1956–57 Boston Celtics season

NBA basketball team season (Season champions)

NBA professional basketball team season

1956–57 Boston Celtics season

NBA champions

Division champions

Head coach| Red Auerbach
Arena| Boston Garden
Results
Record| 44-28 (.611)
Place| Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish| NBA Champions
(Defeated Hawks 4–3)

* * *

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Radio| WHDH
| < 1955–56  | 1957–58 >

|

The 1956-57 complete roster that won their first championship.

The 1956–57 Boston Celtics season was the 11th season for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This was the first time in franchise history where the Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals, which they won over the St. Louis Hawks in 7 games. The Celtics would make the Finals a record 10 consecutive seasons, spanning from this season to the 1965–66 season. They were led by 1957's MVP Bob Cousy, as well as Bill Russell, Bill Sharman, and 1957's Rookie of the Year Tom Heinsohn.

With Russell's death in 2022, Bob Cousy is the only remaining player from the 1957 championship team still alive.

## Offseason[edit]

### NBA draft[edit]

## Roster[edit]

Boston Celtics roster

Players | Coaches
| Pos. | # | Name | Height | Weight | DOB (Y-M-D) | From

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G | 14 | Cousy, Bob | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)  | 175 lb (79 kg)  | 1928-08-09  | Holy Cross
F/C | 15 | Heinsohn, Tom | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)  | 218 lb (99 kg)  | 1934-08-26  | Holy Cross
F | 20 | Hemric, Dick | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)  | 220 lb (100 kg)  | 1933-08-29  | Wake Forest
F | 18 | Loscutoff, Jim | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)  | 220 lb (100 kg)  | 1930-02-04  | Oregon
F/C | 16 | Nichols, Jack | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)  | 222 lb (101 kg)  | 1926-04-09  | Washington
G | 17 | Phillip, Andy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)  | 195 lb (88 kg)  | 1922-03-07  | Illinois
G/F | 23 | Ramsey, Frank | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)  | 190 lb (86 kg)  | 1931-07-13  | Kentucky
F/C | 19 | Risen, Arnie | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)  | 200 lb (91 kg)  | 1924-10-09  | Ohio State
C | 6 | Russell, Bill | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)  | 215 lb (98 kg)  | 1934-02-12  | San Francisco
G | 21 | Sharman, Bill | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)  | 175 lb (79 kg)  | 1926-05-25  | USC
F | 29 | Tsioropoulos, Lou | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)  | 190 lb (86 kg)  | 1930-08-31  | Kentucky

Head coach

* Red Auerbach

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (DP) Unsigned draft pick
* (FA) Free agent
* (S) Suspended
* Injured

## Regular season[edit]

### Season standings[edit]

Eastern Division

* v
* t
* e

|  W  |  L  |  PCT  |  GB  |  Home  |  Road  |  Neutral  |  Div

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x-Boston Celtics | 44 | 28 | .611 | - | 24-4 | 11-18 | 9-6 | 20-16
x-Syracuse Nationals | 38 | 34 | .528 | 6 | 23-9 | 9-15 | 6-10 | 20-16
x-Philadelphia Warriors | 37 | 35 | .514 | 7 | 20-5 | 5–25 | 12-5 | 17-19
New York Knicks | 36 | 36 | .500 | 8 | 18-10 | 9-19 | 9-7 | 15-21

### Record vs. opponents[edit]

1956-57 NBA Records

Team  | BOS  | FWP  | MIN  | NYK  | PHI  | ROC  | STL  | SYR
Boston  | – | 6–3 | 5–4 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 6–3 | 7–2 | 5–7
Fort Wayne | 3–6 | – | 7–5 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–4
Minneapolis | 4–5 | 5–7 | – | 3–6 | 5–4 | 9–3 | 4–8 | 4–5
New York | 5–7 | 4–5 | 6–3 | – | 4–8 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 6–6
Philadelphia | 4–8 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 8–4 | – | 4–5 | 7–2 | 5–7
Rochester | 3–6 | 6–6 | 3–9 | 4–5 | 5–4 | – | 6–6 | 4–5
St. Louis | 2–7 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 6–6 | – | 5–4
Syracuse | 7–5 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 5–4 | 4–5 | —

### Game log[edit]

1956–57 Game log

# | Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record
1 | October 27 | @ New York | 115–112 | Bob Cousy (35) | 1–0
2 | November 3 | New York | 113–107 | Bill Sharman (31) | 1–1
3 | November 10 | Minneapolis | 110–117 | Bob Cousy (27) | 2–1
4 | November 11 | @ Syracuse | 94–83 | Bill Sharman (28) | 3–1
5 | November 14 | N Minneapolis | 113–97 | Bill Sharman (28) | 3–2
6 | November 15 | @ Fort Wayne | 95–98 | Bill Sharman (24) | 3–3
7 | November 17 | Rochester | 86–108 | Jim Loscutoff (20) | 4–3
8 | November 18 | @ Rochester | 101–87 | Bill Sharman (32) | 5–3
9 | November 21 | Philadelphia | 83–95 | Bill Sharman (28) | 6–3
10 | November 22 | @ Philadelphia | 101–78 | Bill Sharman (30) | 7–3
11 | November 24 | Syracuse | 99–114 | Cousy, Sharman (21) | 8–3
12 | November 27 | @ St. Louis | 102–90 | Bob Cousy (27) | 9–3
13 | November 28 | N Minneapolis | 93–105 | Jim Loscutoff (26) | 10–3
14 | November 30 | N Fort Wayne | 102–104 | Arnie Risen (22) | 11–3
15 | December 1 | Fort Wayne | 93–108 | Bill Sharman (22) | 12–3
16 | December 4 | N St. Louis | 107–108 | Cousy, Heinsohn (26) | 13–3
17 | December 6 | @ Philadelphia | 111–113 | Bob Cousy (32) | 13–4
18 | December 7 | Minneapolis | 114–121 | Bob Cousy (34) | 14–4
19 | December 9 | @ Syracuse | 110–116 | Tom Heinsohn (25) | 14–5
20 | December 11 | N Fort Wayne | 97–113 | Tom Heinsohn (34) | 15–5
21 | December 12 | Rochester | 103–93 | Bob Cousy (23) | 15–6
22 | December 15 | St. Louis | 99–102 | Bob Cousy (26) | 16–6
23 | December 16 | N Philadelphia | 116–104 | Bob Cousy (21) | 16–7
24 | December 18 | @ New York | 99–110 | Bob Cousy (35) | 16–8
25 | December 22 | St. Louis | 93–95 | Tom Heinsohn (19) | 17–8
26 | December 23 | @ Fort Wayne | 87–95 | Bill Sharman (26) | 17–9
27 | December 25 | N Philadelphia | 89–82 | Bob Cousy (22) | 17–10
28 | December 26 | Philadelphia | 97–120 | Dickie Hemric (27) | 18–10
29 | December 27 | N Rochester | 92–97 | Bill Sharman (19) | 19–10
30 | December 30 | Syracuse | 92–105 | Bill Sharman (28) | 20–10
31 | January 1 | N Philadelphia | 87–100 | Tom Heinsohn (30) | 21–10
32 | January 4 | N Syracuse | 116–106 | Bob Cousy (32) | 21–11
33 | January 6 | Fort Wayne | 92–118 | Bob Cousy (20) | 22–11
34 | January 8 | @ New York | 102–113 | Cousy, Sharman (25) | 22–12
35 | January 10 | @ Fort Wayne | 98–81 | Jim Loscutoff (22) | 23–12
36 | January 12 | @ St. Louis | 98–100 | Bill Sharman (32) | 23–13
37 | January 13 | @ Minneapolis | 87–104 | Bill Sharman (24) | 23–14
38 | January 18 | St. Louis | 117–126 | Bill Sharman (33) | 24–14
39 | January 19 | @ Rochester | 97–83 | Bob Cousy (33) | 25–14
40 | January 20 | New York | 78–114 | Bob Cousy (32) | 26–14
41 | January 23 | Syracuse | 108–140 | Bill Sharman (22) | 27–14
42 | January 25 | Minneapolis | 106–115 | Bob Cousy (30) | 28–14
43 | January 27 | @ Philadelphia | 107–87 | Bill Sharman (30) | 29–14
44 | January 28 | Philadelphia | 95–105 | Bob Cousy (22) | 30–14
45 | January 29 | N Minneapolis | 91–103 | Bill Sharman (32) | 31–14
46 | January 30 | Syracuse | 119–116 | Bill Sharman (26) | 31–15
47 | January 31 | @ Syracuse | 104–105 | Bill Sharman (30) | 31–16
48 | February 2 | @ New York | 114–111 | Bill Russell (22) | 32–16
49 | February 3 | New York | 98–116 | Bill Sharman (33) | 33–16
50 | February 5 | N Syracuse | 101–105 | Bob Cousy (24) | 34–16
51 | February 6 | Fort Wayne | 93–108 | Bill Sharman (28) | 35–16
52 | February 8 | N New York | 92–90 | Frank Ramsey (23) | 35–17
53 | February 9 | @ Rochester | 102–103 | Tom Heinsohn (20) | 35–18
54 | February 10 | Philadelphia | 98–103 (OT) | Bob Cousy (26) | 36–18
55 | February 13 | @ Minneapolis | 114–115 | Cousy, Heinsohn (27) | 36–19
56 | February 14 | @ Fort Wayne | 106–112 | Frank Ramsey (25) | 36–20
57 | February 15 | @ St. Louis | 123–116 (2OT) | Bob Cousy (33) | 37–20
58 | February 17 | @ Syracuse | 106–116 | Bill Russell (23) | 37–21
59 | February 19 | @ New York | 112–110 | Bob Cousy (27) | 38–21
60 | February 21 | St. Louis | 112–125 | Tom Heinsohn (32) | 39–21
61 | February 22 | @ Philadelphia | 109–117 | Heinsohn, Russell (30) | 39–22
62 | February 24 | New York | 85–97 | Bill Sharman (27) | 40–22
63 | February 26 | N Rochester | 77–92 | Bill Sharman (32) | 41–22
64 | February 28 | N New York | 122–121 (OT) | Tom Heinsohn (35) | 41–23
65 | March 1 | Philadelphia | 80–90 | Ramsey, Sharman (19) | 42–23
66 | March 2 | @ Rochester | 87–96 | Tom Heinsohn (20) | 42–24
67 | March 3 | Rochester | 102–111 | Bill Russell (30) | 43–24
68 | March 5 | @ St. Louis | 102–104 | Tom Heinsohn (41) | 43–25
69 | March 7 | @ Minneapolis | 104–109 | Bill Sharman (26) | 43–26
70 | March 9 | @ Syracuse | 102–104 | Bill Sharman (27) | 43–27
71 | March 10 | Syracuse | 94–92 | Bill Sharman (24) | 43–28
72 | March 13 | New York | 91–122 | Bill Sharman (28) | 44–28

## Player statistics[edit]

Legend

GP  | Games played  |  MPG | Minutes per game
FG% | Field-goal percentage  |  FT% | Free-throw percentage
RPG | Rebounds per game  |  APG | Assists per game
PPG | Points per game

### Season[edit]

Player  | GP  | MPG  | FG%  | FT%  | RPG  | APG  | PPG

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Bob Cousy | 64 | 36.9 | .378 | .821 | 4.8 | 7.5 | 20.6
Tom Heinsohn | 72 | 29.9 | .397 | .790 | 9.8 | 1.6 | 16.2
Dick Hemric | 67 | 15.7 | .344 | .695 | 4.5 | 0.6 | 5.4
Jim Loscutoff | 70 | 31.7 | .345 | .706 | 10.4 | 1.3 | 10.6
Jack Nichols | 61 | 22.5 | .363 | .794 | 6.1 | 1.4 | 8.2
Togo Palazzi* | 21 | 11.1 | .347 | .719 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 5.0
Andy Phillip | 67 | 22.0 | .379 | .642 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 4.4
Frank Ramsey | 35 | 23.1 | .393 | .791 | 5.1 | 1.9 | 11.9
Arnie Risen | 43 | 21.7 | .388 | .679 | 6.7 | 1.2 | 8.0
Bill Russell | 48 | 35.3 | .427 | .492 | 19.6 | 1.8 | 14.7
Bill Sharman | 67 | 35.9 | .416 | .905 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 21.1
Lou Tsioropoulos | 52 | 12.9 | .309 | .775 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 4.4

* – Stats with the Celtics.

### Playoffs[edit]

Player  | GP  | MPG  | FG%  | FT%  | RPG  | APG  | PPG

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Bob Cousy | 10 | 44.0 | .324 | .747 | 6.1 | 9.3 | 20.2
Tom Heinsohn | 10 | 37.0 | .390 | .710 | 11.7 | 2.0 | 22.9
Dick Hemric | 2 | 9.5 | .143 | . | 4.5 | 0.5 | 1.0
Jim Loscutoff | 10 | 25.9 | .284 | .643 | 8.3 | 0.5 | 8.0
Jack Nichols | 10 | 11.7 | .400 | .600 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 3.5
Andy Phillip | 10 | 12.8 | .364 | .400 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 2.2
Frank Ramsey | 10 | 22.9 | .463 | .780 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 12.2
Arnie Risen | 10 | 15.2 | .444 | .655 | 5.8 | 0.8 | 7.5
Bill Russell | 10 | 40.9 | .365 | .508 | 24.4 | 3.2 | 13.9
Bill Sharman | 10 | 37.7 | .381 | .953 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 21.1

## Playoffs[edit]

1957 playoff game log

Division Finals: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)

| Game | Date | Team | Score | High points | High rebounds | Location | Series

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1  | March 21  | Syracuse | W 108–90 | Frank Ramsey (20)  | Bill Russell (31)  | Boston Garden | 1–0
2  | March 23  | @ Syracuse | W 120–105 | Tom Heinsohn (30)  | Bill Russell (30)  | Onondaga War Memorial | 2–0
3  | March 24  | Syracuse | W 83–80 | Bill Sharman (23)  | Bill Russell (23)  | Boston Garden | 3–0

NBA Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)

| Game | Date | Team | Score | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Location
Attendance | Series

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1  | March 30  | St. Louis | L 123–125 (2OT) | Bill Sharman (36)  | Bill Russell (18)  | —  | Boston Garden
5,976  | 0–1
2  | March 31  | St. Louis | W 119–99 | Cousy, Ramsey (22)  | Bill Russell (25)  | Bob Cousy (7)  | Boston Garden
13,909  | 1–1
3  | April 6  | @ St. Louis | L 98–100 | Bill Sharman (28)  | Bill Russell (19)  | Bob Cousy (8)  | Kiel Auditorium
10,048  | 1–2
4  | April 7  | @ St. Louis | W 123–118 | Bob Cousy (31)  | Bill Russell (20)  | Arnie Risen (9)  | Kiel Auditorium
10,035  | 2–2
5  | April 9  | St. Louis | W 124–109 | Bill Sharman (32)  | Bill Russell (23)  | Bob Cousy (19)  | Boston Garden
13,909  | 3–2
6  | April 11  | @ St. Louis | L 94–96 | Tom Heinsohn (28)  | Bill Russell (23)  | —  | Kiel Auditorium
10,053  | 3–3
7  | April 13  | St. Louis | W 125–123 (2OT) | Tom Heinsohn (37)  | Bill Russell (32)  | Bob Cousy (11)  | Boston Garden
13,909  | 4–3

1957 schedule

## Awards and honors[edit]

* Bob Cousy, NBA MVP of the Year
* Bob Cousy, All-NBA First Team
* Tom Heinsohn, NBA Rookie of the Year
* Bill Sharman, All-NBA First Team

## References[edit]

* Celtics on Database Basketball
* Celtics on Basketball Reference

* v
* t
* e

1956–57 NBA season

* Draft
* All-Star Game
* Playoffs
* Finals
* Transactions

Eastern|

* Boston
* New York
* Philadelphia
* Syracuse

Western|

* Fort Wayne
* Minneapolis
* Rochester
* St. Louis

* v
* t
* e

NBA champions

1940s|

* 1947: Philadelphia Warriors
* 1948: Baltimore Bullets
* 1949: Minneapolis Lakers

1950s|

* 1950: Minneapolis Lakers
* 1951: Rochester Royals
* 1952: Minneapolis Lakers
* 1953: Minneapolis Lakers
* 1954: Minneapolis Lakers
* 1955: Syracuse Nationals
* 1956: Philadelphia Warriors
* 1957: Boston Celtics
* 1958: St. Louis Hawks
* 1959: Boston Celtics

1960s|

* 1960: Boston Celtics
* 1961: Boston Celtics
* 1962: Boston Celtics
* 1963: Boston Celtics
* 1964: Boston Celtics
* 1965: Boston Celtics
* 1966: Boston Celtics
* 1967: Philadelphia 76ers
* 1968: Boston Celtics
* 1969: Boston Celtics

1970s|

* 1970: New York Knicks
* 1971: Milwaukee Bucks
* 1972: Los Angeles Lakers
* 1973: New York Knicks
* 1974: Boston Celtics
* 1975: Golden State Warriors
* 1976: Boston Celtics
* 1977: Portland Trail Blazers
* 1978: Washington Bullets
* 1979: Seattle SuperSonics

1980s|

* 1980: Los Angeles Lakers
* 1981: Boston Celtics
* 1982: Los Angeles Lakers
* 1983: Philadelphia 76ers
* 1984: Boston Celtics
* 1985: Los Angeles Lakers
* 1986: Boston Celtics
* 1987: Los Angeles Lakers
* 1988: Los Angeles Lakers
* 1989: Detroit Pistons

1990s|

* 1990: Detroit Pistons
* 1991: Chicago Bulls
* 1992: Chicago Bulls
* 1993: Chicago Bulls
* 1994: Houston Rockets
* 1995: Houston Rockets
* 1996: Chicago Bulls
* 1997: Chicago Bulls
* 1998: Chicago Bulls
* 1999: San Antonio Spurs

2000s|

* 2000: Los Angeles Lakers
* 2001: Los Angeles Lakers
* 2002: Los Angeles Lakers
* 2003: San Antonio Spurs
* 2004: Detroit Pistons
* 2005: San Antonio Spurs
* 2006: Miami Heat
* 2007: San Antonio Spurs
* 2008: Boston Celtics
* 2009: Los Angeles Lakers

2010s|

* 2010: Los Angeles Lakers
* 2011: Dallas Mavericks
* 2012: Miami Heat
* 2013: Miami Heat
* 2014: San Antonio Spurs
* 2015: Golden State Warriors
* 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers
* 2017: Golden State Warriors
* 2018: Golden State Warriors
* 2019: Toronto Raptors

2020s|

* 2020: Los Angeles Lakers
* 2021: Milwaukee Bucks
* 2022: Golden State Warriors
* 2023: Denver Nuggets

* v
* t
* e

Boston Celtics seasons

* Franchise
* History
* Seasons

1940s|

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  1946–47 |  1947–48 |  1948–49

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1950s|

|  1949–50 |  1950–51 |  1951–52 |  1952–53 |  1953–54 |  1954–55 |  1955–56 |  1956–57 |  1957–58 |  1958–59

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1960s|

|  1959–60 |  1960–61 |  1961–62 |  1962–63 |  1963–64 |  1964–65 |  1965–66 |  1966–67 |  1967–68 |  1968–69

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1970s|

|  1969–70 |  1970–71 |  1971–72 |  1972–73 |  1973–74 |  1974–75 |  1975–76 |  1976–77 |  1977–78 |  1978–79

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1980s|

|  1979–80 |  1980–81 |  1981–82 |  1982–83 |  1983–84 |  1984–85 |  1985–86 |  1986–87 | 1987–88 |  1988–89

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1990s|

|  1989–90 |  1990–91 |  1991–92 |  1992–93 |  1993–94 |  1994–95 | 1995–96 |  1996–97 | 1997–98 |  1998–99

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2000s|

|  1999–00 |  2000–01 |  2001–02 |  2002–03 |  2003–04 |  2004–05 |  2005–06 |  2006–07 |  2007–08 |  2008–09

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2010s|

|  2009–10 |  2010–11 |  2011–12 |  2012–13 |  2013–14 |  2014–15 |  2015–16 |  2016–17 |  2017–18 |  2018–19

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2020s|

|  2019–20 |  2020–21 |  2021–22 |  2022–23 |  2023–24 |  |  |  |  |

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Bold indicates NBA Finals victory
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[ W ]: Games won
*[ L ]: Games lost
*[ PCT ]: Winning percentage
*[ GB ]: Games behind
*[ Home ]: Home record
*[ Road ]: Road record
*[ Neutral ]: Neutral record
*[ Div ]: Division record