In 1949 the best competition in the world, the NBA, was inaugurated. Being the first champion the Minneapolis Lakers, after beating the Syracuse Nationals by (4-2) with a differential George Mikan, the first title of the four they won in the first five years of competition

Minneapolis Lakers
*Martin – 4.3p
*Grant – 5.5p
*Pollard – 13.7p
*Mikkelsen – 12.5p
*Mikan – 32.2p
Ferrin – 4.8p
Carlson – 5.8p
Harrison – 3.8p
Schaefer – 3.3p
Hassett – 0.8p. (4)
Jaros – 0p. (1)

Syracuse Nationals
*Schayes – 17.3p
*Macknovski – 13.7p
*Hannum – 10.0p
*Ratkovicz – 10.0p
*Seymour – 7.5p
Cervi – 5.8p
Peterson – 4.8p
Levane – 3.0p
Gabor – 7.8p. (5)
Chollet – 2.0p. (4)
Corley – 0.5p. (2)

To get to the final they beat…
Minneapolis Lakers – Chicago Stags (2-0); Fort Wayne Pistons (2-0); Anderson Packers (2-0)
Syracuse Nationals – Philadelphia Warriors (2-0); New York Knicks (2-1)