1960–61 St. Louis Hawks season

the 1960–61 Saint Louis Hawks season owner Ben Kerner changed coaches despite reaching the 1960 NBA Finals. Ed Macauley was replaced with Paul Seymour. On the court, rookie Lenny Wilkens was averaging 11.7 points per game in his first year. The brunt of the scoring came from the Hawks' front line of Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan, and Clyde Lovellette. They combined for 72.0 points per game, and the Hawks won the West by 15 games. The Hawks finished the season with a record of 51–28. In the playoffs, the Hawks needed a 1-point overtime win in Game 6 on the road to force a 7th game with the Los Angeles Lakers. Game 7 was played in St. Louis and the Hawks beat the Lakers by 2 points. The Hawks then were up against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. The Hawks fell in 5 games as the Celtics won their 4th NBA Title in 5 seasons.

Playoffs

 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 1
 * March 21
 * Los Angeles
 * L 118–122
 * Bob Pettit (28)
 * Bob Pettit (20)
 * Kiel Auditorium 8,147
 * 0–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 2
 * March 22
 * Los Angeles
 * W 121–106
 * Clyde Lovellette (28)
 * Bob Pettit (19)
 * Kiel Auditorium 8,472
 * 1–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 3
 * March 24
 * @ Los Angeles
 * L 112–118
 * Bob Pettit (26)
 * Bob Pettit (13)
 * Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 5,006
 * 1–2
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 4
 * March 25
 * @ Los Angeles
 * W 118–117
 * Bob Pettit (40)
 * Bob Pettit (18)
 * Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 4,923
 * 2–2
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 5
 * March 27
 * Los Angeles
 * L 112–121
 * Cliff Hagan (26)
 * Bob Pettit (21)
 * Kiel Auditorium
 * 2–3
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 6
 * March 29
 * @ Los Angeles
 * W 114–113 (OT)
 * Bob Pettit (31)
 * Bob Pettit (21)
 * Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 14,840
 * 3–3
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 7
 * April 1
 * Los Angeles
 * W 105–103
 * Bob Pettit (31)
 * Bob Pettit (17)
 * Kiel Auditorium
 * 4–3


 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 1
 * April 2
 * @ Boston
 * L 95–129
 * Cliff Hagan (33)
 * Cliff Hagan (13)
 * Hagan, Sauldsberry (4)
 * Boston Garden 11,531
 * 0–1
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 2
 * April 5
 * @ Boston
 * L 108–116
 * Cliff Hagan (40)
 * Bob Pettit (19)
 * Cliff Hagan (6)
 * Boston Garden 13,909
 * 0–2
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"
 * 3
 * April 8
 * Boston
 * W 124–120
 * Bob Pettit (31)
 * Bob Pettit (24)
 * Si Green (7)
 * Kiel Auditorium 8,468
 * 1–2
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 4
 * April 9
 * Boston
 * L 104–119
 * Bob Pettit (40)
 * Bob Pettit (18)
 * Cliff Hagan (7)
 * Kiel Auditorium 10,442
 * 1–3
 * - align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"
 * 5
 * April 11
 * @ Boston
 * L 112–121
 * Bob Pettit (24)
 * Pettit, Sauldsberry (11)
 * Johnny McCarthy (6)
 * Boston Garden 13,909
 * 1–4

Awards and honors

 * Bob Pettit, All-NBA First Team