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The 1951–52 NBA season was the sixth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
| 1951–52 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration | November 1, 1951 – March 16, 1952 March 18 – April 8, 1952 (Playoffs) April 12–25, 1952 (Finals) |
| Number of games | 66 |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Gene Melchiorre |
| Picked by | Baltimore Bullets |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Rochester Royals |
| Top scorer | Paul Arizin (Philadelphia) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | New York Knicks |
| Eastern runners-up | Syracuse Nationals |
| Western champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Western runners-up | Rochester Royals |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
| Runners-up | New York Knicks |
- The Tri-Cities Blackhawks relocated from the "Tri-Cities" area (Moline, Illinois, Rock Island, Illinois & Davenport, Iowa) to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and became the Milwaukee Hawks.
- The 1952 NBA All-Star Game was played in Boston, Massachusetts, with the East beating the West 108–91. Paul Arizin of the Philadelphia Warriors won the game's MVP award.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1950–51 coach | 1951–52 coach |
| Baltimore Bullets | Walt Budko | Fred Scolari |
| Fort Wayne Pistons | Murray Mendenhall | Paul Birch |
| Indianapolis Olympians | Wally Jones | Herm Schaefer |
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Baltimore Bullets | Fred Scolari | Chick Reiser |
| 1951-52 National Basketball Association | ||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Baltimore Bullets | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Coliseum | 4,500 |
| Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 | |
| New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 18,496 | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Arena | 7,000 | |
| Syracuse Nationals | Syracuse, New York | Onondaga War Memorial | 6,230 | |
| Western | Fort Wayne Pistons | Fort Wayne, Indiana | North Side High School Gym | 3,000 |
| Indianapolis Olympians | Indianapolis, Indiana | Hinkle Fieldhouse | 15,000 | |
| Milwaukee Hawks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Milwaukee Arena | 10,783 | |
| Minneapolis Lakers | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Minneapolis Auditorium | 10,000 | |
| Rochester Royals | Rochester, New York | Edgerton Park Arena | 4,200 | |
Eastern Division 
Western Division
Eastern Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 40 | 26 | .606 | – | 26–7 | 12–18 | 2–1 | 21–15 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 39 | 27 | .591 | 1 | 22–7 | 10–19 | 7–1 | 22–14 |
| x-New York Knicks | 37 | 29 | .561 | 3 | 21–4 | 12–22 | 4–3 | 23–13 |
| x-Philadelphia Warriors | 33 | 33 | .500 | 7 | 24–7 | 6–25 | 3–1 | 14–22 |
| Baltimore Bullets | 20 | 46 | .303 | 20 | 17–15 | 2–22 | 1–9 | 10–26 |
Western Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Rochester Royals | 41 | 25 | .621 | – | 28–5 | 12–18 | 1–2 | 22–14 |
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 40 | 26 | .606 | 1 | 21–5 | 13–20 | 6–1 | 24–12 |
| x-Indianapolis Olympians | 34 | 32 | .515 | 7 | 25–6 | 4–24 | 5–2 | 18–18 |
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 29 | 37 | .439 | 12 | 22–11 | 6–24 | 1–2 | 17–19 |
| Milwaukee Hawks | 17 | 49 | .258 | 24 | 8–13 | 3–22 | 6–14 | 9–27 |
- x – Clinched playoff spot
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Syracuse* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E4 | Philadelphia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E1 | Syracuse* | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Rochester* | 2 | ||||||||||||
| W4 | Fort Wayne | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W1 | Rochester* | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W3 | Indianapolis | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | ||||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Paul Arizin | Philadelphia Warriors | 1,674 |
| Rebounds | Larry Foust Mel Hutchins | Fort Wayne Pistons Milwaukee Hawks | 880 |
| Assists | Andy Phillip | Philadelphia Warriors | 539 |
| FG% | Paul Arizin | Philadelphia Warriors | .448 |
| FT% | Bobby Wanzer | Rochester Royals | .904 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
- All-NBA First Team:
- All-NBA Second Team:
- Larry Foust, Fort Wayne Pistons
- Vern Mikkelsen, Minneapolis Lakers
- Andy Phillip, Philadelphia Warriors
- Jim Pollard, Minneapolis Lakers
- Bobby Wanzer, Rochester Royals
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