Max "Slats" Zaslofsky (December 7, 1925 – October 15, 1985) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He played in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) where he was selected to the all-league first-team from 1947 to 1950. In the 1947–48 BAA season, at 21 years of age, he led the BAA in scoring, and in the 1949–50 NBA season, he led the league in free throw percentage (.843).

Early life

Zaslofsky, who was Jewish, was the son of Russian immigrant parents, Morris and Ida. He had two older brothers, Irving and Abe.

College career

He attended St. John's University, where he played basketball for one season. The 20-year-old Zaslofsky started at guard and averaged 7.8 points per game. He was named honorable mention All-Metropolitan as St. John's posted a 17–5 record and played in the postseason National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

While playing for the Chicago Stags, Zaslofsky was named All-NBA First Team 1946–47 at the age of 21. He was the youngest player to hold that distinction for nearly 60 years until he was surpassed by LeBron James in 2005–06. In 1947–48, he led the league in scoring. In 1949–50, he led the league in free throw percentage (.843).

After the Stags broke up, Zaslofsky joined the New York Knicks. During the 1951 NBA Playoffs, Zaslofsky played 14 games and averaged a postseason career-best 17.9 points, as well as 4.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists, as the Knicks made it to the NBA Finals before losing a seven-game series to the Rochester Royals. The following year, he led the Knicks to the 1952 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Minneapolis Lakers, again in a seven-game series. On August 24, 1953, he was traded by the Knicks with Jim Luisi and Roy Belliveau to the Baltimore Bullets for Jim Baechtold. On November 25, 1953, he was traded by the Bullets to the Milwaukee Hawks for Bob Houbregs.

He later coached for two seasons in the American Basketball Association with the New Jersey Americans/New York Nets. He went 53–103 in two seasons with the club before resigning in March 1969.

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See also

  • List of select Jewish basketball players
  • List of National Basketball Association annual scoring leaders

Notes

References

  • BasketballReference.com: Max Zaslofsky (as coach)
  • BasketballReference.com: Max Zaslofsky (as player)