# 1953–54 NBA season

The 1953–54 NBA season was the eighth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Minneapolis Lakers winning their 5th NBA Championship in 6 years, beating the Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. It was also the final time the Lakers would win an NBA Championship before the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1960.

## Notable occurrences

* The Indianapolis Olympians folded prior to the start of the season. Indianapolis would return to professional basketball with the Pacers of the ABA in 1967. The NBA returned to Indianapolis for the 1976–77 season, when the Pacers joined the Association as part of the NBA-ABA merger.
* The 1954 NBA All-Star Game was played in New York City, with the East beating the West 98–93 in overtime. Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics won the game's MVP award.
* This marked the first year the NBA had a national television contract. The contract had the DuMont Television Network televising 13 games, paying 39,000 dollars for the rights.
Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1952–53 coach | 1953–54 coach |
| N/A |||
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Milwaukee Hawks | Andrew Levane | Red Holzman |

## Teams

1953-54 National Basketball Association :
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Eastern | Baltimore Bullets | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Coliseum | 4,500 |
| 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 | Milwaukee Hawks | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Milwaukee Arena | 10,783 |
| Western | Minneapolis Lakers | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Minneapolis Auditorium | 10,000 |
| Western | Rochester Royals | Rochester, New York | Edgerton Park Arena | 4,200 |

## Final standings
### Eastern Division

| Eastern Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| x-New York Knicks | 44 | 28 | .611 | – | 18–8 | 15–13 | 11–7 | 24–16 |
| x-Boston Celtics | 42 | 30 | .583 | 2 | 17–6 | 10–19 | 15–5 | 25–15 |
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 42 | 30 | .583 | 2 | 26–6 | 11–17 | 5–7 | 21–19 |
| Philadelphia Warriors | 29 | 43 | .403 | 15 | 10–9 | 6–16 | 13–18 | 19–21 |
| Baltimore Bullets | 16 | 56 | .222 | 28 | 12–18 | 0–22 | 4–16 | 11–29 |

### Western Division

| Western Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| x-Minneapolis Lakers | 46 | 26 | .639 | – | 20–4 | 13–15 | 13–7 | 19–13 |
| x-Rochester Royals | 44 | 28 | .611 | 2 | 18–10 | 12–15 | 14–3 | 22–10 |
| x-Fort Wayne Pistons | 40 | 32 | .556 | 6 | 19–8 | 11–17 | 10–7 | 17–15 |
| Milwaukee Hawks | 21 | 51 | .292 | 25 | 11–14 | 5–17 | 6–20 | 6–26 |
x – clinched playoff spot

## Playoffs

| Division Round Robin Semifinals | Division Round Robin Semifinals | Division Round Robin Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals | NBA Finals |
| | | | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | | | |
| E1 | New York* | 0–4 | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | Eastern Division | | | |
| E1 | New York* | 0–4 | E1 | Syracuse | 2 | | | |
| E2 | Boston | 2–2 | E1 | Syracuse | 2 | | | |
| E2 | Boston | 2–2 | E2 | Boston | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Syracuse | 4–0 | E2 | Boston | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Syracuse | 4–0 | | | | E1 | Syracuse | 3 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | Minneapolis* | 4 |
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 3–0 | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | W1 | Minneapolis* | 4 |
| W1 | Minneapolis* | 3–0 | W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | |
| W2 | Rochester | 2–1 | W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | |
| W2 | Rochester | 2–1 | W2 | Rochester | 1 | |
| W3 | Fort Wayne | 0–4 | W2 | Rochester | 1 | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner (Division Round Robin Semifinals: top 2 advanced)
* Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points | Neil Johnston | Philadelphia Warriors | 1,759 |
| Rebounds | Harry Gallatin | New York Knicks | 1,098 |
| Assists | Bob Cousy | Boston Celtics | 518 |
| FG% | Ed Macauley | Boston Celtics | .486 |
| FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .844 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

## NBA awards

* Rookie of the Year: Ray Felix, Baltimore Bullets
* All-NBA First Team:
** George Mikan, Minneapolis Lakers
** Harry Gallatin, New York Knicks
** Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals
** Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics
** Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors
* All-NBA Second Team:
** Carl Braun, New York Knicks
** Ed Macauley, Boston Celtics
** Jim Pollard, Minneapolis Lakers
** Paul Seymour, Syracuse Nationals
** Bobby Wanzer, Rochester Royals