The 1954 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1953-54 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Minneapolis Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Syracuse Nationals, four games to three in the NBA Finals.
For the Lakers it was their third consecutive NBA championship, and fifth in the last six years.
With the folding of the Indianapolis Olympians after the previous year's playoffs, leaving the NBA with nine teams, they resorted to a round-robin playoff format in 1954 for the only time in the league's history.
Although the Minneapolis Lakers, Fort Wayne Pistons, Rochester Royals and Syracuse Nationals all play in different cities now (Los Angeles, Detroit, Sacramento and Philadelphia respectively), this was the first NBA playoff in which every team that participated still exists today.
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The top 3 teams in each Division played a double round-robin in the Semifinals. The top 2 teams in the round-robin advanced to the Division Finals (shaded). The 2nd game between Minneapolis and Rochester (the final game to be played in the group) was cancelled because it would not affect seeding.
Western Division
| Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis Lakers | 3 | 0 |
| Rochester Royals | 2 | 1 |
| Fort Wayne Pistons | 0 | 4 |
Eastern Division
| Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|
| Syracuse Nationals | 4 | 0 |
| Boston Celtics | 2 | 2 |
| New York Knicks | 0 | 4 |
| Division Finals | NBA Finals | |||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis | 2 | ||||||
| W2 | Rochester | 1 | ||||||
| W1 | Minneapolis | 4 | ||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 3 | ||||||
| E1 | Syracuse | 2 | ||||||
| E2 | Boston | 0 | ||||||
Champion: Minneapolis Lakers
Division Finals
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (2) Rochester Royals: Lakers win series 2-1
Champion: New York Knicks
Division Finals
(1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (2) Boston Celtics: Nationals win series 2-0
(1) Minneapolis Lakers vs. (1) Syracuse Nationals: Lakers win series 4-3
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