1955–56 NBA season

1955–56 NBA season
LeagueNational Basketball Association
SportBasketball
Duration
  • November 5, 1955 – March 14, 1956
  • March 15–16, 1956
    (Play-in tournaments)
  • March 15–29, 1956 (Playoffs)
  • March 31 – April 7, 1956 (Finals)
Number of games72
Number of teams8
TV partner(s)NBC
Draft
Top draft pickDick Ricketts
Picked byMilwaukee Hawks
Regular season
Season MVPBob Pettit (St. Louis)
Top scorerBob Pettit (St. Louis)
Playoffs
Eastern championsPhiladelphia Warriors
  Eastern runners-upSyracuse Nationals
Western championsFort Wayne Pistons
  Western runners-upSt. Louis Hawks
Finals
ChampionsPhiladelphia Warriors
  Runners-upFort Wayne Pistons
NBA seasons

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.

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes
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

Teams

1955-56 National Basketball Association
Division Team City Arena Capacity
Eastern Boston Celtics Boston, Massachusetts Boston Garden 13,909
New York Knicks New York, New York Madison Square Garden 18,496
Philadelphia Warriors Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Municipal Auditorium 12,000
Syracuse Nationals Syracuse, New York Onondaga War Memorial 6,230
Western Fort Wayne Pistons Fort Wayne, Indiana War Memorial Coliseum 10,000
Minneapolis Lakers Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis Auditorium 10,000
Rochester Royals Rochester, New York Rochester Community War Memorial 12,428
St. Louis Hawks St. Louis, Missouri Kiel Auditorium 9,300

Map of teams

Eastern Division Western Division

Final standings

Eastern Division

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

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

Main article: 1956 NBA playoffs
Division SemifinalsDivision FinalsNBA Finals
Eastern Division
E1Philadelphia*3
E3Syracuse2E3Syracuse2
E2Boston1E1Philadelphia*4
Western Division
W1Fort Wayne*1
W1Fort Wayne*3
W3St. Louis2W3St. Louis2
W2Minneapolis1
  • * 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

See also

References