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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 | |
|---|---|
| League | Basketball Association of America |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
|
| Number of games | 60-61 |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Regular season | |
| Top seed | Washington Capitols |
| Top scorer | Joe Fulks (Philadelphia) |
| Playoffs | |
| Eastern champions | Philadelphia Warriors[lower-alpha 1] |
| Eastern runners-up | New York Knicks[lower-alpha 1] |
| Western champions | Chicago Stags[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] |
| Western runners-up | Washington Capitols[lower-alpha 1] |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Warriors |
| Runners-up | Chicago 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.
- 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]
| 1946-47 Basketball Association of America | ||||
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Arena Boston Garden |
5,000 13,909 |
| New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 18,496 | |
| Philadelphia Warriors | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Arena | 5,526 | |
| Providence Steamrollers | Providence, Rhode Island | Rhode Island Auditorium | 5,300 | |
| Toronto Huskies | Toronto, Ontario | Maple Leaf Gardens | 15,000 | |
| Washington Capitols | Washington, D.C. | Uline Arena | 8,000 | |
| Western | Chicago Stags | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 17,000 |
| Cleveland Rebels | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Arena | 11,000 | |
| Detroit Falcons | Detroit, Michigan | Detroit Olympia | 15,000 | |
| Pittsburgh Ironmen | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Duquesne Gardens | 6,500 | |
| St. Louis Bombers | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis Arena | 15,000 | |
Eastern Division 
Western Division
Eastern Division
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Western Division
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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]
| First Round | BAA Semifinals | BAA Finals | |||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago* | 4 | |||||||||||
| E1 | Washington* | 2 | |||||||||||
| W1 | Chicago* | 1 | |||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 2 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||
| W3 | Cleveland | 1 | |||||||||||
| E3 | New York | 0 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||
| W2 | St. Louis | 1 | |||||||||||
| E2 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||
- * Division winner
- Bold Series winner
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Joe Fulks | Philadelphia Warriors | 1,389 |
| Assists | Ernie Calverley | Providence Steamrollers | 202 |
| FG% | Bob Feerick | Washington Capitols | .401 |
| FT% | Fred Scolari | Washington Capitols | .811 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
- All-BAA First Team
- G Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags
- F Bones McKinney, Washington Capitols
- F Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors
- C Stan Miasek, Detroit Falcons
- F Bob Feerick, Washington Capitols
- All-BAA Second Team
- G John Logan, St. Louis Bombers
- G Ernie Calverley, Providence Steamrollers
- C Chick Halbert, Chicago Stags
- G Frankie Baumholtz, Cleveland Rebels
- G Fred Scolari, Washington Capitols
- 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.
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