Summary
It was a great season for Danny Biasone, owner of the Syracuse Nationals. He won his fight for a shot clock, requiring a team to shoot within 24 seconds of acquiring the ball. That idea is generally crediting with saving the NBA from oblivion. It didn't save the Baltimore Bullets, though; they dropped out of the league after starting the season with a 3-11 record.
Another rule change helped speed up the game: limiting a team to six fouls per quarter, after which a free throw was awarded rather than the offended team simply getting the ball out of bounds.
Then Biasone's Nationals won the NBA championship in an exciting seven-game series against the Fort Wayne Pistons. Syracuse's George King hit a free throw with 12 seconds to play in the seventh game to give his team a 92-21 lead and he stole the ball after Fort Wayne's in-bounds pass to seal the championship victory. Every game in the series was decided by seven points or less.
With only four teams in each division, the NBA tried yet another playoff format. The second- and third-place teams met in a best-of-three series in the first round, with the winner meeting the first-place team in a best-of-five series in the division finals.
Neil Johnston of Philadelphia won his third straight scoring title and was also the league's top rebounder, while Bob Cousy of Boston was the league's assists leader for the third straight year.
