| ||||||||||
| Dates: | April 2–11 | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals: | Celtics defeated Nationals, 4–1 | |||||||||
| Western Finals: | Hawks defeated Lakers, 4–3 | |||||||||
| NBA Finals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← 1960 | ||||||||||
| 1962 → | ||||||||||
The 1961 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1961 NBA Playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1960–61 season.
The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Conference champion St. Louis Hawks and the two-time defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics. This was the fourth and final World Championship Series meeting between the two teams. It was also Celtics' fifth straight trip to the championship series, and they won the series against the Hawks, 4–1.
As of the 2022–23 season, this remains the Hawks franchise’s last appearance in the NBA Finals, the second-longest drought behind the Sacramento Kings franchise who last played in the NBA Finals in 1951, back when the Kings were known as the Rochester Royals.
1961 NBA Playoffs[]
| St. Louis Hawks (Western Division Champion) | Boston Celtics (Eastern Division Champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51–28 (.646)
1st Western, 2nd Overall |
Regular season | 57–22 (.722)
1st Eastern, 1st Overall | ||
| Earned first-round bye | Division Semifinals | Earned first-round bye | ||
| Defeated the (2) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–3 | Division Finals | Defeated the (3) Syracuse Nationals, 4–1 | ||
Series summary[]
| Game | Date | Away Team | Result | Home Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 2 | St. Louis | 95–129 | Boston |
| Game 2 | April 5 | St. Louis | 108–116 | Boston |
| Game 3 | April 8 | Boston | 120–124 | St. Louis |
| Game 4 | April 9 | Boston | 119–104 | St. Louis |
| Game 5 | April 11 | St. Louis | 112–121 | Boston |
| Preceded by 1960 |
NBA Finals 1961 |
Succeeded by 1962 |