1956 NBA playoffs

Postseason tournament August 2023 NBA playoffs 1956 1955–56 March 15 – April 7, 1956 6 Philadelphia Warriors 2 Fort Wayne Pistons St. Louis Hawks Syracuse Nationals Scoring leader(s) Paul Arizin (76ers) 28.9 PPG 1955 1957 The 1956 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1955–56 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Warriors defeating the Western Conference champion Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. It was the Warriors' second NBA title; their first was in 1947 back when the NBA was known as the BAA. They would have to wait until 1975 to taste championship gold again; by that time they had moved to the Bay Area and become the Golden State Warriors. Philadelphia's later team, the Philadelphia 76ers, would win the title in 1967. This was the Pistons' second straight trip to the NBA Finals, but they would not make another appearance until 1988 as the Detroit Pistons. No team from Indiana would return to the NBA Finals until the Indiana Pacers did so in 2000. The play-in game between the Syracuse Nationals and the New York Knicks was the last play-in game to determine a playoff spot until 2020.August 11, 2020 How the Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Suns make the West play-in https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29642065/nba-western-conference-play-scenarios-how-trail-blazers-grizzlies-spurs-suns-make-in August 12, 2020 ESPN.com en Bracket Division Semifinals Division Finals NBA Finals Eastern Division Western Division E3 Syracuse 2 E2 Boston 1 W3 St. Louis 2 W2 Minneapolis 1 E1 Philadelphia* 3 E3 Syracuse 2 W1 Fort Wayne* 3 W3 St. Louis 2 E1 Philadelphia* 4 W1 Fort Wayne* 1* Division winner Bold Series winner Italic Team with home-court advantage in NBA Finals Division Tiebreakers Eastern Division Tiebreaker New York Knicks @ Syracuse Nationals #eee March 15 Boxscore New York Knicks 77 Syracuse Nationals 82 19–17 21–27 21–20 16–18 Harry Gallatin 19 Ray Felix 13 Dick McGuire 9 Dolph Schayes 14 Dolph Schayes 14 Seymour, King 6 each Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Sid Borgia, Mendy Rudolph Syracuse finishes as the East's #3 seed, New York fails to qualify Western Division Tiebreaker Minneapolis Lakers @ St. Louis Hawks #eee March 16 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 103 St. Louis Hawks 97 27–33 25–19 29–17 22–28 Slater Martin 28 Bob Pettit 22 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Mendy Rudolph, Arnie Heft Minneapolis finishes as the West's #2 seed, St. Louis as the West's #3 seed Division Semifinals Eastern Division Semifinals (2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals #eee March 17 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 93 Boston Celtics 110 22–25 19–26 31–29 21–30 Ed Conlin 21 Dolph Schayes 6 Bob Cousy 29 Bob Cousy 9 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Boston leads series, 1–0 March 19 Boxscore Boston Celtics 98 Syracuse Nationals 101 21–21 29–32 20–28 28–20 Bob Cousy 28 Arnie Risen 17 Bob Cousy 10 Red Kerr 23 Red Kerr 14 Seymour, Schayes 5 each Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Series tied, 1–1 #eee March 21 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 102 Boston Celtics 97 21–22 36–23 21–31 24–21 Dolph Schayes 27 Dolph Schayes 17 Dolph Schayes 5 Bill Sharman 24 Arnie Risen 15 Bob Cousy 7 Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Syracuse wins series, 2–1 This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning three of the first four meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=BOS&opp_id=PHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Syracuse leads 3–1 in all-time playoff series#fff 1953 Boston Celtics 2 Syracuse Nationals 0 1953 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1954 Boston Celtics 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1954 Eastern Division Round Robin Semifinals #fff 1954 Boston Celtics 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1954 Eastern Division Finals #fff 1955 Boston Celtics 1 Syracuse Nationals 3 1955 Eastern Division Finals Western Division Semifinals (2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks #eee March 17 Boxscore Minneapolis Lakers 115 St. Louis Hawks 116 31–25 29–20 31–39 24–32 Mikkelsen, Martin 19 each Bob Pettit 25 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis leads series, 1–0 March 19 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 75 Minneapolis Lakers 133 15–25 15–36 24–36 21–36 Bob Pettit 14 Slater Martin 19 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota Series tied, 1–1 To date, this 58-point margin remains the Hawks' worst playoff loss and the Lakers' largest playoff win in franchise history.https://www.landofbasketball.com/teams/stats/worst_losses_hawks.htm Atlanta Hawks Worst Losses Ever May 9, 2026 Land of Basketballhttps://www.landofbasketball.com/teams/stats/biggest_wins_lakers.htm Los Angeles Lakers Biggest Wins Ever May 9, 2026 Land of Basketball #eee March 21 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 116 Minneapolis Lakers 115 20–27 32–29 33–28 31–31 Bob Pettit 41 Clyde Lovellette 31 Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota St. Louis wins series, 2–1 George Mikan’s final NBA game. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=LAL&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Los Angeles Lakers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 Division Finals Eastern Division Finals (1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals #eee March 23 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 87 Philadelphia Warriors 109 17–28 27–23 25–24 18–34 Dolph Schayes 19 Kerr, Schayes 14 each George King 8 Paul Arizin 29 Neil Johnston 24 Gola, Beck 5 each Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 March 25 Boxscore Philadelphia Warriors 118 Syracuse Nationals 122 38–35 19–27 33–36 28–24 Neil Johnston 43 Neil Johnston 16 Neil Johnston 7 Dolph Schayes 33 Dolph Schayes 16 George King 10 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Series tied, 1–1 #eee March 27 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 96 Philadelphia Warriors 119 23–32 24–30 25–25 24–32 Ed Conlin 19 Dolph Schayes 21 George King 6 Joe Graboski 20 Neil Johnston 18 Tom Gola 10 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 March 28 Boxscore Philadelphia Warriors 104 Syracuse Nationals 108 31–26 25–26 18–30 30–26 Neil Johnston 35 Neil Johnston 12 Neil Johnston 7 George King 25 Red Kerr 9 George King 15 Onondaga War Memorial, Syracuse, New York Series tied, 2–2 #eee March 29 Boxscore Syracuse Nationals 104 Philadelphia Warriors 109 28–32 20–24 25–22 31–31 Dolph Schayes 28 Dolph Schayes 16 George King 13 Paul Arizin 35 Neil Johnston 18 Neil Johnston 8 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia wins series, 3–2 This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning the first three meetings. +Previous playoff serieshttps://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=GSW&opp_id=PHI&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Golden State Warriors versus Philadelphia 76ers (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021Philadelphia 76ers/ Syracuse Nationals leads 3–0 in all-time playoff series#fff 1950 Philadelphia Warriors 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1950 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1951 Philadelphia Warriors 0 Syracuse Nationals 2 1951 Eastern Division Semifinals #fff 1952 Philadelphia Warriors 1 Syracuse Nationals 2 1952 Eastern Division Semifinals Western Division Finals (1) Fort Wayne Pistons vs. (3) St. Louis Hawks #eee March 22 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 86 Fort Wayne Pistons 85 27–25 23–20 19–23 17–17 Al Ferrari 17 George Yardley 23 War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana St. Louis leads series, 1–0 March 24 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 74 St. Louis Hawks 84 12–30 23–17 18–19 21–18 Larry Foust 16 Al Ferrari 21 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Stan Stutz, Sid Borgia St. Louis leads series, 2–0 #eee March 25 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 84 Fort Wayne Pistons 107 19–29 24–26 16–22 25–30 Alex Hannum 18 Houbregs, Yardley 19 each War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana St. Louis leads series, 2–1 March 27 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 93 St. Louis Hawks 84 24–21 28–27 18–18 23–18 George Yardley 30 Jack Coleman 19 Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri Series tied, 2–2 #eee March 29 Boxscore St. Louis Hawks 97 Fort Wayne Pistons 102 19–24 18–22 31–21 29–35 Jack Coleman 20 Foust, Yardley 20 each War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne wins series, 3–2 Pistons become first team to come back after from a 2–0 deficit in NBA playoffs. This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=ATL&opp_id=DET&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Atlanta Hawks versus Detroit Pistons (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 NBA Finals: (E1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (W1) Fort Wayne Pistons 1956 NBA Finals #eee March 31 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 94 Philadelphia Warriors 98 25–20 24–20 15–33 30–25 George Yardley 27 George Yardley 15 Hutchins, Phillip 6 each Paul Arizin 28 Neil Johnston 14 Tom Gola 10 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 4,128 Philadelphia leads series, 1–0 April 1 Boxscore Philadelphia Warriors 83 Fort Wayne Pistons 84 20–20 26–22 19–23 18–19 Paul Arizin 27 Arizin, Johnston 9 each Ernie Beck 6 George Yardley 30 George Yardley 19 Andy Phillip 5 War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana 6,976 Series tied, 1–1 #eee April 3 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 96 Philadelphia Warriors 100 26–25 25–23 14–25 31–27 Larry Foust 19 Larry Foust 14 Chuck Noble 4 Paul Arizin 27 Neil Johnston 17 Tom Gola 8 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 11,698 Philadelphia leads series, 2–1 April 5 Boxscore Philadelphia Warriors 107 Fort Wayne Pistons 105 24–24 26–32 30–26 27–23 Paul Arizin 30 Tom Gola 9 Joe Graboski 7 George Yardley 21 Larry Foust 14 Andy Phillip 6 War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana 7,852 Philadelphia leads series, 3–1 #eee April 7 Boxscore Fort Wayne Pistons 88 Philadelphia Warriors 99 24–22 19–22 20–28 25–27 George Yardley 30 George Yardley 20 Corky Devlin 6 Joe Graboski 29 Joe Graboski 16 Jack George 10 Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 11,194 Philadelphia wins series, 4–1 This was the first playoff meeting between these two teams.https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/rivals.cgi?request=1&team_id=CLE&opp_id=WAS&is_playoffs=Y Team Rivalry Finder — Detroit Pistons versus Golden State Warriors (Playoffs) basketball-reference.com February 19, 2021 References External links Basketball-Reference.com's 1956 NBA Playoffs page Category:NBA playoffs Playoffs fi:NBA-kausi 1955–1956#Pudotuspelit