During the 1954–55 Syracuse Nationals season (their 6th), 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 ...

(NBA) was struggling financially and down to just 8 teams. Nationals owner Danny Biasone suggested that the league limit the amount of time taken for a shot. Biasone was upset with the stalling tactics of opposing teams. During the summer of 1954, Biasone had gotten together some of his pros and a group of high school players and timed them with a stopwatch. Most shots were taken within 12 seconds, Biasone discovered. Biasone calculated that a 24-second shot clock would allow at least 30 shots per quarter and assist in increasing scoring. The result would speed up a game that often ended with long periods of teams just holding the ball. Quickness and athletic ability became prized as they never had been before. Excessive fouling didn't disappear completely, but just about everyone concluded that the clock was good for the game. The shot clock was a success with the result that scoring was up 14 points per game league wide.Syracuse Nationals (1946–1963)
/ref> In the 1st season of the shot clock, the Nats would take 1st place in the Eastern Division with a 43–29 record. They would later win 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 ...

that season following them beating the

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), ...

3–1 and winning all of their home games against the

Fort Wayne 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 of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at ...

to win 4–3 for their first NBA Finals championship (and only one while under the Syracuse Nationals name). HoopsHype later ranked this squad as the team with the eighth-easiest path to an NBA Finals championship due to the records of their two opponents they faced off against.

Offseason

NBA draft

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Season schedule

1954–55 Syracuse Nationals Games – Basketball-Reference.com
/ref>

Playoffs

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W 110–100
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W 116–110
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Dolph Schayes Adolph Schayes ( ; May 19, 1928 – December 10, 2015) was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A top scorer and rebounder, he was a 12-time NBA All-Star and a 12-time All-NBA select ...

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L 97–100 (OT)
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Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (later ...

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W 110–94
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Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township ** Seymour railway station * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Se ...

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Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

W 86–82
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W 87–84
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5,845 , 2–0 , - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" , 3 , April 3 , @

L 89–96
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L 102–109
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L 71–74
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W 109–104
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W 92–91
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6,697 , 4–3 , -

NBA Finals

In the Finals, the Nats would get off to a fast start; taking the first 2 games at home against the

. However, as home court shifted, the Pistons would spark back to life; taking all 3 games to take a 3–2 series lead. Heading back to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

for Game 6 the Nats kept their Championship hopes alive by defeating the Pistons 109–104 to force a decisive game 7 at home. Game 7 would prove to be as tight as the entire series had played out to that point. As time started running out on the Pistons title hopes late in the 4th quarter of game 7 point guard

sank a clutch free throw to give the Nats a 92–91 lead. King would then steal the inbound pass as time ticked away to clinch the NBA title for the Nationals.

Awards and honors

All-NBA First Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

* Paul Seymour,

All-NBA Third Team The All-NBA Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every NBA season. The voting is conducted by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The team has been sel ...

References

Nationals on Basketball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:1954-55 Syracuse Nationals Season

NBA championship seasons Philadelphia 76ers seasons