What is the Lowest Scoring NBA Game?
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is renowned for its high-scoring games, but the lowest scoring NBA game ever played still stands out in NBA history. On November 22nd, 1950, the Fort Wayne Pistons (now the Detroit Pistons) and the Minneapolis Lakers (now the Los Angeles Lakers) took to the court in Minneapolis, Minnesota and played a game that would go down in NBA history.
The Lowest Scoring Game of All Time: Fort Wayne – Minneapolis
At the end of 48 minutes of regulation play, the final score was 19 – 18 in favor of the Fort Wayne Pistons, making this the lowest scoring NBA game of all time. The following statistics provide an insight into how each team was able to achieve such an extraordinary result.
Team Stats
- Fort Wayne Pistons: shot 6-25 from the field, 7-9 from the free-throw line, scored 18 field goals.
- Minneapolis Lakers: shot 7-31 from the field, 4-7 from the free-throw line, scored 18 field goals.
The game was marked by poor-shooting performances from both teams as the Pistons only shot 24% from the field, while the Lakers only shot 23%. Free throw shooting was the sole saving grace of the game, as the Pistons went 7-9 while the Lakers went 4-7.
Player Stats
Despite the low overall score, the game featured some standout standout performances from individual players. Highlights of the game include:
- George Yardley (Fort Wayne): scored 11 points off 6 field goals and 19 rebounds.
- Vern Mikkelsen (Minneapolis): scored 5 points off 3 field goals and 25 rebounds.
Other noteworthy performances include Lakers forward Jim Pollard who notched 8 rebounds and Fort Wayne guard Bud Ogden who contributed with 8 assists.
Conclusion
The lowest scoring NBA game in history is special for many reasons. It stands out in the NBA record books and serves as an interesting footnote in the history of the NBA. Players from the game have since become NBA legends and it is still discussed to this day. To commemorate such a special game, Fort Wayne Pistons and Minneapolis Lakers fans have come together and created a mural to commemorate the game. The mural is a reminder of the best and worst of what the NBA can produce.
