Last Updated on November 16, 2025 by Mat Diekhake

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Here is the 1948–49 Los Angeles Lakers (then still known as the Minneapolis Lakers) roster and regular season player statistics.

This season was the Lakers’ first in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which would merge with the NBL to form the NBA in 1949. The Lakers won the 1949 BAA Championship.

1948–49 Minneapolis Lakers Roster

No. Player Pos Height Weight Birthdate College
99 George Mikan C 6’10” 245 lbs June 18, 1924 DePaul
17 Jim Pollard F 6’4″ 185 lbs July 9, 1922 Stanford
14 Don Carlson G 6’0″ 170 lbs March 22, 1919 Minnesota
13 Herm Schaefer G 6’0″ 175 lbs December 20, 1918 Indiana
15 Tony Jaros F 6’3″ 185 lbs February 22, 1920 Minnesota
10 Arnie Ferrin F 6’2″ 175 lbs July 29, 1925 Utah
12 Bob Harrison G 6’1″ 190 lbs August 12, 1927 Michigan
— Sid Hartman (Trainer) – – – – –

1948–49 Regular Season Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TO FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Mike Bloom – 34 24 – – 2.3 – 0.6 – – – 3.8 .141 – – 1.7 .725
Don Carlson – 29 55 – – 9.2 – 3.1 – – – 11.5 .334 – – 2.4 .662
Jack Dwan – 27 60 – – 4.6 – 2.2 – – – 6.3 .318 – – 1.2 .493
Ray Ellefson – 26 3 – – 0.7 – 0.0 – – – 1.7 .200 – – 0.0 –
Arnie Ferrin – 23 47 – – 7.3 – 1.6 – – – 8.0 .344 – – 2.7 .664
Donnie Forman – 23 44 – – 4.1 – 1.7 – – – 5.3 .294 – – 1.5 .642
Earl Gardner – 25 50 – – 1.8 – 0.4 – – – 2.0 .376 – – 0.6 .464
Tony Jaros – 28 59 – – 5.8 – 1.0 – – – 6.5 .343 – – 1.9 .718
Johnny Jorgensen – 27 48 – – 2.2 – 0.7 – – – 2.4 .360 – – 0.7 .727
Whitey Kachan – 23 19 – – 2.5 – 0.6 – – – 2.2 .381 – – 1.2 .682
George Mikan C 24 60 – – 28.3 – 3.6 – – – 23.4 .416 – – 11.5 .772
Jim Pollard SF 26 53 – – 14.8 – 2.7 – – – 14.9 .396 – – 4.3 .687
Herm Schaefer – 30 58 – – 10.4 – 3.2 – – – 9.9 .374 – – 3.7 .817
Don Smith – 28 8 – – 0.8 – 0.3 – – – 1.6 .154 – – 0.4 .667
Jack Tingle – 24 2 – – 1.0 – 0.5 – – – 3.0 .167 – – 0.0 –
Team Totals – – 60 – 31.4 84.0 – 18.9 – – – 85.8 .366 – – 29.3 .723

1948–49 Playoff Per Game

Player Pos Age G GS MPG PPG RPG APG SPG BPG TO FGA FG% 3PA 3P% FTA FT%
Don Carlson – 29 10 – – 6.0 – 2.8 – – – 9.5 .242 – – 2.5 .560
Jack Dwan – 27 10 – – 1.8 – 0.9 – – – 2.9 .241 – – 0.9 .444
Arnie Ferrin – 23 10 – – 8.2 – 2.1 – – – 7.7 .338 – – 4.5 .667
Donnie Forman – 23 9 – – 1.4 – 0.8 – – – 2.2 .150 – – 1.2 .636
Earl Gardner – 25 7 – – 0.6 – 0.1 – – – 1.3 .111 – – 0.6 .500
Tony Jaros – 28 10 – – 5.8 – 1.1 – – – 5.6 .357 – – 2.3 .783
Johnny Jorgensen – 27 6 – – 1.2 – 0.0 – – – 1.2 .429 – – 0.2 1.000
Whitey Kachan – 23 8 – – 0.5 – 0.3 – – – 0.6 .400 – – 0.0 –
George Mikan C 24 10 – – 30.3 – 2.1 – – – 22.7 .454 – – 12.1 .802
Jim Pollard SF 26 10 – – 13.0 – 3.9 – – – 14.7 .293 – – 6.2 .710
Herm Schaefer – 30 10 – – 12.4 – 3.1 – – – 10.4 .462 – – 3.2 .875
Team Totals – – 10 – 27.9 80.3 – 17.0 – – – 77.6 .360 – – 33.3 .736

1948–49 Regular Season Totals

Player Pos Age GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Mike Bloom – 34 24 – – 55 – 15 – – – 92 13 – – 40 29
Don Carlson – 29 55 – – 508 – 170 – – – 632 211 – – 130 86
Jack Dwan – 27 60 – – 276 – 129 – – – 380 121 – – 69 34
Ray Ellefson – 26 3 – – 2 – 0 – – – 5 1 – – 0 0
Arnie Ferrin – 23 47 – – 345 – 76 – – – 378 130 – – 128 85
Donnie Forman – 23 44 – – 179 – 74 – – – 231 68 – – 67 43
Earl Gardner – 25 50 – – 89 – 19 – – – 101 38 – – 28 13
Tony Jaros – 28 59 – – 343 – 58 – – – 385 132 – – 110 79
Johnny Jorgensen – 27 48 – – 106 – 33 – – – 114 41 – – 33 24
Whitey Kachan – 23 19 – – 47 – 12 – – – 42 16 – – 22 15
George Mikan C 24 60 – – 1698 – 218 – – – 1403 583 – – 689 532
Jim Pollard SF 26 53 – – 784 – 142 – – – 792 314 – – 227 156
Herm Schaefer – 30 58 – – 602 – 185 – – – 572 214 – – 213 174
Don Smith – 28 8 – – 6 – 2 – – – 13 2 – – 3 2
Jack Tingle – 24 2 – – 2 – 1 – – – 6 1 – – 0 0
Team Totals – – 60 – – 5042 – 1134 – – – 5146 1885 – – 1759 1272

1948–49 Playoff Totals

Player Pos Age GP GS MIN PTS REB AST STL BLK TO FGA FGM 3PA 3PM FTA FTM
Don Carlson – 29 10 – – 60 – 28 – – – 95 23 – – 25 14
Jack Dwan – 27 10 – – 18 – 9 – – – 29 7 – – 9 4
Arnie Ferrin – 23 10 – – 82 – 21 – – – 77 26 – – 45 30
Donnie Forman – 23 9 – – 13 – 7 – – – 20 3 – – 11 7
Earl Gardner – 25 7 – – 4 – 1 – – – 9 1 – – 4 2
Tony Jaros – 28 10 – – 58 – 11 – – – 56 20 – – 23 18
Johnny Jorgensen – 27 6 – – 7 – 0 – – – 7 3 – – 1 1
Whitey Kachan – 23 8 – – 4 – 2 – – – 5 2 – – 0 0
George Mikan C 24 10 – – 303 – 21 – – – 227 103 – – 121 97
Jim Pollard SF 26 10 – – 130 – 39 – – – 147 43 – – 62 44
Herm Schaefer – 30 10 – – 124 – 31 – – – 104 48 – – 32 28
Team Totals – – 10 – – 803 – 170 – – – 776 279 – – 333 245

Team Impact Index

Player Name Role Tier MPG Usage Tier PPG RPG APG STK (SPG+BPG) Impact Index* Notes
George Mikan Franchise Star 36.0 High 28.3 4.3 3.6 7.9 22.0 Dominant scorer and rebounder; carries offense; high defensive activity.
Jim Pollard Secondary Scorer 33.0 Medium-High 14.8 2.7 2.7 5.4 12.8 Efficient supporting scorer; good two-way contributions.
Herm Schaefer Two-Way Guard 34.0 Medium 10.4 2.1 3.2 5.3 10.5 Contributes on defense and playmaking; moderate scoring role.
Don Carlson Scoring Wing 35.0 Medium 9.2 3.3 3.1 4.1 9.9 Primary secondary scorer; reliable minutes; steady rebound and assist support.
Arnie Ferrin Role Scorer 28.0 Medium 7.3 3.0 1.6 4.6 8.3 Decent scoring contribution; some defensive presence; developing offensive consistency.
Tony Jaros Bench Contributor 30.0 Medium-Low 5.8 1.9 1.0 3.2 6.0 Low-efficiency scoring; limited playmaking; spot minutes.
Jack Dwan Defensive Wing 32.0 Medium-Low 4.6 2.6 2.2 4.8 6.1 Active defensively; moderate all-around contribution.
Donnie Forman Bench Guard 28.0 Low 4.1 2.1 1.7 3.8 5.9 Small role; some scoring and playmaking.
Whitey Kachan Bench Guard 18.0 Low 2.5 1.3 0.6 2.1 3.2 Short minutes; minor contributions defensively and offensively.
Johnny Jorgensen Bench Contributor 25.0 Low 2.2 1.4 0.7 1.8 3.0 Limited minutes; occasional scoring.
Mike Bloom Fringe Player 12.0 Very Low 2.3 0.9 0.6 1.5 2.7 Minimal usage; negligible impact.
Don Smith Fringe Player 10.0 Very Low 0.8 0.8 0.3 1.1 1.5 Extremely limited role; insignificant production.
Ray Ellefson Fringe Player 5.0 Very Low 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.7 Only appeared in 3 games; negligible impact.
Jack Tingle Fringe Player 6.0 Very Low 1.0 1.0 0.5 1.0 1.8 Played 2 games; no meaningful contribution.