1959–60 NBA season

1959–60 NBA season
League	National Basketball Association
Sport	Basketball
Number of games	75
Number of teams	8
TV partner(s)	NBC
Regular season
Season MVP	Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia)
Top scorer	Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Boston Celtics
Eastern runners-up	Philadelphia Warriors
Western champions	St. Louis Hawks
Western runners-up	Minneapolis Lakers
Finals
Champions	Boston Celtics
Runners-up	St. Louis Hawks

The 1959–60 NBA season was the 14th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning their 2nd straight NBA Championship, beating the St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.

Notable occurrences

• On November 7th 1959 in a game between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia Warriors, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain played the first game of their 10 year professional rivalry.
• The 1960 NBA All-Star Game was played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the East beating the West 125–115. Rookie Wilt Chamberlain of the local Philadelphia Warriors won the game's MVP award.
• The Minneapolis Lakers played their final season in the Twin Cities. There would not be another NBA team in Minnesota until the birth of the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989–90.
• In an interesting quirk in the schedule, the Philadelphia Warriors and Minneapolis Lakers play a two-game series in California on January 31 – February 1, 1960, with the first game being played in San Francisco (the Warriors' future home) and the second in Los Angeles (the Lakers' future home).
• The NBA schedule was expanded from 72 games per team to 75.

Final standings

Eastern Division

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Boston Celtics	59	16	.787	–	25–2	24–9	10–5	28–11
x-Philadelphia Warriors	49	26	.653	10	22–6	12–19	15–1	22–17
x-Syracuse Nationals	45	30	.600	14	25–4	12–19	8–7	21–18
New York Knicks	27	48	.360	32	13–18	9–19	5–11	7–32

Western Division

Western Division	Wins	Losses	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Division
x-St. Louis Hawks	46	29	.613	–	28–5	12–20	6–4	27–12
x-Detroit Pistons	30	45	.400	16	17–14	6–21	7–10	20–19
x-Minneapolis Lakers	25	50	.333	21	9–15	9–21	7–14	17–22
Cincinnati Royals	19	56	.253	27	9–22	2–20	8–14	14–25

x – clinched playoff spot

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	2,707
Rebounds	Wilt Chamberlain	Philadelphia Warriors	1,941
Assists	Bob Cousy	Boston Celtics	715
FG%	Kenny Sears	New York Knicks	.477
FT%	Dolph Schayes	Syracuse Nationals	.893

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

NBA awards

• Most Valuable Player: Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors
• Rookie of the Year: Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors

All-NBA First Team: Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia Warriors Bob Pettit, St. Louis Hawks Gene Shue, Detroit Pistons Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics Elgin Baylor, Minneapolis Lakers

All-NBA Second Team: Richie Guerin, New York Knicks Bill Russell, Boston Celtics Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics Jack Twyman, Cincinnati Royals

References

• 1959–60 NBA Season Summary basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.