1959–60 NBA season

1959–60 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Duration	October 17, 1959 – March 10, 1960 March 11–26, 1960 (Playoffs) March 27 – April 9, 1960 (Finals)
Number of games	75
Number of teams	8
TV partner(s)	NBC
Draft
Top draft pick	Bob Boozer
Picked by	Cincinnati Royals
Regular season
Top seed	Boston Celtics
Season MVP	Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia)
Top scorer	Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Boston Celtics
Eastern runners-up	Philadelphia Warriors
Western champions	St. Louis Hawks
Western runners-up	Minneapolis Lakers
Finals
Champions	Boston Celtics
Runners-up	St. Louis Hawks

The 1959–60 NBA season was the 14th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 2nd straight NBA title, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

• On November 7, 1959, in a game between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia Warriors, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain played the first game of their 10-year professional rivalry.
• The 1960 NBA All-Star Game was played in Philadelphia, with the East beating the West 125–115. Rookie Wilt Chamberlain of the local Philadelphia Warriors won the game's MVP award.
• The Minneapolis Lakers played their final season in the Twin Cities. There would not be another NBA team in Minnesota until the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989–90.
• In an interesting quirk in the schedule, the Philadelphia Warriors and Minneapolis Lakers play a two-game series in California on January 31 – February 1, 1960, with the first game being played in San Francisco (the Warriors' future home) and the second in Los Angeles (the Lakers' future home).
• The NBA schedule was expanded from 72 games per team to 75.

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	1958–59 coach	1959–60 coach
Philadelphia Warriors	Al Cervi	Neil Johnston
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Detroit Pistons	Red Rocha	Dick McGuire
Minneapolis Lakers	John Castellani	Jim Pollard
New York Knicks	Andrew Levane	Carl Braun

Teams

1959-60 National Basketball Association
Division	Team	City	Arena	Capacity
Eastern	Boston Celtics	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston Garden	13,909
	New York Knicks	New York, New York	Madison Square Garden	18,496
	Philadelphia Warriors	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Municipal Auditorium	12,000
	Syracuse Nationals	Syracuse, New York	Onondaga War Memorial	6,230
Western	Cincinnati Royals	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincinnati Gardens	11,000
	Detroit Pistons	Detroit, Michigan	Olympia Stadium	15,000
	Minneapolis Lakers	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Minneapolis Armory	10,000
	St. Louis Hawks	St. Louis, Missouri	Kiel Auditorium	9,300

Map of teams

Boston

New York

Phila-
delphia

Syracuse

Cincinnati

Detroit

Minneapolis

St. Louis

Eastern Division Western Division

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Boston Celtics	59	16	.787	–	25–2	24–9	10–5	28–11
x-Philadelphia Warriors	49	26	.653	10	22–6	12–19	15–1	22–17
x-Syracuse Nationals	45	30	.600	14	25–4	12–19	8–7	21–18
New York Knicks	27	48	.360	32	13–18	9–19	5–11	7–32

Western Division

Western Division v t e	Wins	Losses	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Division
x-St. Louis Hawks	46	29	.613	–	28–5	12–20	6–4	27–12
x-Detroit Pistons	30	45	.400	16	17–14	6–21	7–10	20–19
x-Minneapolis Lakers	25	50	.333	21	9–15	9–21	7–14	17–22
Cincinnati Royals	19	56	.253	27	9–22	2–20	8–14	14–25

x – clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Main article: 1960 NBA playoffs

Division Semifinals

Division Finals

NBA Finals

Eastern Division

E1

Boston*

4

E3

Syracuse

1

E2

Philadelphia

2

E2

Philadelphia

2

E1

Boston*

4

Western Division

W1

St. Louis*

3

W1

St. Louis*

4

W3

Minneapolis

2

W3

Minneapolis

3

W2

Detroit

0

• * Division winner
• Bold Series winner
• Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	2,707
Rebounds	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	1,941
Assists	Bob Cousy	Boston Celtics	715
FG%	Kenny Sears	New York Knicks	.477
FT%	Dolph Schayes	Syracuse Nationals	.893

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: Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
• Rookie of the Year: Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors

• All-NBA First Team:
  • F – Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis Lakers
  • F – Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
  • C – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
  • G – Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
  • G – Gene Shue, Detroit Pistons
• All-NBA Second Team:
  • F – Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
  • F – Jack Twyman, Cincinnati Royals
  • C – Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
  • G – Richie Guerin, New York Knicks
  • G – Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics

See also

• List of NBA regular season records

References

• 1959–60 NBA Season Summary basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.