1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers season

The 1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers season was the fourth season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA widened the foul lane before the 1951–52 season in an attempt to slow down George Mikan. Despite the change, it had little effect on Mikan. He still averaged 23.8 points per game, although he lost the scoring title to Paul Arizin, from the Philadelphia Warriors. The Lakers went into the campaign with essentially the same lineup. Rochester took first place in the Western Division by a game, but the Lakers ousted the Royals in four games in the division finals. The NBA Finals would have the Lakers oppose the New York Knickerbockers. Games 3 and 4 of the Finals were played at the 69th Regiment Armory instead of at Madison Square Garden. This was because of a famous circus being in town at the time. The teams split those games, as well as Games 5 and 6. Game 7 was dominated by Minneapolis. The Lakers pounded out an 82–65 win, at home, to claim their third NBA crown in their first four seasons. HoopsHype later ranked this squad as the team with the 14th easiest route to the NBA Finals championship.

Player stats
Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Playoffs

 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 1
 * March 23
 * Indianapolis
 * W 78–70
 * George Mikan (24)
 * Minneapolis Auditorium
 * 1–0
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 2
 * March 25
 * @ Indianapolis
 * W 94–87
 * George Mikan (36)
 * Butler Fieldhouse
 * 2–0


 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 1
 * March 29
 * @ Rochester
 * L 78–88
 * George Mikan (47)
 * Edgerton Park Arena
 * 0–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 2
 * March 30
 * @ Rochester
 * W 83–78 (OT)
 * Vern Mikkelsen (19)
 * Edgerton Park Arena
 * 1–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 3
 * April 5
 * Rochester
 * W 77–67
 * Jim Pollard (22)
 * Minneapolis Auditorium
 * 2–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 4
 * April 6
 * Rochester
 * W 82–80
 * Saul, Mikkelsen (18)
 * Minneapolis Auditorium
 * 3–1


 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 1
 * April 12
 * New York
 * W 83–79 (OT)
 * Jim Pollard (34)
 * George Mikan (16)
 * Pollard, Mikan (4)
 * St. Paul Auditorium 8,722
 * 1–0
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 2
 * April 13
 * New York
 * L 72–80
 * George Mikan (18)
 * George Mikan (21)
 * Slater Martin (4)
 * St. Paul Auditorium
 * 1–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 3
 * April 16
 * @ New York
 * W 82–77
 * George Mikan (26)
 * George Mikan (17)
 * Pep Saul (8)
 * 69th Regiment Armory 4,500
 * 2–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 4
 * April 18
 * @ New York
 * L 89–90 (OT)
 * Slater Martin (32)
 * George Mikan (17)
 * Pep Saul (5)
 * 69th Regiment Armory 5,200
 * 2–2
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 5
 * April 20
 * New York
 * W 102–89
 * Mikkelsen, Mikan (32)
 * George Mikan (17)
 * Pep Saul (5)
 * St. Paul Auditorium 7,244
 * 3–2
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 6
 * April 23
 * @ New York
 * L 68–76
 * George Mikan (28)
 * George Mikan (15)
 * Slater Martin (9)
 * 69th Regiment Armory 3,000
 * 3–3
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 7
 * April 25
 * New York
 * W 82–65
 * George Mikan (22)
 * George Mikan (19)
 * Slater Martin (6)
 * Minneapolis Auditorium 8,612
 * 4–3

Awards and honors

 * George Mikan, All-NBA First Team
 * Vern Mikkelsen, All-NBA Second Team
 * Jim Pollard, All-NBA Second Team
 * George Mikan, NBA All-Star Game
 * Vern Mikkelsen, NBA All-Star Game
 * Jim Pollard, NBA All-Star Game