1953 NBA playoffs
The 1953 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1952–53 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
| Dates | March 17–April 10, 1953 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1952–53 | ||
| Teams | 8 | ||
| Champions | Minneapolis Lakers (4th title) | ||
| Runners-up | New York Knicks (3rd finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
The Lakers won their fourth championship in the last five years, and defeated the Knicks in the Finals for the second straight season to complete their run.
Not only did the four Western Division teams meet for the third straight year, but the Eastern Division teams this year, had a slight change. The Philadelphia Warriors did not make the playoffs, but the Baltimore Bullets did. They would be swept by the Eastern Division champion New York Knicks in 2 games.
The Indianapolis Olympians played their last game, a Game 2 loss to the Lakers in the first round. They folded at the end of the season, and major professional basketball did not return to Indianapolis, Indiana until the Indiana Pacers were founded for the inaugural 1967–68 season of the American Basketball Association.
The Boston Celtics earned their first playoff series victory with a two-game sweep of the Syracuse Nationals.
The 1952–53 Baltimore Bullets hold the distinction of having the worst regular-season record of any playoff qualifier in league history, at 16-54.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Indianapolis | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Minneapolis | 3 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Fort Wayne | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Rochester | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis | 4 | |||||||||||
| E1 | New York | 1 | |||||||||||
| 1 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Baltimore | 0 | |||||||||||
| 1 | New York | 3 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 3 | Boston | 1 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Boston | 2 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Syracuse | 0 | |||||||||||
Western Division
Champion: Minneapolis Lakers
Division Semifinals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (4) Indianapolis Olympians: Lakers win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis (March 22): Minneapolis 85, Indianapolis 69
- Game 2 @ Indianapolis (March 23): Minneapolis 81, Indianapolis 79
Last Playoff Meeting: 1952 Western Division Semifinals (Minneapolis won 2–0)
(2) Rochester Royals vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons: Pistons win series 2–1
- Game 1 @ Rochester (March 20): Fort Wayne 84, Rochester 77
- Game 2 @ Fort Wayne (March 22): Rochester 83, Fort Wayne 71
- Game 3 @ Rochester (March 24): Fort Wayne 67, Rochester 65
Last Playoff Meeting: 1952 Western Division Semifinals (Rochester won 2–0)
Division Finals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons: Lakers win series 3–2
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis (March 26): Minneapolis 83, Fort Wayne 73
- Game 2 @ Minneapolis (March 28): Minneapolis 82, Fort Wayne 75
- Game 3 @ Fort Wayne (March 30): Fort Wayne 98, Minneapolis 95
- Game 4 @ Fort Wayne (April 1): Fort Wayne 85, Minneapolis 82
- Game 5 @ Minneapolis (April 2): Minneapolis 74, Fort Wayne 58
Last Playoff Meeting: 1950 Central Division Finals (Minneapolis won 2–0)
Eastern Division
Champion: New York Knicks
Division Semifinals
(1) New York Knicks vs. (4) Baltimore Bullets: Knicks win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ New York (March 17): New York 80, Baltimore 62
- Game 2 @ Baltimore (March 20): New York 90, Baltimore 81
Last Playoff Meeting: 1949 Eastern Division Semifinals (New York won 2–1)
(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Boston Celtics: Celtics win series 2–0
- Game 1 @ Syracuse (March 19): Boston 87, Syracuse 81
- Game 2 @ Boston (March 21): Boston 111, Syracuse 105 (4OT; Al Cervi’s final NBA game)
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Nationals and Celtics.
Division Finals
(1) New York Knicks vs. (3) Boston Celtics: Knicks win series 3–1
- Game 1 @ New York (March 25): New York 95, Boston 91
- Game 2 @ Boston (March 26): Boston 86, New York 70
- Game 3 @ New York (March 28): New York 101, Boston 82
- Game 4 @ Boston (March 29): New York 82, Boston 75
Last Playoff Meeting: 1952 Eastern Division Semifinals (New York won 2–1)
NBA Finals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (1) New York Knicks: Lakers win series 4–1
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis (April 4): New York 96, Minneapolis 88
- Game 2 @ Minneapolis (April 5): Minneapolis 73, New York 71
- Game 3 @ New York (April 7): Minneapolis 90, New York 75
- Game 4 @ New York (April 8): Minneapolis 71, New York 69
- Game 5 @ New York (April 10): Minneapolis 91, New York 84
Last Playoff Meeting: 1952 NBA Finals (Minneapolis won 4–3)