1956 Philadelphia Warriors

Philadelphia went 45-27 and finished first in the Eastern Division. George Senesky coached, a guard on the Warriors' 1947 title team. The Warriors led the league in offense in a season when scoring jumped after the shot clock arrived.

Arizin, back from two years in the Marines, won the scoring title at 24.2 with his jump shot. Johnston, the hook-shooting center, scored 22.1 and pulled down 12.5 rebounds. Jack George ran the offense and made All-NBA, and rookie Tom Gola, fresh off a national title at La Salle, filled the box score with rebounds and assists.

Philadelphia beat Syracuse in five games in the Eastern finals, then took the Finals from Fort Wayne four games to one. Arizin averaged nearly 29 points across the series.

It was the Warriors' first title under the NBA name and their first since Joe Fulks led them to the 1947 BAA championship. Gola, a rookie, had already won an NIT and an NCAA championship at La Salle, a winner at every level in a span of four years. The franchise moved to San Francisco in 1962 and is now the Golden State Warriors.

The starting five was Neil Johnston, Paul Arizin, Joe Graboski, Jack George, and Ernie Beck. George Senesky coached the group with Andy Phillip as the primary bench scorer.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Tom Gola (rookie out of La Salle, 10.8 points with rebounds and assists).

The 1956 playoffs ran through divisional rounds before the Finals. The Philadelphia Warriors still needed four series wins in many years, but the league had fewer teams than the 30-franchise map used today.

The Philadelphia Warriors share a lineage with other banners from 1947, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the Philadelphia Warriors won the 1956 NBA title, their first championship since the league's debut season nine years earlier. Paul Arizin led the NBA in scoring at 24.2 a game and Neil Johnston added 22.1, giving Philadelphia two of the league's top scorers. They beat the Fort Wayne Pistons four games to one in the Finals.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Philadelphia Warriors titles, use the franchise hub linked below.