1955–56 NBA season

The 1955–56 NBA season was the tenth 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 being Bob Pettit of the St. Louis Hawks.
• 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.

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division	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	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

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:
  • Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
  • Paul Arizin, Philadelphia Warriors
  • Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors
  • Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
  • Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics

• All-NBA Second Team:
  • Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
  • Maurice Stokes, Rochester Royals
  • Slater Martin, Minneapolis Lakers
  • Jack George, Philadelphia Warriors
  • Clyde Lovellette, Minneapolis Lakers

References

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