1956–57 Boston Celtics season

1956–57 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Red Auerbach
Arena	Boston Garden
Results
Record	44–28 (.611)
Place	Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	WHDH

The 1956-57 complete roster that won their first championship.

The 1956–57 NBA season was the Celtics' 11th season in the NBA. The Celtics finished the season by winning their first NBA Championship.

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. 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 Red Auerbach (George Wash.) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Bill Russell	Arnie Risen
PF	Tom Heinsohn	Jack Nichols	Dick Hemric
SF	Jim Loscutoff	Frank Ramsey	Lou Tsioropoulos
SG	Bill Sharman	Andy Phillip
PG	Bob Cousy

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	—

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

East Division Semifinals

The Celtics had a division semifinal bye.

East Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Syracuse Nationals: Celtics win series 3–0

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 108, Syracuse 90
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Boston 120, Syracuse 105
• Game 3 @ Boston: Boston 83, Syracuse 80

NBA Finals

(E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) St. Louis Hawks: Celtics win series 4–3

• Game 1 @ Boston: St. Louis 125, Boston 123 (2OT)
• Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 119, St. Louis 99
• Game 3 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 100, Boston 98
• Game 4 @ St. Louis: Boston 123, St. Louis 118
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 110, St. Louis 104
• Game 6 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 96, Boston 94
• Game 7 @ Boston: Boston 125, St. Louis 123 (2OT)

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

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference