Mike Novak

Mike Novak

Novak from the 1937 Loyolan
Personal information
Born	(1915-04-23)April 23, 1915 Chicago, Illinois
Died	August 15, 1978(1978-08-15) (aged 63) Red Creek, New York
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	219 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school	Tilden (Chicago, Illinois)
College	Loyola (Illinois) (1936–1939)
Playing career	1939–1954
Position	Center / Power forward
Number	18, 19, 6
Career history
1939–1942	Chicago Bruins
1942–1943	Chicago Studebaker Flyers
1943–1946	Sheboygan Red Skins
1946–1948	Syracuse Nationals
1948–1949	Rochester Royals
1949–1950	Philadelphia Warriors
1950–1951	Louisville Alumnites
1954	Syracuse Nationals
Career highlights and awards
All-NBL Second Team (1946) Consensus second-team All-American (1939) Second-team All-American – Converse (1938)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference

Michael Donald Novak (April 23, 1915 – August 15, 1978) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the NBL, BAA, and NBA from 1939 to 1954. A 6'9" center from Loyola University Chicago, he was one of the first prominent "big men" to play professional basketball, averaging 8.5 points per game over the course of his career as a member of the Chicago Bruins, Chicago Studebaker Flyers, Sheboygan Red Skins, Syracuse Nationals, Rochester Royals, and Philadelphia Warriors.

Novak was the seventh-highest scorer in the history of the 12-season NBL. Some of his greatest seasons came during his middle years, with the Sheboygan Red Skins. He joined the team in 1943–44, played in all 22 games and helped Sheboygan to a 14-8 record, good for second place in the four-team league. He scored 92 points during the regular season. In the playoffs, Sheboygan advanced to the NBL finals opposite the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons, who won the title.

In 1944–45, Novak teamed with 6-7 forward Eddie Dancker to form the league's best 1-2 punch in the middle. He increased his scoring to 233 points in 27 games, and Western Division champion Sheboygan (19-11) again advanced to the finals to play Fort Wayne. The Red Skins won the first two games of the best-of-five series, only to get swept in the next three.

The following season, Novak was named a second-team choice on the all-league team. He scored 310 points in 34 games for Hall of Famer Dutch Dehnert's Red Skins, who won the Western Division title with a 21-13 record and advanced to the NBL championship series against the powerful Rochester Royals, who included Hall of Famers Al Cervi, Bob Davies and Red Holzman. Rochester, which would win the NBA championship five years later, swept Sheboygan for the title.

After only three games in 1946–47, Novak was dealt to the Syracuse Nationals. Doxie Moore had replaced Dehnert as Sheboygan's head coach.

Novak scored 2,281 points in nine NBL seasons, 320 in one BAA season and 100 in two NBA seasons.

BAA/NBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game
PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1948–49	Rochester	60	–	.342	.581	–	1.9	5.3
1949–50	Rochester	5	–	.091	1.000	–	.8	.6
1949–50	Philadelphia	55	–	.261	.522	–	1.0	1.7
1953–54	Syracuse	5	4.8	.000	.500	.4	.4	.2
Career		125	4.8	.310	.566	.4	1.4	3.4

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	PPG
1949	Rochester	4	–	.273	1.000	–	2.5	3.3
Career		4	–	.273	1.000	–	2.5	3.3

External links

• Career statistics from NBA.com  and Basketball Reference