1958-59 NBA Finals
April 4, 1959 – April 9, 1959
1958-59 NBA Finals result: BCBoston Celtics def. MLMinneapolis Lakers, 4-0, April 4, 1959 – April 9, 1959.
Result
| Team | Series | |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | BCBoston Celtics | 4-0 |
| Runner-up | MLMinneapolis Lakers |
Games
| Game | Date | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 4, 1959 | BCBoston Celtics 118–115 Minneapolis Lakers | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Game 2 | April 5, 1959 | BCBoston Celtics 128–108 Minneapolis Lakers | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Game 3 | April 7, 1959 | BCBoston Celtics 123–110 Minneapolis Lakers | St. Paul Auditorium, St. Paul, Minnesota |
| Game 4 | April 9, 1959 | BCBoston Celtics 118–113 Minneapolis Lakers | Minneapolis Armory, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
Finals MVP
The Finals MVP award was not introduced until 1969; no Finals MVP was named for this series.
Series context
The 1959 NBA Finals marked the first Finals meeting between the Boston Celtics and the Minneapolis Lakers, launching what would eventually become one of the sport's most storied rivalries once both franchises relocated (Boston remaining in place, the Lakers moving to Los Angeles two years later). Boston, reclaiming the title it had lost to St. Louis the prior year, dominated the regular season with a 52-20 record to win the Eastern Division. Minneapolis, by contrast, finished just 33-39, second in the Western Division, yet advanced through the playoffs to reach the Finals despite a losing regular-season record, a rare feat in league history. Boston's road to the Finals was far tougher than the eventual sweep would suggest: the Celtics needed a full seven games to get past Syracuse in the Eastern Division Finals, after the Nationals had ousted the New York Knicks in the semifinals. Minneapolis, meanwhile, upset Bob Pettit's St. Louis Hawks 4-2 in the Western Division Finals following a semifinal win over the Detroit Pistons, the springboard that carried the sub-.500 Lakers into the championship round. The Lakers' surprising postseason run was fueled by rookie sensation Elgin Baylor, who had an immediate and transformative impact on the franchise: he was named NBA Rookie of the Year, earned All-NBA First Team honors, and won MVP of the 1959 All-Star Game, all in his debut season. Baylor's brilliance could not overcome Boston's dominance, however. The Celtics, anchored by Bill Russell's defense and rebounding along with Bob Cousy's playmaking, swept the series in four games, becoming the first team to sweep an NBA Finals. Boston won Game 1 in dramatic fashion, 118-115, then took Game 2 convincingly, 128-108. The series shifted to Minneapolis, where the Celtics closed out the sweep with a 123-110 win in Game 3 and a 118-113 win in Game 4. The sweep launched the most dominant championship run in NBA history: the Celtics went on to win eight consecutive titles from 1959 through 1966, a streak unmatched in the league's history. For the Lakers, the series marked the most recent Finals appearance by a Minneapolis-based NBA team, as the franchise would relocate to Los Angeles after the 1959-60 season. It was also close to the end of veteran Lakers forward Vern Mikkelsen's career, closing out an era for a franchise that had dominated the league's first decade behind George Mikan. This series is remembered as both the symbolic passing of the torch from the Mikan-era Lakers to the Baylor-era Lakers, and the opening chapter of the Celtics' historic run of sustained dominance under Red Auerbach and Bill Russell.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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