1953–54 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 30, 1953 – March 14, 1954 March 16–28, 1954 (Playoffs) March 31 – April 12, 1954 (Finals) |
Number of games | 72 |
Number of teams | 9 |
TV partner(s) | DuMont |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Ray Felix |
Picked by | Baltimore Bullets |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Minneapolis Lakers |
Top scorer | Neil Johnston ( Philadelphia) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Syracuse Nationals |
Eastern runners-up | Boston Celtics |
Western champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
Western runners-up | Rochester Royals |
Finals | |
Champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
Runners-up | Syracuse Nationals |
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.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1952–53 coach | 1953–54 coach |
N/A | ||
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Milwaukee Hawks | Andrew Levane | Red Holzman |
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 |
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
Division Round Robin Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
E1 | New York* | 0–4 | |||||||||||
E1 | Syracuse | 2 | |||||||||||
E2 | Boston | 2–2 | |||||||||||
E2 | Boston | 0 | |||||||||||
E3 | Syracuse | 4–0 | |||||||||||
E1 | Syracuse | 3 | |||||||||||
Western Division | W1 | Minneapolis* | 4 | ||||||||||
W1 | Minneapolis* | 3–0 | |||||||||||
W1 | Minneapolis* | 2 | |||||||||||
W2 | Rochester | 2–1 | |||||||||||
W2 | Rochester | 1 | |||||||||||
W3 | Fort Wayne | 0–4 | |||||||||||
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.