1953–54 Fort Wayne Pistons season
NBA team season
The 1953–54 Fort Wayne Pistons season was the Pistons' sixth season in the NBA and 13th season as a franchise.
The Pistons finished 40-32 (.556), 3rd in the Western Division. The team advanced to the playoffs, losing in a Western Division round-robin 4–0 to the Minneapolis Lakers and the Rochester Royals. The team was led on the season by center Larry Foust (15.1 ppg, 13.4 rpg, NBA All-Star), guard Andy Phillip (10.6 ppg, 6.3 apg, NBA All-Star), and first round draft choice Jack Molinas (11.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, NBA All-Star).
Molinas was named to the All-Star team, having played in 32 games before the league banned him for wagering on Pistons games. Molinas was then suspended at the time of the All-Star game and was replaced by teammate Andy Phillip. He later sued the NBA for US$3,000,000 (equivalent to $35,966,543 in 2025), claiming the league's ban was an unreasonable restraint of trade. Judge Irving Kaufman ruled against him in the case. Molinas would not only be considered an unofficial participant in the 1951 college basketball point-shaving scandal following this revelation, but he would also be considered the main cog of the 1961 NCAA University Division men's basketball gambling scandal years afterward as well.
The Pistons had drafted future Hall of Famer George Yardley in 1950, but they didn't sign him until 1953.
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