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| Dates | April 2–11 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hall of Famers | Celtics: Bob Cousy (1971) Bill Russell (1975) Bill Sharman (1976) Frank Ramsey (1982) Sam Jones (1984) Tom Heinsohn (1986 as player, 2015 as coach) K. C. Jones (1989) Satch Sanders (2011) Hawks: Bob Pettit (1971) Cliff Hagan (1978) Clyde Lovellette (1988) Lenny Wilkens (1989) Coaches: Red Auerbach (1969) | |||||||||
| Eastern finals | Celtics defeated Nationals, 4–1 | |||||||||
| Western finals | Hawks defeated Lakers, 4–3 | |||||||||
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 Division champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Division 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[update], this remains the Hawks’[note 1] last appearance in the NBA Finals, the second-longest drought behind the Kings franchise who last played in the NBA Finals in 1951.
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