1953 NBA All-Star Game
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| Date | Tuesday, January 13, 1953 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Arena | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum | |||||||||||||||||
| City | Fort Wayne | |||||||||||||||||
| MVP | George Mikan | |||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 10,322 | |||||||||||||||||
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The 3rd Annual NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on January 13, 1953, at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, home of the Fort Wayne Pistons. The game was the third edition of the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game and was played during the 1952–53 NBA season. This was the only All-Star game held at Fort Wayne, as the Pistons would relocate to Detroit in 1957. It was also the first to be hosted in the state of Indiana; subsequent games were hosted in Indianapolis by the Indiana Pacers after they joined the NBA in 1976.
The Western All-Stars team defeated the Eastern All-Stars team 79–75; this was the lowest scoring NBA All-Star game ever as both teams combined for 154 points. This was the West's first ever win over the East. Minneapolis Lakers' George Mikan, who led the West with 22 points and 16 rebounds, was named as the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.
Coaches
[edit]Minneapolis Lakers head coach John Kundla returned to coach the Western All-Stars for the third straight year. New York Knickerbockers head coach Joe Lapchick was named as the Eastern All-Stars head coach for the second time. Both the Lakers and Knickerbockers had led their respective divisions entering the month of January. Although New York was later overtaken by the Boston Celtics, reclaimed the lead, and was overtaken this time by the Syracuse Nationals less than a week before the game,[1] these changes occurred after the cut-off date and did not affect Lapchick's selection.
Roster
[edit]The players for the All-Star Game were chosen by sports writers in several cities. They were not allowed to select players from their own cities. Players were selected without regard to position. Ten players from each Division were selected to represent the Eastern and Western Division in the All-Star Game. However, Fred Scolari suffered an injury and was unable to participate in the game; one other player was added to the roster. Eight players from the previous year's Western All-Stars roster returned, while only five players from the previous year's Eastern All-Stars roster returned. Eight players, Don Barksdale, Carl Braun, Billy Gabor, Mel Hutchins, Neil Johnston, Slater Martin, Paul Seymour and Bill Sharman, were selected for the first time. Barksdale, one of the first African American players in the NBA, became the first African American to play in an All-Star Game.[2] The Boston Celtics were represented by four players in the roster while three other teams, the Minneapolis Lakers, the New York Knickerbockers, and the Rochester Royals, were represented by three players each on the roster. The starters were chosen by each team's head coach.
Game
[edit]The West defeated the East by 4 points. The game was a tight contest with plenty of lead changes in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, West's Bob Davies scored eight successive points to give the West a lead.[3] The West outscored the East 22–20 in the fourth quarter to win the game by four points. However, the All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award went to Minneapolis Lakers center George Mikan who scored a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds for the West. Boston Celtics' Ed Macauley led the East with 18 points while Syracuse Nationals' Dolph Schayes recorded 13 rebounds. Despite losing the game, the East had more balanced scoring with four players scoring in double-figures while the West only had Mikan and Larry Foust scoring in double-figures. Both teams did not shoot well, the East had 37.9 field goal percentage, while the West only managed to make 35.4 percent of its shots. The combined 154 points scored is the lowest total points scored in an All-Star Game.[4]
Box score
[edit]January 13, 1953 |
| Eastern All-Stars 75, Western All-Stars 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 14–15, 21–22, 20–22 | ||
| Pts: Ed Macauley 18 Rebs: Dolph Schayes 13 Asts: Cousy, Macauley, Schayes 3 each |
Pts: George Mikan 22 Rebs: George Mikan 16 Asts: Andy Phillip 8 |
| Legend | |||||||||
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| Pos | Position | Min | Minutes played | FGM | Field goals made | FGA | Field goal attempted | FTM | Free throws made |
| FTA | Free throw attempted | Reb | Rebounds | Ast | Assists | PF | Personal fouls | Pts | Points |
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References
[edit]- General
- "1953 All-Star Game recap". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. August 17, 2011. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
- "1953 All-Star Game Boxscore". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- "1953 All-Star Game: West 79, East 75". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved February 13, 2012.
- "1953 NBA All-Star Game". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2011.
- Specific
- ↑ "1952-53 NBA Standings by Date". Basketball Reference. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Don Barksdale, 69, One of First Blacks To Play in N.B.A." The New York Times. March 11, 1993. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ↑ "West Nips East, 79–74, In All-Star Cage Tilt". Milwaukee Sentinel. January 14, 1953. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ↑ Schuhmann, John (February 11, 2010). "These numbers get the All-Star treatment". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on December 2, 2010. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
External links
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