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Player profile · MNL
Vern Mikkelsen
Vern Mikkelsen stats, teams and career impact
#123 all-timeCareer averages · 14.7 PPG · 9.4 RPG · 2.2 APGPeak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
- Position
- Power forward
- Final NBA team
- Minneapolis Lakers
- Height / weight
- 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) · 230 lb (104 kg)
- Born
- October 21, 1928
- Died
- November 21, 2013 (85 yrs old)
- College
- Hamline University
- NBA career
- 1949–50 to 1958–59
Career summaryVern Mikkelsen was a power forward whose NBA career ran from 1949–50 through 1958–59. hussEyquation season data begins in 1950–51.
- Career PPG
- 14.7
- Career RPG
- 9.4
- Career APG
- 2.2
- #7 in 1951–52
- #123 all-time
Best-Season Impact Rank
Career Impact Rank
Peak-weighted regular-season model · playoffs, awards, and championships excluded
Career overview
How Vern Mikkelsen ranks in the available record
Vern Mikkelsen's covered seasons produce an all-time rank of #123. hussEyquation's season record begins in 1950–51, so this is not a complete-career verdict.
450+ minutes required per season
631 games · Coverage begins in 1950–51
NBA honors6× All-Star · 4× All-NBAContext only; honors are not model inputs.
Head to head
Compare Vern Mikkelsen with…
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- Vern Mikkelsen vs. Tom Heinsohn Similar career path
- Vern Mikkelsen vs. Larry Johnson Similar career path
- Vern Mikkelsen vs. John Collins Similar career path
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- Vern Mikkelsen vs. Andy Phillip Same-era comparison
Full player detailsTeam history, career shooting and sources
Full team history
- Teams
- Minneapolis Lakers
Career shooting
NBA regular season- Field goal
- 40.3%FG%
- Three-point
- —3P%
- Free throw
- 76.8%FT%
631 career games · 20,913 minutes
Sources and updateConventional stats and measurements: Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 13, 2026. hussEyquation ranking data through 2025–26. Life dates: Wikidata; conflicting dates checked against Basketball Reference, accessed Sep 17, 2026.
Traditional box score
Vern Mikkelsen stats by season
Start with scoring and impact, then switch views for shooting or the full advanced picture. Career percentages use total makes and attempts.
Box impact is an estimate in points per 100 possessions, not the 0–100 Impact Rate score. Zero is league average; higher is better. Rate rank is a league place: No. 1 is best.
Swipe for PPG · RPG · APG · Box impact · Team · G · GS · MPG →
| pts/100 · higher is better | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–59 | 13.8 | 7.9 | 2.2 | +0.06 | MNL | 72 | 0 | 29.7 | 39.0% | — | 80.6% | #29 | 105.9 |
| 1957–58 | 17.3 | 11.2 | 2.3 | +1.01 | MNL | 72 | 0 | 33.2 | 41.0% | — | 78.6% | #17 | 178.2 |
| 1956–57 | 13.7 | 8.8 | 1.7 | -0.31 | MNL | 72 | 0 | 30.5 | 37.7% | — | 80.7% | #34 | 88.7 |
| 1955–56 | 13.4 | 8.4 | 2.4 | -0.17 | MNL | 72 | 0 | 29.2 | 38.6% | — | 80.4% | #32 | 86.3 |
| 1954–55 | 18.7 | 10.2 | 2.0 | +0.76 | MNL | 71 | 0 | 36.0 | 42.2% | — | 74.7% | #21 | 155.3 |
| 1953–54 | 11.1 | 8.5 | 1.7 | +0.23 | MNL | 72 | 0 | 31.2 | 37.4% | — | 74.2% | #30 | 97.6 |
| 1952–53 | 15.0 | 9.3 | 2.1 | +2.04 | MNL | 70 | 0 | 35.2 | 43.5% | — | 75.2% | #12 | 194.2 |
| 1951–52 | 15.3 | 10.3 | 2.7 | +2.69 | MNL | 66 | 0 | 35.5 | 41.9% | — | 76.1% | #7 | 222.6 |
| 1950–51 | 14.1 | 10.2 | 2.8 | +1.28 | MNL | 64 | 0 | 38.6 | 40.2% | — | 67.6% | #25 | 160.1 |
| Career | 14.7 | 9.4 | 2.2 | — | MNL | 631 | — | 33.1 | 40.3% | — | 76.8% | — | — |
Source: Basketball Reference regular-season totals, accessed Sep 13, 2026.
What these measures mean
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above that season's league average, from the historical box-score model. Zero is league average; higher is better. Historical defense estimates are included where labeled. This is not the live model's lineup-adjusted estimate.
- Impact Rate
- A 0–100 score comparing performance within one season. Higher is better. This is a score, not points per possession.
- Impact estimate
- The season model's final estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, before conversion to the 0–100 Impact Rate score. It includes lineup evidence where available. Zero is league average; higher is better.
- Impact Rate rank
- The player's place among qualified players in that season's Impact Rate ranking. No. 1 is best. This is a rank, not an impact score.
- Value contribution / Season Value
- Completed seasons use a fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. The live season instead uses Season Value, combining that season's impact with workload.
- Career Impact Rank
- An all-time rank weighted toward the player's best three, five, and ten seasons.
16.7 composite · lower is better
16.4 average league finish
1,289 total value
- Impact Rate
- 0–100 score within one season. Higher is better.
- Box impact
- Estimated points per 100 possessions above league average, from the historical model. Zero is average; higher is better.
Career standing
How Vern Mikkelsen ranks all time
These are league placements, not raw scores. Each season is judged against that season's qualified player pool.
Best in the league
Elite finishes
Upper-tier finishes
Tie-breaker across top-ten seasons
Career Composite Score16.7
Best 3, Best 5, and Best 10 average league finishes receive 50%, 30%, and 20% window weights. Missing seasons receive a replacement finish just below the player's typical qualified field. Lower is better.
- Best 3 effective weight
- 74%
- Missing-season finish
- 82.0
- Qualified seasons
- 9
- All-time rank
- #123
Strongest seasons
Every season
Vern Mikkelsen advanced stats by season
Era-centered box impact supports comparisons through time. Impact Rate and its rank compare players only within that season.
More advanced statsAge, minutes, impact, rank, value and data coverage
Scroll for more columns
| pts/100 · higher is better | 0–100 · higher is better | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958–59Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 30 | 72 | 2,139 | +0.06 | 65.0 | #29 | 105.9 | 69th | Modeled |
| 1957–58Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 29 | 72 | 2,390 | +1.01 | 78.9 | #17 | 178.2 | 79th | Modeled |
| 1956–57Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 28 | 72 | 2,198 | -0.31 | 58.2 | #34 | 88.7 | 65th | Modeled |
| 1955–56Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 27 | 72 | 2,100 | -0.17 | 58.7 | #32 | 86.3 | 60th | Modeled |
| 1954–55Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 26 | 71 | 2,559 | +0.76 | 73.7 | #21 | 155.3 | 82nd | Modeled |
| 1953–54Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 25 | 72 | 2,247 | +0.23 | 64.6 | #30 | 97.6 | 68th | Modeled |
| 1952–53Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 24 | 70 | 2,465 | +2.04 | 88.3 | #12 | 194.2 | 88th | Modeled |
| 1951–52Historical Defense Estimate | MNL | 23 | 66 | 2,345 | +2.69 | 93.7 | #7 | 222.6 | 93rd | Modeled |
| 1950–51legacy estimate | MNL | 22 | 64 | 2,470 | +1.28 | 76.9 | #25 | 160.1 | 87th | Modeled |
Career movement
Vern Mikkelsen's box impact by season
Peak box impact +2.69 points per 100 possessions in 1951–52 · 9 seasons · 20,913 minutes
Box impact estimates points per 100 possessions above each season's league average. Zero is average; higher is better. Rank labels show Impact Rate league places, not ranks on this chart's box-impact scale.
Box impact · points per 100 possessionsMinutesModeled estimate
Player-specific impact scaleWorkload
Career comparison
Compare the shape, not the calendar
Align by NBA experience to compare season one with season one, or by age to compare players at the same stage of life.
Vern MikkelsenTom Heinsohn
| NBA season | Vern Mikkelsen | Tom Heinsohn |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| 2 | 2.7 | 0.6 |
| 3 | 2.0 | 1.2 |
| 4 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
| 5 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| 6 | -0.2 | 1.9 |
| 7 | -0.3 | 0.8 |
| 8 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
| 9 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
NBA season number
Similar career arcs
Players with careers similar to Vern Mikkelsen
The career-similarity score compares era-centered box impact, peak, prime, workload, career length, position, and experience-aligned trajectory. It describes career shape, not playing style, equal ability, or probability.
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94career similarity score
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94career similarity score
89/100 closest-season score · 1951–52 ↔ 1991–92PF · All-Time Career #160Gus Johnson
93career similarity score
85/100 closest-season score · 1951–52 ↔ 1966–67Impact Rate shows how strong a player was compared with everyone else that season. Season Value adds how much he played; completed player-profile rows instead show each season's fixed-baseline contribution to Career Value. Career Impact Rank rewards a high peak, a long prime, and repeated seasons near the top. Older seasons use clearly labeled estimates where the NBA did not record today's full set of statistics. Read how every ranking works →