1948–49 BAA season

Third NBA season

Sports season

1948–49 BAA season

League| Basketball Association of America
Sport| Basketball
Duration|

* November 1, 1948 – March 20, 1949
* March 22 – April 2, 1949 (Playoffs)
* April 4–13, 1949 (Finals)

Number of games| 60
Number of teams| 12
Draft
Top draft pick| Andy Tonkovich
Picked by| Providence Steamrollers
Regular season
Top seed| Rochester Royals
Top scorer| George Mikan (Minneapolis)
Playoffs
Eastern champions| Washington Capitols
Eastern runners-up| New York Knicks
Western champions| Minneapolis Lakers
Western runners-up| Rochester Royals
Finals
Champions| Minneapolis Lakers
Runners-up| Washington Capitols
BAA/NBA seasons

← 1947–48

1949–50 →

The 1948–49 BAA season was the third and final season of the Basketball Association of America. The 1949 BAA Playoffs ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning the BAA Championship, beating the Washington Capitols in six games in the BAA Finals.

The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history so the 1948–49 BAA season is considered the third NBA season.[1] Following the season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.[2]

## Notable occurrences[edit]

Four National Basketball League teams (Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Rochester) joined the BAA for the 1948–49 season.

Coaching changes  Offseason

Team  | 1947–48 coach  | 1948–49 coach
Boston Celtics | Honey Russell | Doggie Julian
Providence Steamrollers | Nat Hickey | Ken Loeffler
St. Louis Bombers | Ken Loeffler | Grady Lewis
In-season
Team  | Outgoing coach  | Incoming coach
Chicago Stags | Harold Olsen | Philip Brownstein

## Final standings[edit]

### Eastern Division[edit]

| #  |

Eastern Division

* v
* t
* e

|

Team  |  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB
1  | x-Washington Capitols | 38 | 22 | .633 | –
2  | x-New York Knicks | 32 | 28 | .533 | 6
3  | x-Baltimore Bullets | 29 | 31 | .483 | 9
4  | x-Philadelphia Warriors | 28 | 32 | .467 | 10
5  | Boston Celtics | 25 | 35 | .417 | 13
6  | Providence Steamrollers | 12 | 48 | .200 | 26

### Western Division[edit]

| #  |

Western Division

* v
* t
* e

|

Team  |  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB
1  | x-Rochester Royals | 45 | 15 | .750 | –
2  | x-Minneapolis Lakers | 44 | 16 | .733 | 1
3  | x-Chicago Stags | 38 | 22 | .633 | 7
4  | x-St. Louis Bombers | 29 | 31 | .483 | 16
5  | Fort Wayne Pistons | 22 | 38 | .367 | 23
6  | Indianapolis Jets | 18 | 42 | .300 | 27

## Playoffs[edit]

Main article: 1949 BAA playoffs

| Division Semifinals | | | Division Finals | | | BAA Finals |

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|  |  |  | | |  |  |  | | |  |  |  |
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | | |
| E4 | Philadelphia | 0 |
| | E1 | Washington* | 2 |
| Eastern Division |
| | | E2 | New York | 1 |
| E2 | New York | 2 |

| E3 | Baltimore | 1 |
| | E1 | Washington* | 2 |
|  |
| | | W2 | Minneapolis | 4 |
| W1 | Rochester* | 2 | |

| W4 | St. Louis | 0 |
| | W1 | Rochester* | 0 |
| Western Division |
| | | W2 | Minneapolis | 2 |
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 |

| W3 | Chicago | 0 |

* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner

## Statistics leaders[edit]

Category | Player | Team | Stat

|
|
|

Points | George Mikan | Minneapolis Lakers | 1,698
Assists | Bob Davies | Rochester Royals | 321
FG% | Arnie Risen | Rochester Royals | .423
FT% | Bob Feerick | Washington Capitols | .859

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

## BAA awards[edit]

* All-BAA First Team:
* G Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags
* G/F Bob Davies, Rochester Royals
* C George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
* F Jim Pollard, Minneapolis Lakers
* F Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors
* All-BAA Second Team
* C Arnie Risen, Rochester Royals
* C Bob Feerick, Washington Capitols
* F/C Bones McKinney, Washington Capitols
* G Ken Sailors, Providence Steamrollers
* G John Logan, St. Louis Bombers

## See also[edit]

* List of NBA regular season records

## References[edit]

1. ^ "NBA Season Recaps: 1946–2019". NBA.com. July 24, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
2. ^ "NBA is born". History. November 16, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2020.

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* v
* t
* e

1948–49 BAA season by team

* 1948 BAA draft
* Playoffs
* Finals
* Transactions

Eastern|

* Baltimore
* Boston
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Providence
* Washington

Western|

* Chicago
* Fort Wayne
* Indianapolis
* Minneapolis
* Rochester
* St. Louis

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[ W ]: Games won
*[ L ]: Games lost
*[ PCT ]: Winning percentage
*[ GB ]: Games behind