1956–57 NBA season
11th NBA season
Sports season
- October 27, 1956 – March 13, 1957
- March 14–25, 1957 (Playoffs)
- March 30 – April 13, 1957 (Finals)
← 1955–56
The 1956–57 NBA season was the 11th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship (which would be the first of their 17 NBA titles), beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
Notable occurrences
- The 1957 NBA All-Star Game was played in Boston, Massachusetts, with the East beating the West 109–97. Local hero Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics wins the game's MVP award.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1955–56 coach | 1956–57 coach |
| N/A | ||
| In-season | ||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| St. Louis Hawks | Red Holzman | Slater Martin Alex Hannum |
| Syracuse Nationals | Al Cervi | Paul Seymour |
Final standings
Eastern Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Boston Celtics | 44 | 28 | .611 | - | 24-4 | 11-18 | 9-6 | 20-16 |
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 38 | 34 | .528 | 6 | 23-9 | 9-15 | 6-10 | 20-16 |
| x-Philadelphia Warriors | 37 | 35 | .514 | 7 | 20-5 | 5–25 | 12-5 | 17-19 |
| New York Knicks | 36 | 36 | .500 | 8 | 18-10 | 9-19 | 9-7 | 15-21 |
Western Division
Western Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-St. Louis Hawks | 34 | 38 | .472 | - | 17-9 | 10-20 | 7-9 | 22-14 |
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 34 | 38 | .472 | - | 15-9 | 5-22 | 14-7 | 18-18 |
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 34 | 38 | .472 | - | 23-5 | 5-23 | 6-10 | 17-19 |
| Rochester Royals | 31 | 41 | .431 | 3 | 19-10 | 7-17 | 5-14 | 15-21 |
- St. Louis finished ahead of Fort Wayne and Minneapolis by defeating them in tiebreaker matches.
x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 3 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Philadelphia | 0 | E2 | Syracuse | 0 | ||||||||
| E2 | Syracuse | 2 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
Western Division | W1 | St. Louis* | 3 | ||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 3 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 0 | W2 | Minneapolis | 0 | ||||||||
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
- Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals
Statistics leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Paul Arizin | Philadelphia Warriors | 1,817 |
| Rebounds | Maurice Stokes | Rochester Royals | 1,256 |
| Assists | Bob Cousy | Boston Celtics | 478 |
| FG% | Neil Johnston | Philadelphia Warriors | .447 |
| FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .905 |
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 Cousy, Boston Celtics
- Rookie of the Year: Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics
- All-NBA First Team:
- F – Paul Arizin, Philadelphia Warriors
- F – Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
- C – Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
- G – Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
- G – Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics
- All-NBA Second Team:
- F – Maurice Stokes, Rochester Royals
- F – George Yardley, Fort Wayne Pistons
- C – Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors
- G – Dick Garmaker, Minneapolis Lakers
- G – Slater Martin, St. Louis Hawks
See also
References
- 1956–57 NBA Season Summary basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 10, 2010
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