# 1960–61 NBA season

The 1960–61 NBA season was the 15th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 3rd straight NBA title, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals.

## 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.
Coaching changes :
| 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 |

## Teams

1960-61 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 | Los Angeles Lakers | Los Angeles, California | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena | 16,161 |
| 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 | 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

| Western Divisionvte | 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 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 | 3 | E3 | Syracuse | 1 | | | |
| E2 | Philadelphia | 0 | | | | E1 | Boston* | 4 |
| | | | Western Division | Western Division | Western Division | 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