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1955-56 NBA Season Summary

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League Standings

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*) ▪ Click column headers to sort
Team W L W-L% GB PS/G PA/G SRS
Eastern Division       
Philadelphia Warriors* 45 27 .625 — 103.1 98.8 3.82
Boston Celtics* 39 33 .542 6.0 106.0 105.3 0.72
New York Knickerbockers* 35 37 .486 10.0 100.2 100.6 -0.20
Syracuse Nationals* 35 37 .486 10.0 96.9 96.9 0.17
Western Division       
Fort Wayne Pistons* 37 35 .514 — 94.4 93.7 0.45
Minneapolis Lakers* 33 39 .458 4.0 99.3 100.2 -0.92
St. Louis Hawks* 33 39 .458 4.0 96.6 98.0 -1.42
Rochester Royals 31 41 .431 6.0 95.8 98.7 -2.61

League Playoffs

Finals (4-1):Philadelphia Warriors over Fort Wayne Pistons
 
Eastern Division Finals (3-2):Philadelphia Warriors over Syracuse Nationals
 
Western Division Finals (3-2):Fort Wayne Pistons over St. Louis Hawks
 
Eastern Division Semifinals (2-1):Syracuse Nationals over Boston Celtics
 
Western Division Semifinals (2-1):St. Louis Hawks over Minneapolis Lakers
 
Eastern Division Third Place Tiebreaker (1-0):Syracuse Nationals over New York Knickerbockers
 
Western Division Second Place Tiebreaker (1-0):Minneapolis Lakers over St. Louis Hawks

Team Statistics

Glossary ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*) ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 Boston Celtics* 72 2745 6913 .397 2142 2785 .769 4583 1834 1874 7632 106.0
2 Philadelphia Warriors* 72 2641 6437 .410 2142 2829 .757 4362 1886 1872 7424 103.1
3 New York Knickerbockers* 72 2508 6395 .392 2196 2913 .754 4562 1610 1923 7212 100.2
4 Minneapolis Lakers* 72 2541 6543 .388 2066 2627 .786 4133 1689 1978 7148 99.3
5 Syracuse Nationals* 72 2466 6661 .370 2044 2703 .756 4060 1710 1783 6976 96.9
6 St. Louis Hawks* 72 2506 6628 .378 1941 2761 .703 4493 1748 1971 6953 96.6
7 Rochester Royals 72 2551 6890 .370 1798 2567 .700 4449 1747 1990 6900 95.8
8 Fort Wayne Pistons* 72 2396 6174 .388 2002 2729 .734 3974 1752 1789 6794 94.4
League Average 72 2544 6580 .387 2041 2739 .745 4327 1747 1898 7130 99.0

Opponent Statistics

Glossary ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*) ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PTS/G
1 Fort Wayne Pistons* 72 6743 93.7
2 Syracuse Nationals* 72 6975 96.9
3 St. Louis Hawks* 72 7059 98.0
4 Rochester Royals 72 7106 98.7
5 Philadelphia Warriors* 72 7117 98.8
6 Minneapolis Lakers* 72 7212 100.2
7 New York Knickerbockers* 72 7242 100.6
8 Boston Celtics* 72 7585 105.3
League Average 72 7130 99.0

Miscellaneous Statistics

Glossary ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*) ▪ CSV ▪ PRE
Offense Four Factors Defense Four Factors
Rk Team W Pyth L Pyth SRS ORtg DRtg Pace eFG% TOV% ORB% FT/FGA eFG% TOV% DRB% FT/FGA Arena Attendance
1 Philadelphia Warriors* 46.3 25.7 3.82 .410 .333 Philadelphia Civic Center 164,929
2 Boston Celtics* 37.6 34.4 0.72 .397 .310 Boston Garden 209,645
3 Fort Wayne Pistons* 37.9 34.1 0.45 .388 .324 War Memorial Coliseum 128,102
4 New York Knickerbockers* 35.0 37.0 -0.20 .392 .343 Madison Square Garden (III) 246,756
5 Syracuse Nationals* 36.0 36.0 0.17 .370 .307 Onondaga War Memorial 140,714
6 Minneapolis Lakers* 33.8 38.2 -0.92 .388 .316 Minneapolis Auditorium 112,360
7 St. Louis Hawks* 32.2 39.8 -1.42 .378 .293 Kiel Auditorium 156,009
8 Rochester Royals 28.7 43.3 -2.61 .370 .261 Rochester Community War Memorial 102,468
League Average 36.0 36.0 0.00 .387 .310 157,623

League Awards

Most Valuable Player:Bob Pettit
Rookie of the Year:Maurice Stokes

League Leaders

Glossary ▪ Rate statistic requirements

Minutes Played

1.Jack George-PHW2840
2.Slater Martin*-MNL2838
3.Bob Pettit*-STL2794
4.Bob Cousy*-BOS2767
5.Jack Coleman-TOT2738

Field Goals

1.Bob Pettit*-STL646
2.Paul Arizin*-PHW617
3.Clyde Lovellette*-MNL594
4.Bill Sharman*-BOS538
5.Neil Johnston*-PHW499

Field Goal Attempts

1.Bob Pettit*-STL1507
2.Paul Arizin*-PHW1378
3.Clyde Lovellette*-MNL1370
4.Bill Sharman*-BOS1229
5.Bob Cousy*-BOS1223

Field Goal Pct

1.Neil Johnston*-PHW.457
2.Paul Arizin*-PHW.448
3.Larry Foust-FTW.447
4.Kenny Sears-NYK.438
5.Bill Sharman*-BOS.438

Free Throws

1.Bob Pettit*-STL557
2.Neil Johnston*-PHW549
3.Dolph Schayes*-SYR542
4.Paul Arizin*-PHW507
5.Bob Cousy*-BOS476

Free Throw Attempts

1.Bob Pettit*-STL757
2.Neil Johnston*-PHW685
3.Dolph Schayes*-SYR632
4.Paul Arizin*-PHW626
5.Bob Cousy*-BOS564

Free Throw Pct

1.Bill Sharman*-BOS.867
2.Dolph Schayes*-SYR.858
3.Dick Schnittker-MNL.856
4.Bob Cousy*-BOS.844
5.Carl Braun-NYK.838

Total Rebounds

1.Bob Pettit*-STL1164
2.Maurice Stokes*-ROC1094
3.Clyde Lovellette*-MNL992
4.Dolph Schayes*-SYR891
5.Neil Johnston*-PHW872

Assists

1.Bob Cousy*-BOS642
2.Jack George-PHW457
3.Slater Martin*-MNL445
4.George King-SYR410
 Andy Phillip*-FTW410

Personal Fouls

1.Vern Mikkelsen*-MNL319
2.Chuck Share-STL318
3.Arnie Risen*-BOS300
4.Ray Felix-NYK293
5.Dick Ricketts-TOT287

Points

1.Bob Pettit*-STL1849
2.Paul Arizin*-PHW1741
3.Neil Johnston*-PHW1547
4.Clyde Lovellette*-MNL1526
5.Dolph Schayes*-SYR1472

Minutes Per Game

1.Jack George-PHW39.4
2.Slater Martin*-MNL39.4
3.Bob Pettit*-STL38.8
4.Bob Cousy*-BOS38.4
5.Paul Arizin*-PHW37.8

Points Per Game

1.Bob Pettit*-STL25.7
2.Paul Arizin*-PHW24.2
3.Neil Johnston*-PHW22.1
4.Clyde Lovellette*-MNL21.5
5.Dolph Schayes*-SYR20.4

Rebounds Per Game

1.Maurice Stokes*-ROC16.3
2.Bob Pettit*-STL16.2
3.Clyde Lovellette*-MNL14.0
4.Neil Johnston*-PHW12.5
5.Dolph Schayes*-SYR12.4

Assists Per Game

1.Bob Cousy*-BOS8.9
2.Jack George-PHW6.3
3.Slater Martin*-MNL6.2
4.Tom Gola*-PHW5.9
5.Andy Phillip*-FTW5.9

Player Efficiency Rating

1.Bob Pettit*-STL27.3
2.Neil Johnston*-PHW25.1
3.Larry Foust-FTW23.8
4.Dolph Schayes*-SYR23.7
5.Clyde Lovellette*-MNL23.5

True Shooting Pct

1.Neil Johnston*-PHW.555
2.Larry Foust-FTW.547
3.Paul Arizin*-PHW.526
4.Bob Houbregs*-FTW.522
5.Kenny Sears-NYK.515

Effective Field Goal Pct

1.Neil Johnston*-PHW.457
2.Paul Arizin*-PHW.448
3.Larry Foust-FTW.447
4.Kenny Sears-NYK.438
5.Bill Sharman*-BOS.438
    

All-NBA Teams

1st Team
Paul Arizin
Bob Cousy
Neil Johnston
Bob Pettit
Bill Sharman
 2nd Team
Jack George
Clyde Lovellette
Slater Martin
Dolph Schayes
Maurice Stokes

All-Star Teams

Players who played in game are marked with an asterisk (*)
East
Paul Arizin*
Carl Braun
Bob Cousy*
Harry Gallatin*
Jack George*
Neil Johnston*
Red Kerr*
Ed Macauley*
Dick McGuire*
Dolph Schayes*
Bill Sharman*
 West
Larry Foust*
Bob Harrison*
Mel Hutchins*
Clyde Lovellette*
Slater Martin*
Vern Mikkelsen*
Bob Pettit*
Maurice Stokes*
Bobby Wanzer*
George Yardley*