Every 1951-52 NBA race charted day by day: East and West. Final standings, from a season that ran November 1, 1951 to March 16, 1952.
NBA.com files the Syracuse Nationals in the West this season. They played in the East in all fourteen of their NBA seasons, and the same feed misfiles them in 1955-56 as well, so this season's charts show both divisions as they were.
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East standings, 1951-52
Team
W
L
Pct
GB
L10
Streak
Syracuse Nationals (SYR)x
40
26
.606
-
5-5
L2
Boston Celtics (BOS)x
39
27
.591
1
7-3
W2
New York Knicks (NYK)x
37
29
.561
3
7-3
W2
Philadelphia Warriors (PHW)x
33
33
.500
7
6-4
L1
Baltimore Bullets (BAL)
20
46
.303
20
3-7
L2
Final standings.
Clinch key
x
clinched a playoff place
Turning points
The lead changed hands 14 times.
The Syracuse Nationals trailed by as many as 2 games on December 23, 1951.
The Syracuse Nationals took first place for good on January 11, 1952.
The Syracuse Nationals won 9 games in a row from January 3, 1952 to January 23, 1952, the longest run of the race.
The Boston Celtics led by 2 games as late as December 24, 1951.
The Syracuse Nationals went 12-3 from January 11, 1952 to February 10, 1952, turning a deficit of half a game into a lead of 5.5 games.
The top two ended the day within one game of each other on 59 of the 122 days played.
Four teams held or shared first place.
The Syracuse Nationals spent 108 of the season's 137 charted days in first place.