1947–48 BAA season

The 1947–48 BAA season was the second season of the Basketball Association of America. The 1948 BAA Playoffs ended with the Baltimore Bullets winning the BAA Championship, beating the Philadelphia Warriors in 6 games in the BAA Finals.

1947–48 BAA season
League	Basketball Association of America
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 12, 1947 – March 21, 1948 March 23–25, 1948 (Play-in tournaments) March 23 – April 8, 1948 (Playoffs) April 10–21, 1948 (Finals)
Number of games	48
Number of teams	8
Draft
Top draft pick	Clifton McNeely
Picked by	Pittsburgh Ironmen
Regular season
Top seed	St. Louis Bombers
Top scorer	Max Zaslofsky (Chicago)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Philadelphia Warriors[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
Eastern runners-up	St. Louis Bombers[lower-alpha 1]
Western champions	Baltimore Bullets[lower-alpha 1]
Western runners-up	Chicago Stags[lower-alpha 1]
Finals
Champions	Baltimore Bullets
Runners-up	Philadelphia Warriors

Although not celebrated at the time, this season was historic, with Wataru Misaka of the New York Knicks becoming the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball.^[1]

The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history so the 1947–48 BAA season is considered the second NBA season.^[2]

Notable occurrences

Coaching changes

Offseason
Team	1946–47 coach	1947–48 coach
New York Knicks	Neil Cohalan	Joe Lapchick
Providence Steamrollers	Robert Morris	Albert Soar
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach
Providence Steamrollers	Albert Soar	Nat Hickey

Preseason events

Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Toronto folded before the season started, leaving the BAA with only seven teams. (All cities except Pittsburgh would get new NBA teams in future years.) The Baltimore Bullets were brought into the league from the American Basketball League to provide a more convenient number, eight.

Teams

1947-48 Basketball Association of America
Division	Team	City	Arena	Capacity
Eastern	Boston Celtics	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston Garden	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
Western	Baltimore Bullets *	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Coliseum	4,500
	Chicago Stags	Chicago, Illinois	Chicago Stadium	17,000
	St. Louis Bombers	St. Louis, Missouri	St. Louis Arena	15,000
	Washington Capitols	Washington, D.C.	Uline Arena	8,000

First season in BAA *

Map of teams

Boston

New York

Phila-
delphia

Providence

Baltimore

Chicago

St. Louis

Washington

Eastern Division Western Division

Final standings

Eastern Division

# Eastern Division v t e Team W L PCT GB 1 x-Philadelphia Warriors 27 21 .563 – 2 x-New York Knicks 26 22 .542 1 3 x-Boston Celtics 20 28 .417 7 4 Providence Steamrollers 6 42 .125 21

Western Division

# Western Division v t e Team W L PCT GB 1 x-St. Louis Bombers 29 19 .604 – 2 x-Baltimore Bullets 28 20 .583 1 3 x-Chicago Stags 28 20 .583 1 4 x-Washington Capitols 28 20 .583 1

Playoffs

Main article: 1948 BAA playoffs

There were no byes. Western and Eastern champions St. Louis and Philadelphia immediately played a long semifinal series with St. Louis having home-court advantage. Philadelphia won the seventh game in St. Louis, 85–46, two days before Baltimore concluded its sequence of tie-breaker (not shown) and two short series with other runners-up.

First Round

BAA Semifinals

BAA Finals

W1

St. Louis*

3

E1

Philadelphia*

4

E1

Philadelphia*

2

W2

Baltimore

2

W2

Baltimore

4

E2

New York

1

W2

Baltimore

2

W3

Chicago

0

E3

Boston

1

W3

Chicago

2

• * Division winner
• Bold Series winner

Statistics leaders

Category	Player	Team	Stat
Points	Max Zaslofsky	Chicago Stags	1,007
Assists	Howie Dallmar	Philadelphia Warriors	120
FG%	Bob Feerick	Washington Capitols	.340
FT%	Bob Feerick	Washington Capitols	.788

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

BAA awards

• All-BAA First Team
  • C Ed Sadowski, Boston Celtics
  • F Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors
  • F Howie Dallmar, Philadelphia Warriors
  • F Bob Feerick, Washington Capitols
  • G Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags
• All-BAA Second Team
  • G Buddy Jeannette, Baltimore Bullets
  • C Stan Miasek, Chicago Stags
  • G Carl Braun, New York Knicks
  • G Fred Scolari, Washington Capitols
  • G John Logan, St. Louis Bombers
• BAA Rookie of the Year
  • F/G Paul Hoffman, Baltimore Bullets

Notes

1. The 1948 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, Philadelphia and St. Louis 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. Philadelphia may reasonably be called Eastern champion.

See also

• List of NBA regular season records

References

1. Goldstein, Richard (November 21, 2019). "Wat Misaka, First Nonwhite in Modern Pro Basketball, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
2. "NBA Season Recaps: 1946-2019". NBA.com. July 24, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2020.