# 1956–57 NBA season

The 1956–57 NBA season was the 11th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship (which would be the first of their 18 NBA titles), beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

## Notable occurrences

* The 1957 NBA All-Star Game was played in Boston, Massachusetts, with the East beating the West 109–97. Local hero Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics wins the game's MVP award.
Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1955–56 coach | 1956–57 coach |
| N/A |||
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| St. Louis Hawks | Red Holzman | Slater Martin Alex Hannum |
| Syracuse Nationals | Al Cervi | Paul Seymour |

## Teams

1956-57 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-Boston Celtics | 44 | 28 | .611 | - | 24-4 | 11-18 | 9-6 | 20-16 |
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 38 | 34 | .528 | 6 | 23-9 | 9-15 | 6-10 | 20-16 |
| x-Philadelphia Warriors | 37 | 35 | .514 | 7 | 20-5 | 5–25 | 12-5 | 17-19 |
| New York Knicks | 36 | 36 | .500 | 8 | 18-10 | 9-19 | 9-7 | 15-21 |

### Western Division

| Western Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| x-St. Louis Hawks | 34 | 38 | .472 | - | 17-9 | 10-20 | 7-9 | 22-14 |
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 34 | 38 | .472 | - | 15-9 | 5-22 | 14-7 | 18-18 |
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 34 | 38 | .472 | - | 23-5 | 5-23 | 6-10 | 17-19 |
| Rochester Royals | 31 | 41 | .431 | 3 | 19-10 | 7-17 | 5-14 | 15-21 |
* St. Louis finished ahead of Fort Wayne and Minneapolis by defeating them in tiebreaker matches.
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* | 3 | | | |
| E3 | Philadelphia | 0 | E2 | Syracuse | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Syracuse | 2 | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | St. Louis* | 3 |
| | | | W1 | St. Louis* | 3 | | | |
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 0 | W2 | Minneapolis | 0 | | | |
| W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner
* Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points | Paul Arizin | Philadelphia Warriors | 1,817 |
| Rebounds | Maurice Stokes | Rochester Royals | 1,256 |
| Assists | Bob Cousy | Boston Celtics | 478 |
| FG% | Neil Johnston | Philadelphia Warriors | .447 |
| FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .905 |
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 Cousy, Boston Celtics
* Rookie of the Year: Tom Heinsohn, Boston Celtics
* All-NBA First Team:
** F – Paul Arizin, Philadelphia Warriors
** F – Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
** C – Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks
** G – Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
** G – Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics
* All-NBA Second Team:
** F – Maurice Stokes, Rochester Royals
** F – George Yardley, Fort Wayne Pistons
** C – Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors
** G – Dick Garmaker, Minneapolis Lakers
** G – Slater Martin, St. Louis Hawks