1954 NBA playoffs
The 1954 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1953-54 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Syracuse Nationals 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
For the Lakers, it was their third straight NBA title, and fifth in the last six years.
With the folding of the Indianapolis Olympians after the previous year's playoffs, leaving the NBA with nine teams, they resorted to a round-robin playoff format in 1954 for the only time in league history.
Although the Minneapolis Lakers, Fort Wayne Pistons, Rochester Royals and Syracuse Nationals all play in different cities now (Los Angeles, Detroit, Sacramento and Philadelphia respectively), this was the first NBA playoff in which every team that participated still exists today.
Division Semifinals
The top 3 teams in each Division played a double round-robin in the Semifinals. The top 2 teams advanced to the Division Finals (shaded). The 2nd game between Minneapolis and Rochester (the final game to be played in the group) was cancelled because seeding would not have been affected.
Western Division
| Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis Lakers | 3 | 0 |
| Rochester Royals | 2 | 1 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons | 0 | 4 |
Eastern Division
| Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Syracuse Nationals | 4 | 0 |
| Boston Celtics | 2 | 2 |
| New York Knicks | 0 | 4 |
Playoff Bracket
| Division Finals | NBA Finals | ||||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 1 | |||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis | 4 | |||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 3 | |||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 2 | |||||||
| E2 | Boston | 0 | |||||||
Western Division
Champion: Minneapolis Lakers
Division Finals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (2) Rochester Royals: Lakers win series 2-1
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 89, Rochester 76
- Game 2 @ Rochester: Rochester 74, Minneapolis 73
- Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 82, Rochester 72
Last Playoff Meeting: 1952 NBA Western Division Finals (Minneapolis won 2-1)
Eastern Division
Champion: Syracuse Nationals
Division Finals
(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (2) Boston Celtics: Nationals win series 2-0
- Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 109, Boston 94
- Game 2 @ Boston: Syracuse 83, Boston 76
Last Playoff Meeting: 1953 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals (Boston won 2-0)
NBA Finals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (1) Syracuse Nationals: Lakers win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 79, Syracuse 68
- Game 2 @ Minneapolis: Syracuse 62, Minneapolis 60 (Paul Seymour hits the game-winner from 43 feet with 7 seconds left)
- Game 3 @ Syracuse: Minneapolis 81, Syracuse 67
- Game 4 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 80, Minneapolis 69
- Game 5 @ Syracuse: Minneapolis 84, Syracuse 73
- Game 6 @ Minneapolis: Syracuse 65, Minneapolis 63
- Game 7 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 87, Syracuse 80
Last Playoff Meeting: 1950 NBA Finals (Minneapolis won 4-2)