1946–47 BAA season

The 1946–47 BAA season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America. The league launched with 11 teams playing a 60-game schedule. The postseason tournament (the 1947 BAA Playoffs) at its conclusion, ended with the Philadelphia Warriors becoming the first BAA Champion, beating the Chicago Stags 4 games to 1 in the BAA Finals.

1946–47 BAA season
LeagueBasketball Association of America
SportBasketball
Duration
  • November 1, 1946 – March 31, 1947
  • April 2–14, 1947 (Playoffs)
  • April 16–22, 1947 (Finals)
Number of games60-61
Number of teams11
Regular season
Top seedWashington Capitols
Top scorerJoe Fulks (Philadelphia)
Playoffs
Eastern championsPhiladelphia Warriors[lower-alpha 1]
  Eastern runners-upNew York Knicks[lower-alpha 1]
Western championsChicago Stags[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
  Western runners-upWashington Capitols[lower-alpha 1]
Finals
ChampionsPhiladelphia Warriors
  Runners-upChicago Stags

Following its third, the 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.[1] The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history, sometimes without comment,[2] so the 1946–47 BAA season is sometimes considered the first NBA season.

By 1951, only three original BAA teams were still in the NBA: the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Philadelphia Warriors (now in San Francisco as the Golden State Warriors). All members of the inaugural Western Division had folded by 1950, with three of them lasting one season (Detroit Falcons, Pittsburgh Ironmen, Cleveland Rebels). In addition, the Toronto Huskies also folded following the season, making a total of four teams folding before the BAA's second season.

Notable events
  • On November 1, 1946, in the inaugural game of the new league, the New York Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies 68–66 in front of 7,090 spectators at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Ossie Schectman scored the opening basket for the New York Knicks against Toronto. In 1949, the BAA helped create the National Basketball Association by merger, and Schectman's shot may be considered the first basket in NBA history.[3][4][5] The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history, sometimes without comment.[2]

Final standings

Eastern Division

Western Division

Playoffs
Main article: 1947 BAA playoffs

There were no byes. Western and Eastern champions Chicago and Washington immediately played a long semifinal series with Washington having home-court advantage. Chicago won the sixth game in Washington one day before Philadelphia concluded its two short series with other runners-up.[6]

This section is an excerpt from 1947 BAA playoffs § Bracket.[edit]
First RoundBAA SemifinalsBAA Finals
W1Chicago*4
E1Washington*2
W1Chicago*1
E3New York2
E2Philadelphia*4
W3Cleveland1
E3New York0
E2Philadelphia2
W2St. Louis1
E2Philadelphia2
  • * Division winner
  • Bold Series winner

Statistics leaders
CategoryPlayerTeamStat
PointsJoe FulksPhiladelphia Warriors1,389
AssistsErnie CalverleyProvidence Steamrollers202
FG%Bob FeerickWashington Capitols.401
FT%Fred ScolariWashington Capitols.811

Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

BAA awards

Notes
  1. The 1947 BAA Playoffs did not generate Eastern and Western champions and runners-up, as NBA Playoffs have done from 1951 to present. Eastern and Western leaders, or perhaps champions, Washington and Chicago played off to determine one finalist while four runners-up played off to determine the other finalist.
      The listed teams were BAA playoff finalists and semifinalists, as Eastern and Western champions and runners-up in the NBA have been playoff finalists and semifinalists from 1951 to present.
  2. Chicago may reasonably be called Eastern champion.

References
  1. "NBA is born". History. November 16, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  2. "NBA Season Recaps: 1946–2019". NBA.com. July 24, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  3. For instance: "Do you know who scored THE FIRST BASKET in the NBA?" Archived 2003-06-25 at the Wayback Machine. The First Basket: A Jewish Basketball Documentary (thefirstbasket.com). Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  4. Goldaper, Sam. "The First Game". NBA.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  5. "First NBA Game in NBA history". NBA Hoops Online. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  6. "1946–47 BAA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-02-28.
      Select "Next Season" from the heading for 1947–48, and so on. Select "Finals" from League Playoffs for the daily schedule of the final series, and so on.
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