NBA 1950S

The 50s was a different time, but a revolutionary time which changed the NBA entirely

Color Barrier Broken

The 50s is when the color barrier was broken when Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Nat Cilfton were drafted into the NBA. Most people would not even know the names of these pioneers, who paved the way for players such as Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan. Lloyd is the only one of the threesome that is still alive. In his words, "If adversity doesn't kill you, it makes you a better person." At that time Jackie Robinson in 1947 was the only African American playing professional baseball. With Lloyd, Cilfton, and Cooper playing at the same time they didn't have to carry the burden alone unlike Robinson. In one of Lloyd’s games that he had won his game and as he would leave fans would spit on him. Lloyd would be turned away by diners and would eating alone by himself in his room at the hotel and his coach Horace McKinney would join Lloyd for dinner to support him. His coach didn't have to do that, but those are the things people don't forget.  Lloyd won his first championship with The Syracuse Nationals and retired at the age of 32 with a career average of 8ppg and 6rbg.  Cilfton averaged 10ppg and 8rpg and made it on the 1956 All-Star team in the NBA after a brief stint in the Army.

Pettit’s Revenge

In the early years of the NBA the Boston Celtics and the St. Louis Hawks had one of the best rivalry. The Hawks met the Celtics 4 time out of the five years beginning with the 1956-57 season. That season, the Celtics had won their first championship with a score of 125-123 in double-overtime of Game 7. The next season the Hawks came back with a vendetta to beat the Celtics. This time they stunned the Celtics by beating the Celtics 104-102 at the Boston Garden. The Celtics came back to win Game 2, but in Game 3 Bill Russell sprained his ankle which would hurt his team. They both spilt Games 3 and 4 bringing it back to St. Louis for the victory. In Game 6 Pettit had his best game with 50 points, which the Hawks win their first championship.     

Celtics Legacy beginning

The 50s were a different time compared to today’s NBA standards. In the 50s there were no shot clocks and not a lot of athleticism. However, what made the game even more different was with no shot clock when the opposing team got the lead, then they did not have to score anymore and just played keep away with the ball. The game became boring for the paying fans. Pretty soon teams would start fouling each other so they could get back into the game and try to get the lead. This made games into a free throw shot out. In the 1953 Playoffs, the Boston Celtics and the Syracuse Nationals squared off and went into quadruple overtime and ended with a score of 111-105. Boston won the series. The famous Bob Cousy set an NBA record of 32 attempted free throws and made 30 of them and he also had 50 points that game. Celtics coach Red Auerbach told his team to give the ball to Cousy so that he would get fouled, which helped them win their first of many championships to come.