1955–56 NBA season
The 1955–56 NBA season was the 10th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors winning the NBA Championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
| 1955–56 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
|
| Number of games | 72 |
| Number of teams | 8 |
| TV partner(s) | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Dick Ricketts |
| Picked by | Milwaukee Hawks |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Bob Pettit (St. Louis) |
| Top scorer | Bob Pettit (St. Louis) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Philadelphia Warriors |
| Eastern runners-up | Syracuse Nationals |
| Western champions | Fort Wayne Pistons |
| Western runners-up | St. Louis Hawks |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Warriors |
| Runners-up | Fort Wayne Pistons |
Notable occurrences
- The Hawks relocate from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to St. Louis, Missouri.
- The NBA hands out a Most Valuable Player award for the first time. Its inaugural recipient is Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks. Also, the All-NBA teams are no longer positionless and now have two guards, two forwards, and a center on each team.
- The 1956 NBA All-Star Game was played in Rochester, New York, with the West beating the East 108–94. Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks wins the game's MVP award.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1954–55 coach | 1955–56 coach |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Edward Gottlieb | George Senesky |
| Rochester Royals | Les Harrison | Bobby Wanzer |
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| New York Knicks | Joe Lapchick | Vince Boryla |
Final standings
Eastern Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Philadelphia Warriors | 45 | 27 | .625 | - | 21-7 | 11-17 | 13-3 | 22-14 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 39 | 33 | .542 | 6 | 20-7 | 12-15 | 7-11 | 18-18 |
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 35 | 37 | .486 | 10 | 23-8 | 9–19 | 3-10 | 15-21 |
| New York Knicks | 35 | 37 | .486 | 10 | 13-15 | 16-13 | 6-9 | 17-19 |
- Syracuse finished ahead of New York by defeating them in a tiebreaker match.
Western Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 37 | 35 | .514 | - | 19-7 | 10-17 | 8-11 | 19-17 |
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 33 | 39 | .458 | 4 | 14-12 | 6-21 | 13-6 | 19-17 |
| x-St. Louis Hawks | 33 | 39 | .458 | 4 | 15-11 | 11-17 | 7-11 | 18-18 |
| Rochester Royals | 31 | 41 | .431 | 6 | 15-14 | 6-21 | 10-6 | 16-20 |
- Minneapolis finished ahead of St. Louis by defeating them in a tiebreaker match.
x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Philadelphia* | 3 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E3 | Syracuse | 2 | ||||||||
| E2 | Boston | 1 | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | ||||||||
| W1 | Fort Wayne* | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Fort Wayne* | 3 | |||||||||||
| W3 | St. Louis | 2 | W3 | St. Louis | 2 | ||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 1 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Bob Pettit | St. Louis Hawks | 1,849 |
| Rebounds | Bob Pettit | St. Louis Hawks | 1,164 |
| Assists | Bob Cousy | Boston Celtics | 642 |
| FG% | Neil Johnston | Philadelphia Warriors | .457 |
| FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .867 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
NBA awards
- Most Valuable Player: Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
- Rookie of the Year: Maurice Stokes, Rochester Royals
- All-NBA First Team:
- F – Paul Arizin, Philadelphia Warriors
- F – Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
- C – Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors
- G – Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
- G – Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics
- All-NBA Second Team:
- F – Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
- F – Maurice Stokes, Rochester Royals
- C – Clyde Lovellette, Minneapolis Lakers
- G – Jack George, Philadelphia Warriors
- G – Slater Martin, Minneapolis Lakers
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.