Michael Donald Novak (April 23, 1915 – August 15, 1978) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the NBL, BAA, and

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

from 1939 to 1954. A 6'9" center from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

, 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 The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...

. 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 Alfred Nicholas Cervi (February 12, 1917 – November 9, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball League (NBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). One of the strongest backcourt players of ...

, 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 John Doxie Moore (February 13, 1911 – April 23, 1986) was an American basketball player and coach. He attended Delphi Community High School, Delphi High School in Delphi, Indiana, and played college basketball at Purdue University from 1930 to ...

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

Regular season

Playoffs

External links

1915 births 1978 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players American people of Slavic descent Basketball players from Chicago Centers (basketball) Chicago Bruins players Chicago Studebaker Flyers players Loyola Ramblers men's basketball players Philadelphia Warriors players Rochester Royals players Sheboygan Red Skins players Syracuse Nationals players {{1910s-US-basketball-bio-stub