Zaslofsky, who was Jewish, was the son of Russian immigrant parents, Morris and Ida.[2] He had two older brothers, Irving and Abe.[2] He grew up in Brooklyn, attended cheder until he had his bar mitzvah, and spent many hours as a child on the playgrounds trying to perfect his two-handed set shot.[2] Raised on Riverdale Street in the predominantly Jewish section of Brownsville, he attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he was an All-PSAL selection in basketball and also played for the baseball team.[2] He graduated from high school in 1943, and then spent two years in the U.S. Navy during World War II.[3]
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).[3]
While playing for the Chicago Stags, Zaslofsky was named All-NBA First Team 1946–47 at the age of 21.[5] 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.[5] At 22 years, 121 days old, he was the youngest player to lead the league in scoring until 2010, when Kevin Durant broke his mark.[6] In 1949–50, he led the league in free throw percentage (.843).[7]
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.[8] 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.[9] On November 25, 1953, he was traded by the Bullets to the Milwaukee Hawks for Bob Houbregs.[9] On December 21, 1953, he was traded by the Hawks to the Fort Wayne Pistons for Chuck Share.[9] In 1956 he ended his career as the league's third-leading scorer of all time, behind George Mikan and Joe Fulks.[2] In addition to his 1946–47 first-team All-NBA honors, Zaslofsky was named to the All-NBA first team in 1947–48, 1948–49, and 1949–50. He also played in the 1952 NBA All-Star Game.
Zaslofsky died in 1985 at age 59 due to complications from leukemia. He was survived by his wife, Elaine, two daughters, a son, and two grandchildren.[4]
