Arena Kiel Auditorium | Record 34–38 (.472) | |
Head coach Red Holzman, Slater Martin and Alex Hannum Place Division: 1st (Western) Playoff finish NBA Finals
(eliminated 3–4) | ||
The 1956–57 NBA season was the St. Louis Hawks' 11th season in the NBA. Prior to the start of the season, the Hawks made one of the biggest draft-day deals in NBA history. The Hawks sent 2nd overall pick Bill Russell to the Boston Celtics for Cliff Hagan and second-year star Ed Macauley. Macauley had been a popular player at St. Louis University. The Hawks struggled for most of the season and coach Red Holzman was fired midway through the season. The new head coach was Slater Martin, who led the Hawks to a 5–3 record. Martin did not want the added responsibility of head coach, so Alex Hannum took over for the rest of the season. Despite a 34–38 record, the Hawks claimed the Western Division by a tiebreaker and earned a bye into the Western Finals, where the Hawks swept the Minneapolis Lakers in three straight games. The Hawks met the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. The Hawks won Game 1 in double overtime, 125–123 in Boston. The Celtics took Game 2 and the Hawks took Game 3 at home by 2 points. After losing Game 5 in Boston, the Hawks needed another victory at home to force a decisive seventh game. Game 7 in Boston went into double overtime and the Celtics emerged victorious, winning by 2 points.
Contents
West Division Tiebreakers
St. Louis Hawks vs. Minneapolis Lakers: Hawks win series 1–0
St. Louis Hawks vs. Fort Wayne Pistons: Hawks win series 1–0
West Division Semifinals
Hawks had a division semifinal bye.
West Division Finals
(1) St. Louis Hawks vs. (2) Minneapolis Lakers: Hawks win series 3–0
NBA Finals
Celtics win series 4–3