Sacramento Kings: 25 Best Players To Play For The Kings
By Phil Watson
67. <strong>How acquired: </strong>Purchased from Indianapolis Kautskys, January 1948.. C. 1948-55. Arnie Risen. 13. player
The Rochester Royals were still in their National Basketball League days when they purchased center Arnie Risen from the Indianapolis Kautskys midway through the 1947-48 season.
It was an acquisition that would pay dividends when the Royals joined the Basketball Association of America the following season.
Risen was an All-BAA performer in 1948-49 and a four-time All-Star in the NBA, helping Rochester to its only NBA title in 1951.
He led the BAA in field goal percentage in 1948-49 and finished fourth in scoring. Later he would finish fourth in the NBA in rebounding in 1950-51 and 1951-52.
Risen led the Royals in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks in 1951, scoring a team-high 21.7 points per game to go with 2.7 assists a night.
His contract was sold to the Boston Celtics in October 1955.
In seven BAA/NBA seasons with Rochester, Risen averaged 13.7 points, 11.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 32.9 minutes per game, shooting 38.4 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the free-throw line.
Signed by the Kautskys in 1945 after two years at Ohio State (he had transferred from Eastern Kentucky), Risen played three seasons with Boston—winning another title in 1957—before retiring in July 1959.
Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998, Risen died Aug. 4, 2012, in Beachwood, Ohio, from complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at age 87.
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