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1956–57 Boston Celtics season

1956–57 Boston Celtics season
NBA champions
Division champions
Head coachRed Auerbach
ArenaBoston Garden
Results
Record44–28 (.611)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Champions
(Defeated Hawks 4–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
RadioWHDH
< 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. HoopsHype would later rank this championship squad as tied with the 1955–56 Philadelphia Warriors team a season prior as the team with the second-easiest path to the NBA Finals ever in 2024 due to them being one of three total championship teams who had playoff opponents that averaged around an average overall record or less during their championship run.[1]

With Russell's death in 2022, Bob Cousy is the only living player from the 1957 championship team (as of 2024).

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight DOB (Y-M-D) From
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
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
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

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

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

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

Player GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
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

Player GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
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

1957 playoff game log
Division Finals: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds Location Series
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
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

  • 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

  1. ^ https://hoopshype.com/lists/ranking-the-easiest-paths-to-an-nba-title-ever-championship/
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