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	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 games	72
Number of teams	8
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Dick Ricketts
Picked by	St. Louis 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
Venue	Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana
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.

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

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

Main article: 1956 NBA playoffs

Division Semifinals

Division Finals

NBA Finals

Eastern Division

E1

Philadelphia*

3

E3

Syracuse

2

E3

Syracuse

2

E2

Boston

1

E1

Philadelphia*

4

Western Division

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

See also

• List of NBA regular season records