You Are Here > Basketball-Reference.com > Leagues > 1960-61 NBA

1960-61 NBA Season Summary

Previous Season ▪ Next Season

1960-61 NBA:

League Standings

Glossary ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Team W L W-L% GB PS/G PA/G SRS
Eastern Division              
Boston Celtics* 57 22 .722 — 119.7 114.1 4.93
Philadelphia Warriors* 46 33 .582 11.0 121.0 120.1 0.88
Syracuse Nationals* 38 41 .481 19.0 121.3 119.2 1.92
New York Knickerbockers 21 58 .266 36.0 113.7 120.1 -5.44
Western Division              
St. Louis Hawks* 51 28 .646 — 118.8 115.2 2.98
Los Angeles Lakers* 36 43 .456 15.0 114.0 114.1 -0.12
Detroit Pistons* 34 45 .430 17.0 118.6 121.0 -2.12
Cincinnati Royals 33 46 .418 18.0 117.9 121.3 -3.04

League Playoffs

Finals (4-1): Boston Celtics over St. Louis Hawks
 
Eastern Division Finals (4-1): Boston Celtics over Syracuse Nationals
Western Division Finals (4-3): St. Louis Hawks over Los Angeles Lakers
 
Eastern Division Semifinals (3-0): Syracuse Nationals over Philadelphia Warriors
Western Division Semifinals (3-2): Los Angeles Lakers over Detroit Pistons

Team Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
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 Syracuse Nationals* 79 3654 8746 .418 2278 2948 .773 5726 1786 2280 9586 121.3
2 Philadelphia Warriors* 79 3768 8883 .424 2022 3108 .651 5938 1959 1936 9558 121.0
3 Boston Celtics* 79 3699 9295 .398 2062 2804 .735 6131 1872 2032 9460 119.7
4 St. Louis Hawks* 79 3618 8795 .411 2147 2921 .735 5994 2136 2135 9383 118.8
5 Detroit Pistons* 79 3481 8357 .417 2408 3240 .743 5813 1866 2157 9370 118.6
6 Cincinnati Royals 79 3626 8281 .438 2060 2761 .746 5581 2107 2159 9312 117.9
7 Los Angeles Lakers* 79 3401 8430 .403 2204 2999 .735 5816 1728 2043 9006 114.0
8 New York Knickerbockers 79 3422 8347 .410 2135 2838 .752 5315 1822 2223 8979 113.7
League Average 79 3584 8642 .415 2165 2952 .733 5789 1910 2121 9332 118.1

Opponent Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
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* 79 9013 114.1
2 Los Angeles Lakers* 79 9010 114.1
3 St. Louis Hawks* 79 9102 115.2
4 Syracuse Nationals* 79 9416 119.2
5 New York Knickerbockers 79 9486 120.1
6 Philadelphia Warriors* 79 9484 120.1
7 Detroit Pistons* 79 9558 121.0
8 Cincinnati Royals 79 9585 121.3
League Average 79 9332 118.1

Miscellaneous Statistics

Glossary ▪ CSV ▪ PRE ▪ Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
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 Boston Celtics* 52.4 26.6 4.93 .398 .222 Boston Garden 201,569
2 St. Louis Hawks* 47.8 31.2 2.98 .411 .244 Kiel Auditorium 291,084
3 Philadelphia Warriors* 41.6 37.4 0.88 .424 .228 Philadelphia Civic Center 196,223
4 Syracuse Nationals* 44.4 34.6 1.92 .418 .260 Onondaga War Memorial 112,394
5 Los Angeles Lakers* 39.4 39.6 -0.12 .403 .261 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 151,344
6 Detroit Pistons* 34.0 45.0 -2.12 .417 .288 Detroit Olympia 164,230
7 Cincinnati Royals 31.6 47.4 -3.04 .438 .249 Cincinnati Gardens 194,017
8 New York Knickerbockers 25.0 54.0 -5.44 .410 .256 Madison Square Garden (III) 326,895
League Average 39.5 39.5 0.00 .415 .250 204,720

League Awards

Most Valuable Player: Bill Russell*
Rookie of the Year: Oscar Robertson*

League Leaders

Glossary ▪ Rate statistic requirements

Minutes Played

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 3773
2. Bill Russell*-BOS 3458
3. Gene Shue-DET 3361
4. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 3133
5. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 3032

Field Goals

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 1251
2. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 931
3. Jack Twyman*-CIN 796
4. Bob Pettit*-STL 769
5. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 756

Field Goal Attempts

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 2457
2. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 2166
3. Willie Naulls-NYK 1723
4. Bob Pettit*-STL 1720
5. Jack Twyman*-CIN 1632

Field Goal Pct

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW .509
2. Jack Twyman*-CIN .488
3. Larry Costello-SYR .482
4. Oscar Robertson*-CIN .472
5. Bailey Howell*-DET .469

Free Throws

1. Dolph Schayes*-SYR 680
2. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 676
3. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 653
4. Bailey Howell*-DET 601
5. Bob Pettit*-STL 582

Free Throw Attempts

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 1054
2. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 863
3. Bob Pettit*-STL 804
4. Bailey Howell*-DET 798
5. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 794

Free Throw Pct

1. Bill Sharman*-BOS .921
2. Dolph Schayes*-SYR .869
3. Gene Shue-DET .856
4. Frank Ramsey*-BOS .833
5. Paul Arizin*-PHW .833

Total Rebounds

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 2149
2. Bill Russell*-BOS 1868
3. Bob Pettit*-STL 1540
4. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 1447
5. Bailey Howell*-DET 1111

Assists

1. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 690
2. Guy Rodgers-PHW 677
3. Bob Cousy*-BOS 587
4. Gene Shue-DET 530
5. Richie Guerin-NYK 503

Personal Fouls

1. Paul Arizin*-PHW 335
2. Tom Gola*-PHW 321
3. Walter Dukes-DET 313
4. Richie Guerin-NYK 310
5. Ray Felix-LAL 302

Points

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 3033
2. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 2538
3. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 2165
4. Bob Pettit*-STL 2120
5. Jack Twyman*-CIN 1997

Minutes Per Game

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 47.8
2. Bill Russell*-BOS 44.3
3. Gene Shue-DET 43.1
4. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 42.9
5. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 42.7

Points Per Game

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 38.4
2. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 34.8
3. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 30.5
4. Bob Pettit*-STL 27.9
5. Jack Twyman*-CIN 25.3

Rebounds Per Game

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 27.2
2. Bill Russell*-BOS 23.9
3. Bob Pettit*-STL 20.3
4. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 19.8
5. Bailey Howell*-DET 14.4

Assists Per Game

1. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 9.7
2. Guy Rodgers-PHW 8.7
3. Bob Cousy*-BOS 7.7
4. Gene Shue-DET 6.8
5. Richie Guerin-NYK 6.4

Player Efficiency Rating

1. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 28.2
2. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 27.8
3. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 25.9
4. Bob Pettit*-STL 25.2
5. Bailey Howell*-DET 21.2

True Shooting Pct

1. Oscar Robertson*-CIN .555
2. Bailey Howell*-DET .552
3. Larry Costello-SYR .546
4. Jack Twyman*-CIN .532
5. Kenny Sears-NYK .527

Effective Field Goal Pct

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW .509
2. Jack Twyman*-CIN .488
3. Larry Costello-SYR .482
4. Oscar Robertson*-CIN .472
5. Bailey Howell*-DET .469

Offensive Win Shares

1. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 13.0
2. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 12.3
3. Bailey Howell*-DET 10.1
4. Jack Twyman*-CIN 9.4
5. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 9.1

Defensive Win Shares

1. Bill Russell*-BOS 11.3
2. Bob Pettit*-STL 6.5
3. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 6.5
4. Bob Cousy*-BOS 6.3
5. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 5.7

Win Shares

1. Wilt Chamberlain*-PHW 18.8
2. Bob Pettit*-STL 14.9
3. Elgin Baylor*-LAL 14.8
4. Oscar Robertson*-CIN 13.2
5. Bill Russell*-BOS 13.0
     

All-NBA Teams

1st Team
Elgin Baylor*
Wilt Chamberlain*
Bob Cousy*
Bob Pettit*
Oscar Robertson*
 2nd Team
Larry Costello
Tom Heinsohn*
Bill Russell*
Dolph Schayes*
Gene Shue

All-Star Game Rosters

East
Paul Arizin*
Wilt Chamberlain*
Larry Costello
Bob Cousy*
Tom Gola*
Hal Greer*
Richie Guerin
Tom Heinsohn*
Willie Naulls
Bill Russell*
Dolph Schayes*
 West
Elgin Baylor*
Walter Dukes
Wayne Embry
Cliff Hagan*
Bailey Howell*
Hot Rod Hundley
Clyde Lovellette*
Bob Pettit*
Oscar Robertson*
Gene Shue
Jerry West*