A smart player, a team leader and a star dribbler on one of the best teams in basketball history, Slater Martin used his all-around skills to prefection and teammed with Minneapolis Lakers' front court stars, center George Mikan, forwards Jim Pollard and Vern Mikkelsen to win 4 NBA Championships in 5 seasons - 1949-1950, 1951-2, 1952-3, 1953-4.
A scoring legend at Texas University, Slater 'Dugie' Martin changed his style at the bequest of Lakers' head coach Johnny Kundla and became a back court playmaker and a defensive ballhawk. In fact, in his rookie the Minneapolis Lakers posted a 51-17 regular season record and then rode to a 10-2 playoff record, including defeating the Syracuse Nationals in the first-ever NBA Champion Final 4-games-to 2.
The Minneapolis Lakers were defeated in the Eastern Division Finals by the Rochester Royals in 1950-1951. The Lakers came back and won the next three NBA Championships.
The 5-ft 10 inch, 170 pound Dugie Martin was chosen by writers and broadcasters five consecutive seasons as a Second Team NBA All-Star, 1954-1955 thru 1958-1959.
Slater Martin was voted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. |