1955 Overview

From Hoopedia

1954-55 NBA Season

You say you want a revolution? The league’s adoption of a 24-second shot clock during the 1954 offseason certainly brought one. The league also placed a limit on the number of fouls a team could commit in a quarter before free throws were awarded. Leonard Koppett of The New York Times later wrote, “This combination, the time limit on shooting and the team limit on fouls, saved the NBA. Literally.” George Mikan, pro basketball’s original aircraft carrier, retired before the season, having led the Lakers to five NBA titles and the 1947 championship of the old National Basketball League.

Neil Johnston won another scoring title with a 22.7 points per game average (he also led the league with 15.1 rebounds per game), while Boston’s Bob Cousy celebrated the new rules with 21.2 points per game. Paul Arizin, another player who would benefit from the changes, rejoined the Warriors after two years of military service and averaged 21.0 points per game.

The team story, though, was Danny Biasone’s Syracuse Nationals, led by Paul Seymour and Dolph Schayes and coached by Al Cervi. They won the East, bested Boston in the Division Finals, and then met the Fort Wayne Pistons in the NBA Finals.

Charlie Eckman, a former referee, had taken over the Fort Wayne Pistons and coaxed them along to a 43-29 finish in the regular season, all the time insisting that his team ran no offensive plays. The Finals ran a wild course through seven hotly contested games. In the deciding game, Syracuse’s George King made one of two foul shots with 12 seconds left, then stole the ball to secure a 92-91 victory.