The Lost MVP: 1951-52

We finally have a debate!

George Mikan handily won the 1950 and 1951 Lost MVP awards.

Well, I’m not so sure he’s the winner here in 1952. He’s still got a damn good case. Trouble is that his case is weaker than years before and there’s a young upstart forward in Philadelphia who put together one of the greatest offensive seasons in league history. And one of Mikan’s own teammates took a step toward stardom. Plus there was a dynamite duo in Boston laying their own claim.

This is gonna be tough.

(At least the NBA finally started tracking minutes played this season.)

Bobby Wanzer: great case, but sorry bud

For the third year in a row, the Rochester Royals produced a different strong MVP candidate. Typical for the squad that relied on a swarm of great players.

In 1950, Bob Davies was the contender. In 1951 it was Arnie Risen. Now it is Bobby Wanzer.

Great numbers for Wanzer who became the first player in NBA history to nail more than 90% of his free throws for a season. The Royals also finished with the NBA’s best record (41-25) just a game ahead of their nemesis, the Minneapolis Lakers.

Wanzer’s got a classic great case: best player on the best team in the league. But as mentioned already, Rochester was a swarm squad. Wanzer was the best this season, but he wasn’t dramatically better than Davies or Risen.

Bob Cousy and Ed Macauley: Celtics eating away at the other’s chances

Last season, Ed Macauley finished third in my Lost MVP ballot. This year, he was slightly worse as a player. To make matters worse for Macauley second-year guard Bob Cousy blossomed. The two Celtics stars pushed Boston to a 39-27 record, just one game behind the Syracuse Nationals for best in the East.

In the process, though, the two studs made it hard to assign credit for such a great season. I mean, you look at their stats and decide who has greater merit for Boston’s team performance.

Cousy and Macauley do get kudos for being the first pair of NBA teammates to simultaneously approach 20 PPG. In an era of relatively low scores, Boston was the one team willing to put on a fast-paced offensive show.

And wait till Bill Sharman gets cracking!

Paul Arizin: Lone Warrior

Okay, second-year forward Arizin wasn’t completely alone, but the Philadelphia Warriors almost had him lonesome. Only guard Andy Phillip provided some reliable aid on this team averaging 12.0 PPG, a league-leading 8.2 APG, and 6.6 RPG.

The only other offensive threat on the team was an aged Joe Fulks. Once the headliner of the BAA, Fulks was now on his last legs averaging 15.1 PPG on a putrid (even for the era) .312 FG%.

All this makes it even more shocking Philadelphia managed to pull out a 33-33 record and that was largely thanks to Arizin’s efforts, which were pretty extraordinary. Not just great numbers, but the man had a bevvy of offensive moves and was one of the first deadly purveyors of the jump shot.

George Mikan and Vern Mikkelsen: Lakers eating away at the other’s chances

The obvious Lost MVP from 1950 and 1951 isn’t so obvious for the award this season. That’s partly Mikan’s own fault as his scoring prowess noticeably dropped this season. Meanwhile, third-year man Vern Mikkelsen stepped forward as an offensive force to compliment his tenacious defensive skills.

The fabulous Jim Pollard was still second in scoring on the Lakers (15.5 PPG) with Mikan leading the team with a healthy 23.8 PPG, but Mikkelsen surged up to 15.3 PPG while easily leading the team in FG%.

The big center and the big forward were shadowing each other and along with Pollard pushed Minneapolis to a 40-26 record. Mikan still deserves the greater credit for MPLS’s success, but is it enough to retain the Lost MVP? Especially considering he had another MVP candidate riding shotgun?

Well… the winner is…

Paul Arizin!

The deciding factor—for me at least—was that all the other players had ample help and this man didn’t. And this man was a fucking wrecking ball this season.

He finished third in the league in TS% (.546) just barely behind Harry Gallatin (.547) and Arnie Johnson (.565). However, he averaged more points than those two combined.

Arizin led the NBA in total points, points per game, field goals made, field goal percentage, free throws made, free throws attempted and minutes played. His field goal attempts were second only to Mikan and Cousy, both of whom he smashed in accuracy.

It’s hard to scroll through the annals of NBA history and find a player who so heavily propped up his team’s offense while also so thoroughly outclassing all other players in efficiency… even as those other players had superior teammates to provide a baseline of excellence for them.

Too bad Arizin won’t be able to defend this Lost MVP award.

The United States Marines drafted him after this season and we won’t see him back in the NBA until the 1954-55 season.

Final Ballot

#1 Paul Arizin
#2 George Mikan
#3 Ed Macauley
#4 Bob Cousy
#5 Vern Mikkelsen