1953–54 NBA season

The 1953–54 NBA season was the eighth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning their 5th NBA Championship in 6 years, beating the Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. It was also the final time the Lakers would win an NBA Championship before the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

1953–54 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 30, 1953 – March 14, 1954 March 16–28, 1954 (Playoffs) March 31 – April 12, 1954 (Finals)
Number of games	72
Number of teams	9
TV partner(s)	DuMont
Draft
Top draft pick	Ray Felix
Picked by	Baltimore Bullets
Regular season
Top seed	Minneapolis Lakers
Top scorer	Neil Johnston (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Syracuse Nationals
Eastern runners-up	Boston Celtics
Western champions	Minneapolis Lakers
Western runners-up	Rochester Royals
Finals
Venue	Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
Champions	Minneapolis Lakers
Runners-up	Syracuse Nationals

The 1953–54 Boston Celtics basketball team practicing the pick and roll. From left to rightː Bob Donham, Ed Mikan, Bill Sharman and Chuck Cooper.

Notable occurrences

• The Indianapolis Olympians folded prior to the start of the season. Indianapolis would return to professional basketball with the Pacers of the ABA in 1967. The NBA returned to Indianapolis for the 1976–77 season, when the Pacers joined the Association as part of the NBA-ABA merger.
• The 1954 NBA All-Star Game was played in New York City, with the East beating the West 98–93 in overtime. Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics won the game's MVP award.
• This marked the first year the NBA had a national television contract. The contract had the DuMont Television Network televising 13 games, paying 39,000 dollars for the rights.

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	1952–53 coach	1953–54 coach
N/A
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Milwaukee Hawks	Andrew Levane	Red Holzman

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-New York Knicks	44	28	.611	–	18–8	15–13	11–7	24–16
x-Boston Celtics	42	30	.583	2	17–6	10–19	15–5	25–15
x-Syracuse Nationals	42	30	.583	2	26–6	11–17	5–7	21–19
Philadelphia Warriors	29	43	.403	15	10–9	6–16	13–18	19–21
Baltimore Bullets	16	56	.222	28	12–18	0–22	4–16	11–29

Western Division

Western Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Minneapolis Lakers	46	26	.639	–	20–4	13–15	13–7	19–13
x-Rochester Royals	44	28	.611	2	18–10	12–15	14–3	22–10
x-Fort Wayne Pistons	40	32	.556	6	19–8	11–17	10–7	17–15
Milwaukee Hawks	21	51	.292	25	11–14	5–17	6–20	6–26

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Main article: 1954 NBA playoffs

Division Round Robin Semifinals

Division Finals

NBA Finals

1954 NBA playoffs

Bracket

• * Division winner
• Bold Series winner (Division Round Robin Semifinals: top 2 advanced)
• Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points	Neil Johnston	Philadelphia Warriors	1,759
Rebounds	Harry Gallatin	New York Knicks	1,098
Assists	Bob Cousy	Boston Celtics	518
FG%	Ed Macauley	Boston Celtics	.486
FT%	Bill Sharman	Boston Celtics	.844

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

NBA awards

• Rookie of the Year: Ray Felix, Baltimore Bullets

• All-NBA First Team:
  • George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
  • Harry Gallatin, New York Knicks
  • Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
  • Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
  • Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors
• All-NBA Second Team:
  • Carl Braun, New York Knicks
  • Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics
  • Jim Pollard, Minneapolis Lakers
  • Paul Seymour, Syracuse Nationals
  • Bobby Wanzer, Rochester Royals

See also

• List of NBA regular season records