The 1959 NBA Playoffs

NBA Playoffs

The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...

was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

's 1958-1959 season

1958-59 NBA season

The 1958–59 NBA Season was the 13th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship , beating the Minneapolis Lakers 4 games to 0 in the NBA Finals....

. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

 defeating the Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers, four games to none in the NBA Finals

1959 NBA Finals

The 1959 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 1958-59 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1959 NBA Playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers and the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics....

. It was the Celtics' second NBA championship.

This was the first NBA Finals matchup between the Lakers and Celtics; as of 2008 the franchises have met in the championship series 11 times. Boston won the first eight NBA Finals series of the rivalry, spanning three decades-- the 1950s, 1960s and 1980s-- before the Lakers finally defeated the Celtics for the title in 1985

1985 NBA Finals

The 1985 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1984–85 NBA season.The Boston Celtics were looking to repeat as NBA Champions for the first time since the . The Celtics had homecourt advantage for the second year in a row as they finished the regular season with a 63-19...

 and again in 1987

1987 NBA Finals

The 1987 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1986-87 NBA season. The match took place between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. The Lakers won 4–2, beating the Celtics in the Finals. The key moment of the series was Magic Johnson's junior sky hook in Game 4...

, with Boston topping the Lakers again in 2008

2008 NBA Finals

The 2008 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2007–08 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Boston Celtics, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, four games to two in a...

.

This was also the only Celtics/Lakers NBA Finals series that would take place while the latter team was based in Minneapolis

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

. Indeed, the Lakers would only remain in Minneapolis one more year before moving to their current home of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

.

Western Division

Champion: Minneapolis Lakers

Division Semifinals

(1) St. Louis Hawks have division semifinals byes.

(2) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons

Detroit Pistons

The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

:
Lakers win series 2-1

• Game 1 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 92, Detroit 89
• Game 2 @ Detroit: Detroit 117, Minneapolis 103
• Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 129, Detroit 102

Division Finals

(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers:
Lakers win series 4-2

• Game 1 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 124, Minneapolis 90
• Game 2 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 106, St. Louis 98
• Game 3 @ St. Louis: St. Louis 127, Minneapolis 97
• Game 4 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 108, St. Louis 98
• Game 5 @ St. Louis: Minneapolis 98, St. Louis 97
• Game 6 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 106, St. Louis 104

Eastern Division

Champion: Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

Division Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics have division semifinals byes.

(2) New York Knicks

New York Knicks

The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

Syracuse Nationals

The Syracuse Nationals were an American professional basketball team that existed from 1946 to 1963 as part of the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association . They are currently known as the Philadelphia 76ers, and are the NBA's oldest continued franchise.The team began in...

:
Nationals win series 2-0

• Game 1 @ New York: Syracuse 129, New York 123
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 131, New York 115

Division Finals

(1) Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals

Syracuse Nationals

The Syracuse Nationals were an American professional basketball team that existed from 1946 to 1963 as part of the National Basketball League and National Basketball Association . They are currently known as the Philadelphia 76ers, and are the NBA's oldest continued franchise.The team began in...

:
Celtics win series 4-3

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 131, Syracuse 109
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 120, Boston 118
• Game 3 @ Boston: Boston 133, Syracuse 111
• Game 4 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 119, Boston 107
• Game 5 @ Boston: Boston 129, Syracuse 108
• Game 6 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 133, Boston 121
• Game 7 @ Boston: Boston 130, Syracuse 125

NBA finals

(1) Boston Celtics

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

VS. (2) Minneapolis Lakers:
Celtics win series 4-0

• Game 1 @ Boston: Boston 118, Minneapolis 115
• Game 2 @ Boston: Boston 128, Minneapolis 108
• Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Boston 123, Minneapolis 110
• Game 4 @ Minneapolis: Boston 118, Minneapolis 113

External links

• Basketball-Reference.com's 1959 NBA Playoffs page