Syracuse Swapped Noble Jorgensen for Bob Lavoy
Milwaukee sent Bob Lavoy to Syracuse on November 23, 1953 for Noble Jorgensen. Basketball-Reference lists the same transaction on the Hawks, Nationals and league-wide 1953-54 transaction pages, leaving no meaningful package ambiguity. Lavoy was a 27-year-old power forward who had played three full seasons for Indianapolis before the Olympians folded and had appeared in eight games for Milwaukee that fall. Jorgensen was an older center whose best Syracuse years were already behind him.
Lavoy Helped a Finals Team for 60 Games
Lavoy immediately became a useful frontcourt reserve for a contender. He played 60 games for Syracuse during the remainder of 1953-54, logging 1,152 minutes. Basketball-Reference credits him with 323 points, 287 rebounds and 68 assists in those games, along with 3.0 win shares. The Nationals finished 42-30, advanced through the Eastern playoffs and took Minneapolis to seven games in the NBA Finals. Lavoy was not a star, but Syracuse acquired a veteran who filled regular minutes during a Finals season.
Jorgensen Never Played for Milwaukee
Jorgensen did not produce a comparable post-trade return. Basketball-Reference lists his NBA career ending with the 1952-53 Syracuse season, when he appeared in 70 games. He has no 1953-54 Milwaukee line and no later NBA season. That means the Hawks exchanged eight early-season games of Lavoy for player rights that generated no documented NBA appearances. Jorgensen had been a useful center earlier in his career, but the timing of this transaction left Milwaukee with no measurable on-court value.
Useful Rotation Minutes Make Syracuse the Winner
Syracuse clearly received the stronger realized return. Lavoy supplied 60 regular-season games and more than 1,100 minutes to a team that reached the NBA Finals, while Jorgensen never appeared for Milwaukee. The gap is meaningful but should not be inflated into a franchise-altering outcome because Lavoy was a rotation player and his NBA career ended after the season. A solid but not extreme Syracuse advantage best matches the surviving record.
Final Verdict
Nationals Win — Milwaukee C-, Syracuse B. Milwaukee traded Bob Lavoy to the Syracuse Nationals for Noble Jorgensen on November 23, 1953. Basketball-Reference's Milwaukee, Syracuse and league transaction logs agree on the straight player-for-player swap. Lavoy had played only eight games for Milwaukee after the Indianapolis Olympians folded, then appeared in 60 games for Syracuse, logging 1,152 minutes with 323 points and 287 rebounds for a club that reached the 1954 NBA Finals. Jorgensen never appeared in another NBA game after the trade; Basketball-Reference lists his final NBA season as 1952-53. The verified realized value therefore favors Syracuse.