1954–55 NBA season

Ninth NBA season August 2023 September 2019 1954–55 NBA season National Basketball Association Basketball October 30, 1954 – March 14, 1955March 15–27, 1955 (Playoffs)March 31 – April 10, 1955 (Finals) 72 8 (9)note NBC Draft 1954 NBA Draft List of first overall NBA draft picks Frank Selvy Baltimore Bullets Regular season Syracuse Nationals Fort Wayne Pistons Neil Johnston (Philadelphia) Playoffs 1955 NBA Playoffs Eastern Eastern Division (NBA) Syracuse Nationals Boston Celtics Western Western Division (NBA) Fort Wayne Pistons Minneapolis Lakers Finals 1955 NBA Finals Syracuse Nationals Fort Wayne Pistons List of NBA seasons NBA 1953–54 NBA season 1953–54 1955–56 NBA season 1955–56 The 1954–55 NBA season was the ninth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Syracuse Nationals winning the NBA championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals. Notable occurrences In response to the relatively slow pace of games, the NBA introduced a 24-second shot clock. The shot clock revitalized the game and scoring skyrocketed league-wide. The NBA would also adopt the rule of allowing teams to shoot what would be deemed as a "penalty shot" (which later would be fixed up into being two free-throws) after a team gets into a fifth foul in any one quarter (or overtime period). BALThe Baltimore Bullets dropped out of the NBA and folded on November 27, 1954, after playing 14 games (record 3 wins 11 losses), the last time 2026 y, that an NBA franchise has folded; these games and all statistics were deleted from the NBA's records. The NBA would return to Baltimore when the Chicago Zephyrs relocated there as the "new" Bullets for the 1963–64 season, though the franchise would relocate to Washington in 1973, where they remain today as the Washington Wizards. As a result of Baltimore having folded, the NBA schedule was redrafted so each team now played 12 games against divisional opponents, and 9 games against the four teams in the other division, for a total of 72 games. The 1955 NBA All-Star Game was played in New York City, with the East beating the West 100–91. Bill Sharman of the Boston Celtics won the game's MVP award. NBC began televising NBA games. This continued until the 1962–63 season, when ABC took over. NBC would begin televising NBA games again in 1990. The Milwaukee Hawks played their final season in the Wisconsin city before moving to St. Louis, Missouri the following season. The NBA would return to Milwaukee with the expansion Bucks in 1968. +Coaching changesOffseason Team 1953–54 coach 1954–55 coach Fort Wayne Pistons Paul Birch Charles EckmanIn-season Team Outgoing coach Incoming coach Baltimore Bullets* Clair Bee* Albert Barthelme* * – Would later be expunged from official NBA records following the folding of the original Baltimore Bullets franchise. Final standings Eastern Division Western Division x – clinched playoff spot NOTE: The Baltimore Bullets folded with a 3–11 record, with their games deleted from records and the 72-game schedule rewritten. The standings with the games included are as below.https://nbastats.net/05Various/1954-1955-BaltimoreBullets.xlsx XLSX 1954-55 Baltimore Bullets Nbastats.net June 29, 2026 Eastern Division W Games won L Games lost PCT Winning percentage GB Games behind Home Home record Road Road record Neutral Neutral record Div Division record Syracuse Nationals 44 29 .603 – 25–7 11–17 8–5 22–15 New York Knicks 39 35 .527 5.5 18–9 8–18 13–8 16–22 Boston Celtics 38 36 .514 6.5 22–5 5–22 11–9 21–17 Philadelphia Warriors 34 39 .466 10 14–5 6–20 14–14 18–19 Baltimore Bullets 3 11 .214 11.5 2–4 1–4 0–3 1–5 Western Division W Games won L Games lost PCT Winning percentage GB Games behind Home Home record Road Road record Neutral Neutral record Div Division record Fort Wayne Pistons 45 29 .608 – 22–6 10–14 13–9 28–8 Minneapolis Lakers 43 33 .566 3 19–6 10–15 14–12 18–18 Rochester Royals 30 43 .411 14.5 18–11 4–19 8–13 14–22 Milwaukee Hawks 26 47 .356 18.5 6–11 9–17 11–19 14–22 Playoffs 1955 NBA playoffs 1955 NBA playoffs Bracket yes no Statistics leaders + Category Player Team Stat Points Neil Johnston Philadelphia Warriors 1,631 Rebounds Neil Johnston Philadelphia Warriors 1,085 Assists Bob Cousy Boston Celtics 557 FG% Larry Foust Fort Wayne Pistons .487 FT% Bill Sharman Boston Celtics .897 Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages. NBA awards Rookie of the Year: Bob Pettit, Milwaukee Hawks 25em All-NBA First Team: Neil Johnston, Philadelphia Warriors Dolph Schayes, Syracuse Nationals Bob Cousy, Boston Celtics Bob Pettit, Milwaukee Hawks Larry Foust, Fort Wayne Pistons All-NBA Second Team: Harry Gallatin, New York Knicks Slater Martin, Minneapolis Lakers Vern Mikkelsen, Minneapolis Lakers Paul Seymour, Syracuse Nationals Bill Sharman, Boston Celtics See also List of NBA regular season records References External links 1954–55 NBA Season Summary Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 10, 2010