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This is Ancient NBA where we cover every NBA Finals there’s ever been.
This week’s video is on the 1959 NBA Finals
But first we have to go back a year.
The Minneapolis Lakers have just finished last in the league, winning only 19 games in the 57-58 season.
Fans weren’t coming to games as often, and the franchise was desperately looking for someone to help their former dynasty, get back to that championship status.
And with the first pick in the 1958 NBA Draft, the Minneapolis Lakers Select Elgin Baylor out of the University of Seattle.
They didn’t know it yet, but this man would be one of the greatest Lakers, well basketball players of all time.
Meanwhile in the middle of the country, Bob Pettit and the St. Louis Hawks are celebrating their championship win over the Boston Celtics.
Two years ago Boston beat St. Louis in the Finals for their first ever championship, but in 1958, the Hawks returned the favor.
Bill Russell had gone down with an ankle sprain in game 3, and was unable to play the rest of the series.. He was more focused than ever, knowing his team was capable of a true dynasty.
But the legendary Bob Pettit had just dropped 50 points in the last game of the Finals. to solidify the Hawks first ever championship over the Celtics. And now Pettit was trying to will his team to a third straight Finals appearance.
St. Louis was also dynasty hunting, having appeared in the last two NBA Finals, and winning one of them, they still had a good group of players easily capable of going back.
Cliff Hagan had led the playoffs in scoring last year, and former Laker Slater Martin was deep into his hall of fame career. Pettit felt good about their chances, as they win the west with a record of 49 and 23.
But this year, they’d have some real competition in the West. As the Lakers finish second this year at 33 and 39. Elgin Baylor had single handedly willed his team from last place in the NBA.
He scored 24 points a game as a rookie, the most complete player anyone had ever seen. And Bob Pettit along with the rest of the league could see that the Lakers would be most formidable in the west very soon.
As the 1959 playoffs start, Minneapolis would take on Detroit again in the 1st round, winning the series 2 to 1. They would once again face St. Louis in the Western Division Finals.
The Hawks would have to be at their best to beat this team. Minneapolis was hungry for revenge as St. Louis had beaten them out of the playoffs two years ago in the Western Division Finals.
Eastern Division Finals
Over in the Eastern Division the Celtics continue their domination of the league. Winning 52 games, the second straight year at the top. Bill Russell knew as long as everyone was playing their games, this league was theirs.
And this year they had a much better chance of stopping St. Louis from taking their potential dynasty status away. As Russell continued to get better, he and the Celtics would start the playoffs in the Eastern Finals – against the Syracuse Nationals.
The Nationals finished 35 and 37 this year, 3rd in the East, but they’d beaten the Knicks 2 to nothing in the first round.
They had a guy named Dolph Schayes, a very good scoring rebounder. and Boston would find out the hard way that he was a hall of famer.
The Nationals put up one of the best fights the Celtics had ever seen. Schayes was on a tear leading almost every game in points. The Celtics had been hit in the mouth in the Eastern Division Finals and Syracuse pushes it to game 7.
But the Celtics on top of having a guy who was psychopathic about winning in Bill Russell, were the deepest team the league had ever seen.
Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, Frank Ramsay, I mean anybody on that team could score as many as you needed. Including Bill Russell.
So the Celtics win game 7 by 5, and are headed to their third straight NBA Finals. They’d had a wake up call, letting the last series get to 7 games, so they were focused and ready on whoever would come out of the West.
It would either be Bob Pettit and the St. Louis Hawks, who had been there the last two times with Boston. The Celtics were very familiar with the way the Hawks played, and felt comfortable this year if they had to face them.
But this Lakers team was a surprise. From worst record in the league a year ago to now competing for a chance to make it to the NBA Finals. Bill Russell was watching Elgin Baylor closely. Knowing he had the potential to be great.
Western Conference Finals
The Rookie Baylor would lead his team into St. Louis for game one of the western division finals, but these were the defending champion Hawks. Cliff Hagan had a habit of leading the playoffs in points, and this game he’d drop 40 absolutely annihilating the Lakers by 34 points.
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Love this series! Great work!