# 1959–60 NBA season

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 |
| 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 | Cincinnati Royals | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cincinnati Gardens | 11,000 |
| Western | Detroit Pistons | Detroit, Michigan | Olympia Stadium | 15,000 |
| Western | Minneapolis Lakers | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Minneapolis Armory | 10,000 |
| 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-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 Divisionvte | 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

| 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 | Boston* | 4 | | | |
| E3 | Syracuse | 1 | E2 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | |
| E2 | Philadelphia | 2 | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | 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