1957 NBA playoffs
The 1957 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1956-57 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals.
| Dates | March 14–April 13, 1957 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1956–57 | ||
| Teams | 6 | ||
| Champions | Boston Celtics (1st title) | ||
| Runners-up | St. Louis Hawks (1st finals appearance) | ||
| Semifinalists | |||
| |||
It was the first title in Celtics history; as of 2020, they are tied with the Los Angeles Lakers in NBA titles won with 17.
The Celtics and Hawks met in 4 out of 5 NBA Finals from 1957–1961, with the Celtics winning 3 out of 4. While the Hawks' dominance of the Western Division was succeeded by the Los Angeles Lakers afterward, Boston missed the NBA Finals just once between 1957–1969, and win the NBA title in every year but two.
In the division semifinals, the Philadelphia Warriors were swept by the Syracuse Nationals 2–0. This was the first time in NBA history that the defending champions were swept in the opening round. The next time the defending champions were swept in the opening round was in 2007. It was also the only time in which the playoff series leading to the Final resulted in sweeps.
Bracket
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||||||
| 1 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| Western Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Minneapolis | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Fort Wayne | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Minneapolis | 2 | |||||||||||
| W1 | St. Louis | 3 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Boston | 4 | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boston | 3 | |||||||||||
| Eastern Division | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Syracuse | 0 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Philadelphia | 0 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Syracuse | 2 | |||||||||||
Western Division Tiebreakers
St. Louis Hawks vs. Minneapolis Lakers: Hawks win series 1-0
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 16): St. Louis 114, Minneapolis 111 (OT)
St. Louis Hawks vs. Fort Wayne Pistons: Hawks win series 1-0
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 14): St. Louis 115, Fort Wayne 103
St. Louis defeats Fort Wayne & Minneapolis for #1 seed in West. Minneapolis gets #2 seed, Fort Wayne #3.
Western Division
Champion: St. Louis Hawks
Division Semifinals
(1) St. Louis Hawks have division semifinals bye.
(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Fort Wayne Pistons: Lakers win series 2-0
- Game 1 @ Minneapolis (March 17): Minneapolis 131, Fort Wayne 127
- Game 2 @ Fort Wayne (March 19): Minneapolis 110, Fort Wayne 108
Last Playoff Meeting: 1955 NBA Western Division Finals (Fort Wayne won 3-1)
Division Finals
(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers: Hawks win series 3-0
- Game 1 @ St. Louis (March 21): St. Louis 118, Minneapolis 109
- Game 2 @ St. Louis (March 24): St. Louis 106, Minneapolis 104
- Game 3 @ Minneapolis (March 25): St. Louis 143, Minneapolis 135 (2OT)
Last Playoff Meeting: 1956 NBA Western Division Semifinals (St. Louis won 2-1)
Eastern Division
Champion: Boston Celtics
Division Semifinals
(1) Boston Celtics have division semifinals bye.
(2) Syracuse Nationals vs. (3) Philadelphia Warriors: Nationals win series 2-0
- Game 1 @ Philadelphia (March 16): Syracuse 103, Philadelphia 96
- Game 2 @ Syracuse (March 18): Syracuse 91, Philadelphia 80
Last Playoff Meeting: 1956 NBA Eastern Division Finals (Philadelphia won 3-2)
Division Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Syracuse Nationals: Celtics win series 3-0
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 21): Boston 108, Syracuse 90
- Game 2 @ Syracuse (March 23): Boston 120, Syracuse 105
- Game 3 @ Boston (March 24): Boston 83, Syracuse 80
Last Playoff Meeting: 1956 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals (Syracuse won 2-1)
NBA Finals
(1) Boston Celtics vs. (1) St. Louis Hawks: Celtics win series 4-3
- Game 1 @ Boston (March 30): St. Louis 125, Boston 123 (2OT; Tom Heinsohn hits the game-tying lay-up with 6 seconds left in regulation to force the first OT; Bob Cousy hits the game-tying shot with 15 seconds left in the first OT to force the second OT)
- Game 2 @ Boston (March 31): Boston 119, St. Louis 99
- Game 3 @ St. Louis (April 6): St. Louis 100, Boston 98 (Bob Pettit hits the game-winner with 45 seconds left)
- Game 4 @ St. Louis (April 7): Boston 123, St. Louis 118
- Game 5 @ Boston (April 9): Boston 110, St. Louis 104
- Game 6 @ St. Louis (April 11): St. Louis 96, Boston 94 (Cliff Hagan hits the game-winner at the buzzer)
- Game 7 @ Boston (April 13): Boston 125, St. Louis 123 (2OT)
Last Playoff Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Hawks and Celtics.