1958–59 NBA season | |
---|---|
League | National Basketball Association |
Sport | Basketball |
Duration | October 17, 1958 – March 11, 1959 March 13 – April 1, 1959 (Playoffs) April 4–9, 1959 (Finals) |
Number of games | 72 |
Number of teams | 8 |
TV partner(s) | NBC |
Draft | |
Top draft pick | Elgin Baylor |
Picked by | Minneapolis Lakers |
Regular season | |
Top seed | Boston Celtics |
Season MVP | Bob Pettit (St. Louis) |
Top scorer | Bob Pettit (St. Louis) |
Playoffs | |
Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
Eastern runners-up | Syracuse Nationals |
Western champions | Minneapolis Lakers |
Western runners-up | St. Louis Hawks |
Finals | |
Champions | Boston Celtics |
Runners-up | Minneapolis Lakers |
The 1958–59 NBA Season was the 13th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship (the first of what would be 8 straight), beating the Minneapolis Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals.
Offseason | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 1957–58 coach | 1958–59 coach |
Minneapolis Lakers | George Mikan | John Kundla |
New York Knicks | Vince Boryla | Andrew Levane |
Philadelphia Warriors | George Senesky | Al Cervi |
In-season | ||
Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
Cincinnati Royals | Bobby Wanzer | Tom Marshall |
St. Louis Hawks | Andy Phillip | Ed Macauley |
1958-59 National Basketball Association | ||||
Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Eastern | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 |
New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 18,496 | |
Philadelphia Warriors | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Municipal Auditorium | 12,000 | |
Syracuse Nationals | Syracuse, New York | Onondaga War Memorial | 6,230 | |
Western | Cincinnati Royals | Cincinnati, Ohio | Cincinnati Gardens | 11,000 |
Detroit Pistons | Detroit, Michigan | Olympia Stadium | 15,000 | |
Minneapolis Lakers | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Minneapolis Auditorium | 10,000 | |
St. Louis Hawks | St. Louis, Missouri | Kiel Auditorium | 9,300 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-Boston Celtics | 52 | 20 | .722 | – | 26–4 | 13–15 | 13–1 | 23–13 |
x-New York Knicks | 40 | 32 | .556 | 12 | 21–9 | 15–15 | 4–8 | 19–17 |
x-Syracuse Nationals | 35 | 37 | .486 | 17 | 17–9 | 7–24 | 8–7 | 14–22 |
Philadelphia Warriors | 32 | 40 | .444 | 20 | 17–9 | 7–24 | 8–7 | 14–22 |
W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
x-St. Louis Hawks | 49 | 23 | .681 | – | 28–3 | 14–15 | 7–5 | 27–9 |
x-Minneapolis Lakers | 33 | 39 | .458 | 16 | 15–7 | 9–17 | 9–15 | 18–18 |
x-Detroit Pistons | 28 | 44 | .389 | 21 | 13–17 | 8–20 | 7–7 | 17–19 |
Cincinnati Royals | 19 | 53 | .264 | 30 | 9–19 | 2–25 | 8–9 | 10–26 |
x – clinched playoff spot
Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
E3 | Syracuse | 2 | E3 | Syracuse | 3 | ||||||||
E2 | New York | 0 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
W2 | Minneapolis | 0 | |||||||||||
W1 | St. Louis* | 2 | |||||||||||
W3 | Detroit | 1 | W2 | Minneapolis | 4 | ||||||||
W2 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||||||
Category | Player | Team | Stat |
---|---|---|---|
Points | Bob Pettit | St. Louis Hawks | 2,105 |
Rebounds | Bill Russell | Boston Celtics | 1,612 |
Assists | Bob Cousy | Boston Celtics | 557 |
FG% | Kenny Sears | New York Knicks | .490 |
FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .932 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.