The 1961 NBA World Championship Series was the championship series of the 1961 NBA playoffs, which concluded the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1960–61 season in North America. The best-of-seven series was played between the Western Division champion St. Louis Hawks and the Eastern Division champion Boston Celtics. This was the fourth and final World Championship Series meeting between the two teams, and was the fifth meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship. It was also the Celtics' fifth straight trip to the championship series, and they won the series against the Hawks, 4–1.