# 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.

## 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 |

## Teams

1955-56 National Basketball Association :
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Eastern | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 |
| Eastern | New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 18,496 |
| Eastern | Philadelphia Warriors | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Municipal Auditorium | 12,000 |
| Eastern | Syracuse Nationals | Syracuse, New York | Onondaga War Memorial | 6,230 |
| Western | Fort Wayne Pistons | Fort Wayne, Indiana | War Memorial Coliseum | 10,000 |
| Western | Minneapolis Lakers | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Minneapolis Auditorium | 10,000 |
| Western | Rochester Royals | Rochester, New York | Rochester Community War Memorial | 12,428 |
| Western | St. Louis Hawks | St. Louis, Missouri | Kiel Auditorium | 9,300 |

## Final standings
### Eastern Division

| Eastern Divisionvte | 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 Divisionvte | 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

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| | | | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | | | |
| | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E3 | Syracuse | 2 | | | |
| E2 | Boston | 1 | | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | 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