1959–60 Minneapolis Lakers season

1959–60 Minneapolis Lakers season
Head coach John Castellani
Jim Pollard
Arena Minneapolis Armory
Results
Record 2550 (.333)
Place Division: 3rd (Western)
Playoff finish West Division Finals
(eliminated 3–4)

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

The 1959–60 NBA season was the Lakers' 12th season in the NBA.[1] The Lakers finished in third-place in the NBA Western Division with a record of 25–50, 21 games behind the St. Louis Hawks. In their final season in the Twin Cities, the Lakers made the playoffs and defeated the Detroit Pistons two games to none in the Western Division Semifinals, before losing the West Finals to the Hawks, four games to three.

On January 18, the team had a harrowing flight in a snowstorm, returning to Minneapolis from St. Louis. The team's DC-3 had electrical problems and made an emergency landing in a cornfield near Carroll, Iowa.[2][3][4][5]

Following the season, the franchise moved to Southern California and became the Los Angeles Lakers for the 1960–61 season.

Regular season

Season standings

Western Division Wins Losses PCT GB  Home   Road  Neutral Division
x-St. Louis Hawks 46 29 .613 28–5 12–20 6–4 27–12
x-Detroit Pistons 30 45 .400 16 17–14 6–21 7–10 20–19
x-Minneapolis Lakers 25 50 .333 21 9–15 9–21 7–14 17–22
Cincinnati Royals 19 56 .253 27 9–22 2–20 8–14 14–25
x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

West Division Semifinals

(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Minneapolis Lakers: Lakers win series 2-0

West Division Finals

(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers: Hawks win series 4-3

Awards and records

References

  1. 1959–60 Minneapolis Lakers
  2. "Plane in storm lands on farm". Reading Eagle (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 19, 1960. p. 13.
  3. "Plane lands in cornfield; Lakers OK". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 19, 1960. p. 3, part 2.
  4. Bonsignore, Vincent (June 4, 2001). "Lakers almost came to tragic end in 1960". Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington). (Los Angeles Daily News). p. C3.
  5. "Lakers glad to be home after ordeal". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 19, 1960. p. 24.
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