1950–51 Syracuse Nationals season

NBA professional basketball team season August 2023 March 2026 Syracuse Nationals 1951 32 34 atlantic 4 Al Cervi State Fair Coliseum WNDR East Division Finals (Eliminated 2–3) SYR 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 and 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 his arrest for his crime alongside being an accomplice in the CCNY point-shaving scandal of 1951.Goldstein, Joe, "Explosion: 1951 scandals threaten college hoops" - ESPN - November 19, 200324 July 2007 When an NBA Referee Was Convicted of Shaving Points https://www.espn.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/3690/when-an-nba-referee-was-convicted-of-shaving-points Syracuse faced the Philadelphia Warriors in the first 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. NBA draft 1950 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club team 1 11 Don Lofgran F/C San Francisco 2 23 Gerald Calabrese G St. John's Roster {| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;"|} |- ! colspan="2" style="background-color: #D0103A; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" | Syracuse Nationals 1950–51 roster |- style="background-color: #0046AD; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" ! Players !! Coaches |- | valign="top" | {| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;"|} ! Pos. !! # !! Name !! Ht. !! Wt. !! From |- 12 Gerald Calabrese SG 6 1 175 St. John's 15 Al Cervi PG 5 11 170 East HS (NY) 11 Leroy Chollet F 6 2 190 Canisius 7 Billy Gabor SG 5 11 170 Syracuse 10 Alex Hannum PF 6 7 210 USC 13 Noble Jorgensen C 6 9 228 Iowa 11 Don Lofgran F/C 6 5 200 San Francisco 5 Johnny Macknowski G/F 6 0 180 Seton Hall 13 Ed Peterson C 6 9 220 Cornell 6 George Ratkovicz PF 6 6 220 Lindblom HS (IL) 4 Dolph Schayes F/C 6 8 220 NYU 14 Fred Scolari PG 5 10 180 San Francisco 8 Paul Seymour basketball G/F 6 1 180 Toledo 14 Belus Smawley SG 6 1 195 Appalachian State Al Cervi Regular season Standings SYR Game log background:#0046AD; color:white 1950–51 Game LogTotal: 32–34 (Home: 23–10; Road: 9–24) y background:#D0103A; color:white 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 |- y background:#D0103A; color:white 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 |- y background:#D0103A; color:white 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 |- y background:#D0103A; color:white 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 |- y background:#D0103A; color:white 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 Schedulehttps://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SYR/1951_games.html 1950-51 Syracuse Nationals Schedule and Results basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 Playoffs Syracuse Nationals 1951 #0046AD white yes Syracuse Nationals Division Semifinals yes #D0103A white no 1 0 1 0 yes |- | 1 | March 20 | @ Philadelphia | W 91–89 (OT)https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195103200PHW.html 1951 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals Game 1: Syracuse Nationals at Philadelphia Warriors Box Score, March 20, 1951 basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 | Fred Scolari (23) | Dolph Schayes (13) | Seymour, Cervi (7) | Philadelphia Arena | 1–0 |- | 2 | March 22 | Philadelphia | W 90–78https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195103220SYR.html 1951 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals Game 2: Philadelphia Warriors at Syracuse Nationals Box Score, March 22, 1951 basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 | Dolph Schayes (24) | Dolph Schayes (16) | Seymour, Hannum (5) | State Fair Coliseum | 2–0 |- Syracuse Nationals Division Finals #D0103A white no 2 0 0 3 yes yes |- | 1 | March 28 | @ New York | L 92–103https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195103280NYK.html 1951 NBA Eastern Division Finals Game 1: Syracuse Nationals at New York Knicks Box Score, March 28, 1951 basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 | George Ratkovicz (22) | Alex Hannum (7) | Madison Square Garden III | 0–1 |- | 2 | March 29 | New York | W 102–80https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195103290SYR.html 1951 NBA Eastern Division Finals Game 2: New York Knicks at Syracuse Nationals Box Score, March 29, 1951 basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 | Dolph Schayes (21) | Al Cervi (9) | State Fair Coliseum | 1–1 |- | 3 | March 31 | @ New York | L 75–77 (OT)https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195103310NYK.html 1951 NBA Eastern Division Finals Game 3: Syracuse Nationals at New York Knicks Box Score, March 31, 1951 basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 | Dolph Schayes (17) | — | Madison Square Garden III | 1–2 |- | 4 | April 1 | New York | W 90–83https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195104010SYR.html 1951 NBA Eastern Division Finals Game 4: New York Knicks at Syracuse Nationals Box Score, April 1, 1951 basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 | Dolph Schayes (34) | Al Cervi (8) | State Fair Coliseum | 2–2 |- | 5 | April 4 | @ New York | L 81–83https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/195104040NYK.html 1951 NBA Eastern Division Finals Game 5: Syracuse Nationals at New York Knicks Box Score, April 4, 1951 basketball-reference.com 13 December 2024 | Dolph Schayes (14) | four players tied (3) | Madison Square Garden III | 2–3 |- SYR 1951 yes Awards and records Dolph Schayes, All-NBA Second Team References External links Nationals on Basketball Reference Syracuse Category:Philadelphia 76ers seasons Syracuse Nationals Syracuse Nationals