ Baltimore Bullets 82–87 Baltimore Coliseum George Ratkovicz (23) 19–19 39 January 25 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 113–87 State Fair Coliseum George Ratkovicz (24) 20–19 40 January 27 @ Rochester Royals 83–85 Edgerton Park Arena Dolph Schayes (24) 20–20 41 January 28 Boston Celtics 104–83 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (22) 21–20 42 January 30 @ Boston Celtics 87–96 Boston Garden Dolph Schayes (23) 21–21
February: 7–7 (Home: 5–2; Road: 2–5) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 43 February 1 New York Knicks 90–93 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (26) 21–22 44 February 2 @ Boston Celtics 90–96 (OT) Boston Garden Dolph Schayes (19) 21–23 45 February 5 Philadelphia Warriors 78–75 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (19) 22–23 46 February 7 @ Baltimore Bullets 82–102 Baltimore Coliseum Johnny Macknowski (20) 22–24 47 February 8 New York Knicks 96–83 State Fair Coliseum George Ratkovicz (19) 23–24 48 February 11 Baltimore Bullets 80–72 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (18) 24–24 49 February 14 @ Fort Wayne Pistons 75–77 North Side High School Gym Dolph Schayes (18) 24–25 50 February 15 Boston Celtics 94–80 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (24) 25–25 51 February 17 @ New York Knicks 75–88 Madison Square Garden Dolph Schayes (26) 25–26 52 February 18 Minneapolis Lakers 91–80 State Fair Coliseum Billy Gabor (26) 26–26 53 February 20 @ Indianapolis Olympians 81–79 Butler Fieldhouse Dolph Schayes (18) 27–26 54 February 21 @ Minneapolis Lakers 76–82 Minneapolis Auditorium Johnny Macknowski (17) 27–27 55 February 25 New York Knicks 98–93 State Fair Coliseum Fred Scolari (18) 28–27 56 February 27 @ Philadelphia Warriors 72–86 Philadelphia Arena Dolph Schayes (18) 28–28
March: 4–6 (Home: 4–1; Road: 0–5) Game Date Opponent Score Location High points Record 57 March 1 Fort Wayne Pistons 108–86 State Fair Coliseum Gabor, Schayes (19) 29–28 58 March 3 @ New York Knicks 78–97 Madison Square Garden Johnny Macknowski (15) 29–29 59 March 4 Philadelphia Warriors 85–79 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (23) 30–29 60 March 8 Indianapolis Olympians 121–97 State Fair Coliseum Noble Jorgensen (27) 31–29 61 March 10 @ Rochester Royals 86–107 Edgerton Park Arena Dolph Schayes (17) 31–30 62 March 11 Philadelphia Warriors 91–95 State Fair Coliseum Dolph Schayes (26) 31–31 63 March 13 @ Indianapolis Olympians 93–98 Butler Fieldhouse Alex Hannum (23) 31–32 64 March 14 @ Minneapolis Lakers 76–100 Minneapolis Auditorium Dolph Schayes (24) 31–33 65 March 17 @ Philadelphia Warriors 86–100 Philadelphia Arena George Ratkovicz (20) 31–34 66 March 18 Boston Celtics 97–89 State Fair Coliseum George Ratkovicz (20) 32–34
1950–51 Schedule[3]

Playoffs

1951 playoff game log
Division Semifinals: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record 1 March 20 @ Philadelphia W 91–89 (OT)[4] Fred Scolari (23) Dolph Schayes (13) Seymour, Cervi (7) Philadelphia Arena 1–0 2 March 22 Philadelphia W 90–78[5] Dolph Schayes (24) Dolph Schayes (16) Seymour, Hannum (5) State Fair Coliseum 2–0
Division Finals: 2–3 (home: 2–0; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High assists Location Attendance Record 1 March 28 @ New York L 92–103[6] George Ratkovicz (22) Alex Hannum (7) Madison Square Garden III 0–1 2 March 29 New York W 102–80[7] Dolph Schayes (21) Al Cervi (9) State Fair Coliseum 1–1 3 March 31 @ New York L 75–77 (OT)[8] Dolph Schayes (17) — Madison Square Garden III 1–2 4 April 1 New York W 90–83[9] Dolph Schayes (34) Al Cervi (8) State Fair Coliseum 2–2 5 April 4 @ New York L 81–83[10] Dolph Schayes (14) four players tied (3) Madison Square Garden III 2–3
1951 schedule

Awards and records

• Dolph Schayes, All-NBA Second Team