The Lost Finals MVP: 1951
Make room for Stretch!
I’ve been so excited for this article because Arnie Risen gets his time to shine!
In the only NBA championship series to feature two teams from the same state, Risen’s Rochester Royals defeated the New York Knicks in seven games. And it was a hilarious rollercoaster series.
The Royals held home court advantage and absolutely beat the brakes off the Knicks in Game 1, 92-65. Game 2 was another beat down (99-84) for Rochester. The third game ended 78-71 in favor of the Royals.
After three games the upstate squad held a 3-0 series lead.
And then the Knicks came back.
Game 4: 79-73
Game 5: 92-89
Game 6: 80-73
No blowouts, but the Knicks emerged victorious every time to tie the series at 3-3.
With Game 7 in Rochester, the Royals held on for a 79-75 victory to clinch the franchise’s only NBA title. (They also have an NBL title from 1946).
Arnie Risen was the key figure in putting Rochester ahead and saving their butts. He averaged 21.7 PPG, 14.3 RPG, and 2.7 APG. The points and rebounds led both teams in the series.
Here are his game-by-game stats for the ‘51 Finals.
Game 1: 24 points / 15 rebounds / 5 assists
Game 2: 19 points / 14 rebounds / 4 assists
Game 3: 27 points / 18 rebounds / 0 assists
Game 4: 26 points / 20 rebounds / 1 assist
Game 5: 20 points / 14 rebounds / 4 assists
Game 6: 12 points / 6 rebounds / 3 assists
Game 7: 24 points / 13 rebounds / 2 assists
So, that’s only one clunker of a game in this series for Stretch, who came up big in the final game.
With about two minutes remaining in the climactic contest, the Royals trailed the Knicks, 72-74. In the span of about 15 seconds, Risen was able to hit a free throw and nail a hook shot to give Rochester a 75-74 lead.
The Knicks added one free throw, but Royals star Bob Davies subsequently made two free throws of his own to push Rochester up to a 77-75 lead. The game ended, 79-75.
Pop the champagne, Royals!
Rochester had good play from other men, particularly forward Jack Coleman (14 points, 28 rebounds, 8 assists in Game 2!), but the box scores don’t lie. This was Risen’s series. And the other Royals would sometimes slack off even as he was clearly carrying the whole show at times and needed help.
Even one of Rochester’s basketball beat writers was getting annoyed that the Royals had squandered a 3-0 series lead, yet were still coasting on Risen’s play.
The Rochester Royals (or any franchise iteration thereof) would never again appear in an NBA Finals, despite almost annually having the best or second-best regular season record in the league during the early 1950s. They had the misfortune of being in the same division as the Minneapolis Lakers, who of course usually won the NBA title.
Being in the same division meant the Lakers beat up Rochester in the Western playoffs before the Royals ever had a chance to compete in the championship round.
HOWEVER, this 1951 title does mean that Rochester did the seemingly impossible. They were the only team to defeat the Lakers in either the NBL, BAA, or NBA playoffs during Mikan’s career.
And Risen then carried them to the promised land of a title against the Knicks.
If only the NBA handed out Finals MVP awards to make sure Risen’s accomplishment would be duly remembered.
Oh well, that’s why there’s ProHoopsHistory.