The 1955 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the

1954–55 NBA season The 1954–55 NBA season was the ninth season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Syracuse Nationals winning the NBA Championship, beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 3 in the 1955 NBA Finals, NBA Finals. Notab ...

. The best-of-seven series was won by the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

, who defeated the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in the final game when Syracuse's

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made a free throw with 12 seconds left to put the Nationals up 92–91. King then stole the ball from Fort Wayne's Andy Phillip with three seconds remaining to clinch the victory for Syracuse. Because of the arena not believing Fort Wayne would make the NBA Finals, the arena was booked and not available, and the Fort Wayne home games were played in Indianapolis. It has been alleged that some Fort Wayne players conspired with

gamblers Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three elem ...

to throw the series to Syracuse. The suspicious nature of the seventh game in particular has raised concerns about the legitimacy of the series. Fort Wayne led Syracuse 41–24 early in the second quarter, then allowed the Nationals to rally to win the game. Andy Phillip, who turned the ball over with three seconds left in the game, was believed by at least one of his teammates,

George Yardley George Harry Yardley III (November 3, 1928 – August 12, 2004) was an American basketball player. He was the first player in NBA history to score 2,000 points in one season, breaking the 1,932-point record held by George Mikan. Yardley was en ...

, to have thrown the game. "There were always unwholesome implications about that ball game", Yardley told the author

Charley Rosen Charles Elliot Rosen (born January 18, 1941) is an American author and former basketball player and basketball coach. Career The 6' 8" Rosen played college basketball at Hunter College in New York City for three seasons (1959–62), setting s ...

. However, Phillip may not have acted alone. Other Pistons players were strongly believed to have thrown games during the 1954 and 1955 NBA seasons.Rosen, pp. 108-154. In fact, Yardley himself turned the ball over to Syracuse with a

palming Palming is a technique for holding or concealing an object in the hand. It is used frequently by magicians to conceal a card, coin, or other object. When it is done skillfully, the hand containing the palmed object is perceived to be completely ...

violation with 18 seconds remaining in Game 7.''Syracuse Herald Journal'', April 11, 1955, p. 45. The foul that gave Syracuse its winning free throw, meanwhile, was committed by Frankie Brian. The NBA did not return to the 2–3–2 format until

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. As of the season, this is the only NBA Finals to date in which the home team has won all seven games.

Series summary

''Nationals win series 4–3'' * – Games played in Indianapolis

Team rosters

Syracuse Nationals

Fort Wayne Pistons

Notes and sources

External links

NBA History
{{DEFAULTSORT:1955 Nba Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...