1956–57 NBA season

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 18 NBA titles), beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

1956–57 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 27, 1956 – March 13, 1957 March 14–25, 1957 (Playoffs) March 30 – April 13, 1957 (Finals)
Number of games	72
Number of teams	8
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Sihugo Green
Picked by	Rochester Royals
Regular season
Season MVP	Bob Cousy (Boston)
Top scorer	Paul Arizin (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Boston Celtics
Eastern runners-up	Syracuse Nationals
Western champions	St. Louis Hawks
Western runners-up	Minneapolis Lakers
Finals
Venue	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri
Champions	Boston Celtics
Runners-up	St. Louis Hawks

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.

Coaching changes

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

Eastern Division v t e	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 v t e	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

Main article: 1957 NBA 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

• List of NBA regular season records