1955–56 NBA season

Number of games72Number of teams8TV partner(s)NBCDraftTop draft pickDick RickettsPicked byMilwaukee HawksRegular seasonSeason MVPBob Pettit (St. Louis)Top scorerBob Pettit (St. Louis)PlayoffsEastern championsPhiladelphia Warriors  Eastern runners-upSyracuse NationalsWestern championsFort Wayne Pistons  Western runners-upSt. Louis HawksFinalsChampionsPhiladelphia 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

• 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.

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

Final standings

Eastern Division

v t e	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 v t e	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

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

See also

• List of NBA regular season records

References

• 1955–56 NBA Season Summary basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 10, 2010