| 1960–61 NBA season | |
|---|---|
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
|
| Games | 79 |
| Teams | 8 |
| TV partner | NBC |
| Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Oscar Robertson |
| Picked by | Cincinnati Royals |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Boston Celtics |
| SeasonMVP | Bill Russell (Boston) |
| Top scorer | Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Boston Celtics |
| Eastern runners-up | Syracuse Nationals |
| Western champions | St. Louis Hawks |
| Western runners-up | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Finals | |
| Venue | |
| Champions | Boston Celtics |
| Runners-up | St. Louis Hawks |
| NBA seasons | |
The1960–61 NBA season was the 15th season of theNational Basketball Association. The season ended with theBoston Celtics winning their 3rd straight NBA title, beating theSt. Louis Hawks 4 games to 1 in theNBA Finals.
| Offseason | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | 1959–60 coach | 1960–61 coach |
| Syracuse Nationals | Paul Seymour | Alex Hannum |
| Cincinnati Royals | Tom Marshall | Charles Wolf |
| Los Angeles/Minneapolis Lakers | Jim Pollard | Fred Schaus |
| St. Louis Hawks | Ed Macauley | Paul Seymour |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Boston Celtics | 57 | 22 | .722 | – | 21–7 | 24–11 | 12–4 | 28–11 |
| x-Philadelphia Warriors | 46 | 33 | .582 | 11 | 23–6 | 12–21 | 11–6 | 22–17 |
| x-Syracuse Nationals | 38 | 41 | .481 | 19 | 19–9 | 8–21 | 11–11 | 18–21 |
| New York Knicks | 21 | 58 | .266 | 36 | 10–22 | 7–25 | 4–11 | 10–29 |
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-St. Louis Hawks | 51 | 28 | .646 | – | 29–5 | 15–20 | 7–3 | 25–14 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 36 | 43 | .456 | 15 | 16–12 | 8–20 | 12–11 | 19–20 |
| x-Detroit Pistons | 34 | 45 | .430 | 17 | 20–11 | 3–19 | 11–15 | 18–21 |
| Cincinnati Royals | 33 | 46 | .418 | 18 | 18–13 | 8–19 | 7–14 | 16–23 |
x – clinched playoff spot
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston* | 4 | |||||||||||
| E3 | Syracuse | 3 | E3 | Syracuse | 1 | ||||||||
| E2 | Philadelphia | 0 | E1 | Boston* | 4 | ||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 1 | |||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis* | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Detroit | 2 | W2 | Los Angeles | 3 | ||||||||
| W2 | Los Angeles | 3 | |||||||||||
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | 3,033 |
| Rebounds | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | 2,149 |
| Assists | Oscar Robertson | Cincinnati Royals | 690 |
| FG% | Wilt Chamberlain | Philadelphia Warriors | .509 |
| FT% | Bill Sharman | Boston Celtics | .921 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points, rebounds, and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.