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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 6:37 pm EDTNBA legend. Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Vern Mikkelsen
Career at a glance
Vern Mikkelsen played 10 NBA regular seasons between 1949 and 1959, appearing in 699 games and averaging 14.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He spent his whole career with Minneapolis (1949–59, 699 games). His best scoring season was 1954–55 with Minneapolis: 18.7 points per game over 71 games.
He rebounded best in 1957–58 at 11.2 per game. Championship seasons: 1949–50 (Minneapolis), 1951–52 (Minneapolis), 1952–53 (Minneapolis), 1953–54 (Minneapolis). In the playoffs he appeared in 9 postseason runs (85 games, 13.4 points per game).
Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 10,100 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Vern Mikkelsen
Arild Verner Agerskov Mikkelsen (October 21, 1928 – November 21, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. One of the National Basketball Association's first power forwards in the 1950s, he was known for his tenacious defense and durability, playing 699 out of a possible 704 games during his career. He was a six-time All-Star and four-time Second Team All-Pro, and was inducted into the NAIA Basketball Hall of Fame and the sport's Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995.
Along with fellow Hall of Famers George Mikan and Slater Martin he was a key part of four championships with the Minneapolis Lakers, today's Los Angeles Lakers.
Mikkelsen was also an All-American in college, and earned a master's degree from the University of Minnesota.
- Born
- October 21, 1928 Parlier, California, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
- Listed weight
- 230 lb (104 kg)
- Position
- Power forward
- High school
- Askov (Askov, Minnesota)
- College
- Hamline (1945–1949)
- Playing career
- 1949–1959
Career highlights and awards
- 4× NBA champion (1950, 1952–1954)
- 6× NBA All-Star (1951–1953, 1955–1957)
- 4× All-NBA Second Team (1951–1953, 1955)
- No. 19 honored by Los Angeles Lakers
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949–50† | Minneapolis | 68 | – | .399 | .752 | – | 1.8 | 11.6 |
| 1950–51 | Minneapolis | 64 | – | .402 | .676 | 10.2 | 2.8 | 14.1 |
| 1951–52† | Minneapolis | 66 | 35.5 | .419 | .761 | 10.3 | 2.7 | 15.3 |
| 1952–53† | Minneapolis | 70 | 35.2 | .435 | .752 | 9.3 | 2.1 | 15.0 |
| 1953–54† | Minneapolis | 72 | 31.2 | .374 | .742 | 8.5 | 1.7 | 11.1 |
| 1954–55 | Minneapolis | 71 | 36.0 | .422 | .747 | 10.2 | 2.0 | 18.7 |
| 1955–56 | Minneapolis | 72 | 29.2 | .386 | .804 | 8.4 | 2.4 | 13.4 |
| 1956–57 | Minneapolis | 72 | 30.5 | .377 | .807 | 8.8 | 1.7 | 13.7 |
| 1957–58 | Minneapolis | 72 | 33.2 | .410 | .786 | 11.2 | 2.3 | 17.3 |
| 1958–59 | Minneapolis | 72 | 29.7 | .390 | .806 | 7.9 | 2.2 | 13.8 |
| Career | 699 | 32.5 | .403 | .766 | 9.4 | 2.2 | 14.4 | |
| All-Star | 6 | 18.3 | .386 | .650 | 8.7 | 1.3 | 11.2 |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950† | Minneapolis | 12 | – | .369 | .767 | – | 1.5 | 13.0 |
| 1951 | Minneapolis | 7 | – | .406 | .660 | 9.6 | 2.4 | 15.6 |
| 1952† | Minneapolis | 13 | 38.1 | .432 | .828 | 8.5 | 1.5 | 13.3 |
| 1953† | Minneapolis | 12 | 33.3 | .331 | .848 | 8.7 | 2.0 | 12.0 |
| 1954† | Minneapolis | 13 | 28.8 | .459 | .861 | 5.6 | 1.3 | 10.2 |
| 1955 | Minneapolis | 7 | 29.9 | .353 | .783 | 11.1 | 1.9 | 13.7 |
| 1956 | Minneapolis | 3 | 30.0 | .423 | .900 | 5.7 | 0.7 | 13.3 |
| 1957 | Minneapolis | 5 | 32.4 | .398 | .647 | 8.6 | 3.4 | 17.6 |
| 1959 | Minneapolis | 13 | 28.5 | .412 | .767 | 7.2 | 1.8 | 15.5 |
| Career | 85 | 31.8 | .396 | .783 | 8.0 | 1.8 | 13.4 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 7″
- Weight
- 230 lb
- Position
- Power forward
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- Not listed
- Draft pick
- Undrafted / not listed
Height, Weight, Position, Country: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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