1955–56 Philadelphia Warriors season

1955–56 Philadelphia Warriors season
Second NBA Championship
Head coach	George Senesky
Arena	Philadelphia Civic Center
Results
Record	45–27 (.625)
Place	Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

With George Senesky taking over for Eddie Gottlieb as coach, the Warriors had a strong start by winning 12 of their first 16 games.^[1] Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston were among the league's scoring leaders as the Warriors won the Eastern Division with a 45–27 record. The addition of rookie Tom Gola made the difference. In his first season Gola averaged 9.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.^[1] In the Eastern Division Finals the Warriors beat the Syracuse Nationals in 5 games. In the NBA Finals, the Warriors won their 2nd Championship by beating the Fort Wayne Pistons 4 games to 1.

Roster

Philadelphia Warriors roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From F 11 Arizin, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Villanova G 7 Beck, Ernie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Pennsylvania F/C 12 Davis, Walt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Texas A&M G 5 Dempsey, George 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) King's College G 17 George, Jack 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) La Salle G/F 15 Gola, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) La Salle F/C 9 Graboski, Joe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Tuley HS (IL) G 4 Hennessy, Larry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Villanova C 6 Johnston, Neil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Ohio State F 14 Moore, Jackie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) La Salle	Head coach George Senesky (Saint Joseph's) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Neil Johnston	Walt Davis
PF	Joe Graboski	Jackie Moore
SF	Paul Arizin	Ernie Beck
SG	Tom Gola	Larry Hennessy
PG	Jack George	George Dempsey

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Philadelphia Warriors	45	27	.625	-	21-7	11-17	13-3	22-14
x-Boston Celtics	39	33	.542	6	20-7	12-15	7-11	18-18
x-Syracuse Nationals	35	37	.486	10	23-8	9–19	3-10	15-21
New York Knicks	35	37	.486	10	13-15	16-13	6-9	17-19

Record vs. opponents

1955-56 NBA Records
Team	BOS	FWP	MIN	NYK	PHI	ROC	STL	SYR
Boston	—	4–5	7–2	5–7	5–7	5–4	5–4	8–4
Fort Wayne	5–4	—	5–7	5–4	4–5	7–5	7–5	4–5
Minneapolis	2–7	7–5	—	5–4	3–6	7–5	5–7	4–5
New York	7–5	4–5	4–5	—	6–6	6–3	4–5	4–8
Philadelphia	7–5	5–4	6–3	6–6	—	6–3	6–3	9–3
Rochester	4–5	5–7	5–7	3–6	3–6	—	6–6	5–4
St. Louis	4–5	5–7	7–5	5–4	3–6	6–6	—	3–6
Syracuse	4–8	5–4	5–4	8–4	3–9	4–5	6–3	—

Roster

Postseason

East Division Semifinals

The Warriors had a division semifinal bye.

East Division Finals

(1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (3) Syracuse Nationals: Warriors win series 3–2

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 109, Syracuse 87
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 122, Philadelphia 118
• Game 3 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 119, Syracuse 96
• Game 4 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 108, Philadelphia 104
• Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 109, Syracuse 104

NBA Finals

(E1) Philadelphia Warriors vs. (W1) Fort Wayne Pistons: Warriors win series 4–1

• Game 1 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 98, Fort Wayne 94
• Game 2 @ Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne 84, Philadelphia 83
• Game 3 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 100, Fort Wayne 96
• Game 4 @ Fort Wayne: Philadelphia 107, Fort Wayne 105
• Game 5 @ Philadelphia: Philadelphia 99, Fort Wayne 88

Awards and honors

• Paul Arizin, NBA All-Star Game
• Neil Johnston, NBA All-Star Game
• Neil Johnston, All-NBA First Team
• Paul Arizin, All-NBA First Team
• Jack George, All-NBA Second Team

References

1. Philadelphia Warriors (1946–1962)

• Warriors on Basketball Reference