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. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

'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 league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

4 games to 1 in the

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

. 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 league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

, they have yet to return to the Finals as of 2020.

Bracket

Division Semifinals

Eastern Division Semifinals

(2)
Philadelphia Warriors The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden St ...
vs. (3)
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– ...

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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...
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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

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.

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 league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
vs. (3)
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– ...

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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...
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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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 considered ...

'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 National Basketball Association 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 ...