The 1961 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

's 1960-61 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

defeating the Western Division champion

St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...

4 games to 1 in the

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

. The Lakers made the playoffs for the first time after moving to Los Angeles. They were one game away from their first Finals in L.A. as the

defeat them. The Division Semifinals were extended from a best-of-three to a best-of-five series. For the Celtics, it was their third straight NBA title and fourth overall. This would be the last Finals appearance for the Hawks franchise to date; though they still exist in the NBA as the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

, they have yet to return to the Finals as of 2024.

Bracket

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(2) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the 76ers/Nationals winning four of the first seven meetings.

Western Division Semifinals

(2)
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
vs. (3)
Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Lakers winning six of the first seven meetings when the Lakers were in Minneapolis. (It was also the 18th playoff series in Pistons history, and the first time they met a team that would not later move to another city.)

Division Finals

Eastern Division Finals

(1)
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...
vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

This was the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Nationals winning four of the first seven meetings.

Western Division Finals

(1)
St. Louis Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at S ...
vs. (2)
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

This was the fifth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Hawks winning three of the first four meetings while the Lakers were based in Minneapolis.

NBA Finals: (E1) Boston Celtics vs. (W1) St. Louis Hawks

Bill Sharman William Walton Sharman (May 25, 1926 – October 25, 2013) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is mostly known for his time with the Boston Celtics in the 1950s, partnering with Bob Cousy in what was then consider ...

's final NBA game. This was the fourth playoff meeting between these two teams, with the Celtics winning two of the first three meetings.

References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com's 1961 NBA Playoffs page
{{1960–61 NBA season by team NBA playoffs

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...