1960–61 NBA season
15th NBA season
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The 1960–61 NBA season was the 15th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their third straight NBA championship, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.
SportBasketball
Duration
- October 19, 1960 – March 12, 1961
- March 14 – April 1, 1961 (Playoffs)
- April 2–11, 1961 (Finals)
Games79
| 1960–61 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
|
| Games | 79 |
| Teams | 8 |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Oscar Robertson |
| Picked by | Cincinnati Royals |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Boston Celtics |
| Season MVP | Bill Russell (Boston) |
| Top scorer | Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
| Eastern runners-up | Syracuse Nationals |
| Western champions | St. Louis Hawks |
| Western runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics |
| Runners-up | St. Louis Hawks |
Notable occurrences
- The Lakers relocate from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Los Angeles. They would play for seven seasons in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
- The NBA schedule expanded again, this time from 75 games per team to 79.
- The 1961 NBA All-Star Game was played in Syracuse, New York, with the West beating the East 153–131. Rookie Oscar Robertson of the Cincinnati Royals won the game's MVP award.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1959–60 coach | 1960–61 coach |
| Syracuse Nationals | Paul Seymour | Alex Hannum |
| Cincinnati Royals | Tom Marshall | Charles Wolf |
| Los Angeles/Minneapolis Lakers | Jim Pollard | Fred Schaus |
| St. Louis Hawks | Ed Macauley | Paul Seymour |
Final standings
Eastern Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Boston Celtics | 57 | 22 | .722 | – | 21–7 | 24–11 | 12–4 | 28–11 |
| x-Philadelphia Warriors | 46 | 33 | .582 | 11 | 23–6 | 12–21 | 11–6 | 22–17 |
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 38 | 41 | .481 | 19 | 19–9 | 8–21 | 11–11 | 18–21 |
| New York Knicks | 21 | 58 | .266 | 36 | 10–22 | 7–25 | 4–11 | 10–29 |
Western Division
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-St. Louis Hawks | 51 | 28 | .646 | – | 29–5 | 15–20 | 7–3 | 25–14 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 36 | 43 | .456 | 15 | 16–12 | 8–20 | 12–11 | 19–20 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 34 | 45 | .430 | 17 | 20–11 | 3–19 | 11–15 | 18–21 |
| Cincinnati Royals | 33 | 46 | .418 | 18 | 18–13 | 8–19 | 7–14 | 16–23 |
x – clinched playoff spot
Playoffs
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Syracuse | 3 | E3 | Syracuse | 1 | ||||||||
| E2 | Philadelphia | 0 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Detroit | 2 | W2 | Los Angeles | 3 | ||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 3 | |||||||||||
- * 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 | 3,033 |
| Rebounds | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | 2,149 |
| Assists | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals | 690 |
| FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | .509 |
| FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .921 |
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: Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
- Rookie of the Year: Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
- All-NBA First Team:
- F – Elgin Baylor, Los Angeles Lakers
- F – Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
- C – Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
- G – Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
- G – Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati Royals
- All-NBA Second Team:
- F – Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics
- F – Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
- C – Bill Russell, Boston Celtics
- G – Larry Costello, Syracuse Nationals
- G – Gene Shue, Detroit Pistons
See also
References
- 1960–61 NBA Season Summary basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.