1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season

1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season
Division Champions
Head coach	Al Cervi
Arena	State Fair Coliseum
Results
Record	51–13 (.797)
Place	Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (eliminated 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	WNDR

The 1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season was the first season for the Nationals in the National Basketball Association. The Nationals had played their three previous seasons in the National Basketball League, which merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA. Al Cervi, nicknamed "Digger" for his superior defensive skills, guided the team with his competitive nature while serving as a player-coach. As the Syracuse Post-Standard describes, "The Nationals shot poorly but succeeded because they played Cervi-style basketball: nasty, with an emphasis on defense."^[1] The Nationals went to the NBA Finals after beating the Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knicks, but lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in six games.

Draft picks

Main article: 1949 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Roster

Syracuse Nationals 1949–50 roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Nat.	Name	Ht.	Wt.
2.5 !G/F	15	USA !	Cervi, Al	7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	East High School (Buffalo)
4.0 !F	9/11	USA !	Chollet, Leroy	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Canisius College
1.5 !G	4/9	USA !	Corley, Ray	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Georgetown
2.5 !G/F	7/35	USA !	Gabor, Bill	7000180340000000000♠5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Syracuse
5.5 !F/C	10	USA !	Hannum, Alex	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Southern California
2.5 !G/F	14	USA !	Levane, Andrew	7000187960000000000♠6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	St. John's
2.5 !G/F	5	USA !	Macknowski, Johnny	7000182880000000000♠6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Seton Hall
6.0 !C	13/50	USA !	Peterson, Ed	7000205740000000000♠6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Cornell University
5.5 !F/C	6/65	USA !	Ratkovicz, George	7000198120000000000♠6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Lindblom High School (Chicago)
5.5 !F/C	4/55	USA !	Schayes, Dolph	7000200659999999999♠6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	New York University
2.5 !G/F	8/25	USA !	Seymour, Paul	7000185420000000000♠6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Toledo

Head coach

Al Cervi (East High School (Buffalo))

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster

Regular season

Standings

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Syracuse Nationals	51	13	.797	–	31–1	15–12	5–0	9–1
x-New York Knicks	40	28	.588	13	19–10	18–16	3–2	20–6
x-Washington Capitols	32	36	.471	21	21–13	10–20	1–3	13–13
x-Philadelphia Warriors	26	42	.382	25	15–15	8–23	3–4	9–17
Baltimore Bullets	25	43	.368	26	16–15	8–25	1–3	8–18
Boston Celtics	22	46	.324	29	12–14	5–28	5–4	11–15

Record vs. opponents

1949–50 NBA records
Team	AND	BAL	BOS	CHI	DEN	FWP	IND	MIN	NYK	PHI	ROC	SHE	STL	SYR	TCB	WAS	WAT
Anderson	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–3	1–1	2–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	5–2	2–0	3–4	7–2	1–1	7–0
Baltimore	1–1	—	2–4	1–5	1–1	3–3	1–1	1–5	1–5	3–3	3–3	2–0	3–3	0–2	0–2	2–4	1–1
Boston	2–0	4–2	—	0–6	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–5	1–5	3–3	0–6	1–1	2–4	0–2	0–2	3–3	1–1
Chicago	1–1	5–1	6–0	—	2–0	2–4	1–1	2–4	2–4	4–2	2–4	2–0	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0
Denver	3–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	—	0–2	0–7	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–4	0–2	1–6	0–7	0–2	2–5
Fort Wayne	1–1	3–3	4–2	4–2	2–0	—	1–1	2–4	4–2	4–2	3–3	2–0	5–1	0–2	2–0	2–4	1–1
Indianapolis	5–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	7–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–2	1–1	2–7	4–3	1–1	5–2
Minneapolis	1–1	5–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	4–2	1–1	—	5–1	4–2	3–3	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	6–0	2–0
New York	1–1	5–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–4	1–1	1–5	—	1–5	1–5	1–1	4–2	0–2	1–1	5–1	2–0
Philadelphia	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–4	2–0	2–4	0–2	2–4	1–5	—	1–5	2–0	2–4	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0
Rochester	2–0	3–3	6–0	4–2	2–0	3–3	1–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	—	1–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	6–0	2–0
Sheboygan	2–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	4–3	0–2	2–5	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	1–6	3–4	2–0	4–3
St. Louis	0–2	3–3	4–2	1–5	2–0	1–5	1–1	1–5	2–4	4–2	1–5	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	0–6	1–1
Syracuse	4–3	2–0	2–0	2–0	6–1	2–0	7–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	6–1	1–1	—	6–1	1–1	6–1
Tri-Cities	2–7	2–0	2–0	1–1	7–0	0–2	3–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	4–3	0–2	1–6	—	1–1	4–3
Washington	1–1	4–2	3–3	3–3	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–6	1–5	4–2	0–6	0–2	6–0	1–1	1–1	—	1–1
Waterloo	0–7	1–1	1–1	0–2	5–2	1–1	2–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	3–4	1–1	1–6	3–4	1–1	—

Game log

1949–50 Game Log

Total: 51–13 (Home: 31–1 ; Road: 15–12 ; Neutral: 5–0)

November: 13–1 (Home: 8–0 ; Road: 3–1 ; Neutral: 2–0)

December: 11–3 (Home: 5–0 ; Road: 5–3 ; Neutral: 1–0)

January: 9–3 (Home: 7–1 ; Road: 1–2 ; Neutral: 1–0)

February: 11–4 (Home: 7–0 ; Road: 3–4 ; Neutral: 1–0)

March: 7–2 (Home: 4–0 ; Road: 3–2 ; Neutral: 0–0)

1949–50 Schedule

Playoffs

East Division Semifinals

(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (4) Philadelphia Warriors: Nationals win series 2–0
Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 93, Philadelphia 76
Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Syracuse 59, Philadelphia 53

East Division Finals

Eastern Division: (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (2) New York Knicks: Nationals win series 2–1
Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, New York 83 (OT)
Game 2 @ New York: New York 80, Syracuse 76
Game 3 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, New York 80

NBA Semifinals

The Nationals had an NBA Semifinal bye.

NBA Finals

(E1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (C1) Minneapolis Lakers: Lakers win series 4–2
Game 1 @ Syracuse: Minneapolis 68, Syracuse 66
Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, Minneapolis 85
Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 91, Syracuse 77
Game 4 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 77, Syracuse 69
Game 5 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 83, Minneapolis 76
Game 6 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 110, Syracuse 95

Awards and records

References

↑ Al Cervi, Hall of Fame N.B.A. Player-Coach, Dies at 92, New York Times, November 10, 2009.

1949–50 NBA season by team

1949 BAA draft Playoffs Finals Transactions

Eastern	Baltimore Boston New York Philadelphia Syracuse Washington

Central	Chicago Fort Wayne Minneapolis Rochester St. Louis

Western	Anderson Denver Indianapolis Sheboygan Tri-Cities Waterloo

Syracuse Nationals–Philadelphia 76ers seasons

1940s

1946–47

1947–48

1948–49

1950s

1954–55

1960s

1966–67

1970s

1980s

1982–83

1990s

2000s

2010s

Bold indicates NBA Finals victory

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