1951 NBA Finals

1951 basketball championship series August 2023 NBA 1951 New York Knickerbockers Joe Lapchick 3 Rochester Royals Les Harrison 4 April 7–21 Royals:Bob Davies (1970)Red Holzman (1986, coach)Bobby Wanzer (1987)Arnie Risen (1998)Knickerbockers:Harry Gallatin (1991)Dick McGuire (1993)Nat Clifton (2014)Coaches:Joe Lapchick (1966, player)Les Harrison (1980, contributor)Officials:Pat Kennedy (1959) Knickerbockers defeated Nationals, 3–2 Royals defeated Lakers, 3–1 The 1951 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1951 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association 1950–51 season. It featured an all-New York matchup Western Division champion Rochester Royals faced the Eastern Division champion New York Knickerbockers in a best-of-seven series with Rochester having home-court advantage. This was the only time the NBA Finals ever featured two teams from the same state. Rochester won the first three games, two at home, but New York won the next three, two at home. It was the first BAA or NBA Finals (spanning 1947 to 1951)BAA that extended to a seventh-game conclusion, a 4-point win by Rochester at home on Saturday, April 21. The seven games were played in fifteen days, beginning Saturday and Sunday, April 7 and 8, in Rochester and incorporating one game in Rochester on each following weekend. Three Wednesday or Friday games were played in New York City. The entire postseason tournament spanned 33 days in which both Rochester and New York played 14 games. The Royals appeared in their first NBA finals by defeating the Fort Wayne Pistons in the semifinals and the two-time defending champion Minneapolis Lakers in the division finals while the Knickerbockers defeated the Boston Celtics in the semifinals and the Syracuse Nationals in the division finals. This was the first finals appearance for both teams, and the first Finals with two teams that had not made a finals appearance since the 1947 BAA Finals. As of 2026, this is the only NBA Finals won by the Royals franchise, now known as the Sacramento Kings, who currently hold the longest NBA title drought. Team rosters Rochester Royals Rochester Royals 1950–51 19 Bill Calhoun basketball SG 6 3 180 1927-11-04 City College of San Francisco 10 Jack Coleman basketball PF 6 7 195 1924-05-23 Louisville 11 Bob Davies PG 6 1 175 1920-01-15 Seton Hall 16 Red Holzman PG 5 10 175 1920-08-10 City College of New York 12 Arnie Johnson SF 6 5 236 1920-05-16 Bemidji State 20 Joe McNamee SF 6 6 210 1926-09-24 San Francisco 18 Ed Mikan C 6 8 230 1925-10-20 DePaul 07, 15 Paul Noel F 6 4 185 1924-08-17 Kentucky 14 Arnie Risen C 6 9 200 Ohio State 03 Pep Saul basketball SG 6 2 185 Seton Hall 09 Bobby Wanzer G 6 0 170 1921-06-04 Seton Hall Les Harrison https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/ROC/1951.html New York Knickerbockers New York Knicks 1950–51 12 Vince Boryla SF 6 5 210 Denver 19 Nathaniel Clifton PF 6 6 220 Xavier (Louisiana) Ray Ellefson C 6 8 230 West Texas A&M University 11 Harry Gallatin F/C 6 6 210 Truman State 14 Gene James F 6 4 180 Marshall 17 George Kaftan SF 6 3 190 Holy Cross 6, 16 Tony Lavelli F 6 3 185 Yale 7 Ray Lumpp G 6 1 178 NYU 15 Dick McGuire PG 6 0 180 St. John's 10 Tex Ritter basketball G/F 6 2 185 Eastern Kentucky 18 Connie Simmons C/F 6 8 222 9 Ernie Vandeweghe F/G 6 3 195 Colgate 5 Max Zaslofsky SG 6 2 170 St. John's Joe Lapchick https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NYK/1951.html Series summary Game Date Home team Result Road team Game 1 April 7 Rochester Royals 92–65 (1–0) New York Knickerbockers Game 2 April 8 Rochester Royals 99–84 (2–0) New York Knickerbockers Game 3 April 11 New York Knickerbockers 71–78 (0–3) Rochester Royals Game 4 April 13 New York Knickerbockers 79–73 (1–3) Rochester Royals Game 5 April 15 Rochester Royals 89–92 (3–2) New York Knickerbockers Game 6 April 18 New York Knickerbockers 80–73 (3–3) Rochester Royals Game 7 April 21 Rochester Royals 79–75 (4–3) New York Knickerbockers Royals win series 4–3 The Rochester / Cincinnati Royals / Kansas City / Sacramento Kings won their first ever NBA Championship. Box scores #eee April 7 Boxscore New York Knickerbockers 65 Rochester Royals 92 18–24 16–27 16–21 15–20 Vince Boryla 13 Simmons, Clifton 10 each Ernie Vandeweghe 4 Arnie Risen 24 Arnie Risen 15 Bobby Wanzer 9 Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York 4,200 Rochester leads series, 1–0 April 8 Boxscore New York Knickerbockers 84 Rochester Royals 99 17–26 21–21 28–26 18–26 Max Zaslofsky 28 Harry Gallatin 17 Vince Boryla 7 Bob Davies 24 Jack Coleman 28 Jack Coleman 8 Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York 4,200 Rochester leads series, 2–0 #eee April 11 Boxscore Rochester Royals 78 New York Knickerbockers 71 15–17 20–16 16–15 27–23 Arnie Risen 27 Arnie Risen 18 Bob Davies 8 Vince Boryla 20 Nat Clifton 11 Dick McGuire 7 69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York 5,000 Rochester leads series, 3–0 April 13 Boxscore Rochester Royals 73 New York Knickerbockers 79 10–21 18–19 28–17 17–22 Arnie Risen 26 Arnie Risen 20 Jack Coleman 9 Harry Gallatin 22 Nat Clifton 17 Zaslofsky, Clifton 6 each 69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York 4,000 Rochester leads series, 3–1 #eee April 15 Boxscore New York Knickerbockers 92 Rochester Royals 89 25–28 19–21 29–21 19–19 Connie Simmons 26 Nat Clifton 10 Nat Clifton 7 Bobby Wanzer 21 Arnie Risen 14 Bob Davies 10 Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York 4,200 Rochester leads series, 3–2 April 18 Boxscore Rochester Royals 73 New York Knickerbockers 80 21–19 17–19 12–15 23–27 Arnie Johnson 27 Arnie Johnson 15 Jack Coleman 8 Max Zaslofsky 23 Ernie Vandeweghe 8 Dick McGuire 6 69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan, New York 4,500 Series tied, 3–3 #eee April 21 Boxscore New York Knickerbockers 75 Rochester Royals 79 16–22 18–18 26–22 15–17 Zaslofsky, Boryla 16 each Harry Gallatin 10 Ernie Vandeweghe 5 Arnie Risen 24 Arnie Risen 13 Jack Coleman 9 Edgerton Park Arena, Rochester, New York 4,200 Rochester wins series, 4–3 The Knickerbockers led 74–72 with under three minutes later but Arnie Risen and Bob Davies (who combined for 44 points scored in the game) managed to draw quick shots and free throws in the final minutes to give the Royals a 79–75 victory. Contrary to today's practices, there was no trophy presentation or a parade.Democrat and Chronicle Subscription Offers, Specials, and Discounts https://subscribe.democratandchronicle.com/restricted 2024-03-28 subscribe.democratandchronicle.comOctober 2025 Aftermath This was the first and to date last title for the Rochester Royals, who would move to Cincinnati, Ohio for the 1958 season. The Royals would spend 15 years mired in mediocrity before moving to Kansas City, Missouri in 1972, changing their name in the process to the Kings. One notable highlight was their appearance in the 1981 NBA playoffs, in which their 40–42 team reached the Western Conference finals before losing to the Houston Rockets, who also had a 40–42 record. The Kings moved to Sacramento, California in 1985, where they have remained to this day. The team reached the Western Conference finals in 2002, where they lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers in a highly controversial series.https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/kings-robbed-in-2002-western-conference-finals-tim-donaghy-claims/1310810/?amp=1 Ham, James Kings 'robbed' in 2002 Western Conference finals, Tim Donaghy claims NBC Sports Bay Area November 1, 2019 June 4, 2024 The Kings’ 2002 Western Conference final run was the closest the team got to reaching the NBA Finals in the modern era. The Royals/Kings have the longest NBA title drought, the longest NBA Finals appearance drought, the longest active championship round appearance drought in all four of the American major pro sports leagues, and the third longest championship drought in North American sports.https://www.si.com/mlb/2023/11/02/here-are-longest-championship-droughts-four-major-north-american-sports-rangers-world-series Salvador Joseph Here Are the Longest Championship Droughts in the Four Major North American Sports Sports Illustrated November 2, 2023 February 16, 2025 This would be the Knickerbockers' first of three consecutive appearances in the Finals, but they would lose all three times. They would not return to the Finals until 1970, which they won. Notes 25em BAA The Basketball Association of America (BAA) played three seasons, 1946–47 to 1948–49, all with postseason tournaments that concluded in best-of-seven series. The NBA recognizes BAA history as part of its own, sometimes without comment."NBA Season Recaps". NBA History (nba.com/history). July 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-04. The NBA was actually created by 1949 merger of the BAA and its older competitor, the National Basketball League. There were 12 NBL championships, all finally decided by a best-of-three or best-of-five series. References 25em "1950–51 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-04.  Select "Previous 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. External links 1951 Finals at NBA.com 1951 NBA Playoffs at Basketball-Reference.com Category:NBA Finals Finals Category:Rochester Royals NBA Finals NBA Finals NBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in New York City Category:Sports competitions in Rochester, New York NBA Finals Category:1950s in Manhattan Category:Rose Hill, Manhattan