The 1959 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1958–59 National Basketball Association season, and was the conclusion of the 1959 NBA playoffs. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion Minneapolis Lakers and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. It was Boston's third trip to the NBA Finals and Minneapolis's sixth. This was the first Finals meeting in the history of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, marking the start of the storied rivalry between the two franchises.
The Celtics swept the Lakers 4–0, the first ever NBA Finals sweep. This was the start of the streak of the Celtics' eight consecutive championships, from 1959 to 1966. To date, this is the most recent time that an NBA team from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area appeared in an NBA Finals, as well as the second time in three years (1957) a team with a losing record made the NBA Finals. This would be the most recent occurrence of a team with a losing record making the NBA Finals until 1981.
Series summary Game Date Home team Result Road team Game 1 April 4 Boston Celtics 118–115 (1–0) Minneapolis Lakers Game 2 April 5 Boston Celtics 128–108 (2–0) Minneapolis Lakers Game 3 April 7 Minneapolis Lakers 110–123 (0–3) Boston Celtics Game 4 April 9 Minneapolis Lakers 113–118 (0–4) Boston Celtics Celtics win series 4–0
Team rosters
Boston Celtics
Minneapolis Lakers
Boxscores
Vern Mikkelsen played his last NBA game as the Celtics completed the sweep.
External links NBA History NBA Finals on Basketball Reference