1946-47 NBA season
Encyclopedia
The 1946–47 BAA season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America
, the league that would eventually become the National Basketball Association
. The league launched with 11 franchises playing a 60 game schedule. The season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors
becoming the BAA's first champions, beating the Chicago Stags
4 games to 1 in the BAA Finals.
C - BAA Champions
Note: Prior to the 1969-70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
Basketball Association of America
The Basketball Association of America was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. The league merged with the National Basketball League in 1949, forming the National Basketball Association ...
, the league that would eventually become the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
. The league launched with 11 franchises playing a 60 game schedule. The season ended with the Philadelphia Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
becoming the BAA's first champions, beating the Chicago Stags
Chicago Stags
The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..- Franchise history :The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities...
4 games to 1 in the BAA Finals.
Notable events
- On November 1, 1946, in the inaugural game of the new league, the New York KnicksNew York KnicksThe New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
beat the Toronto HuskiesToronto HuskiesThe Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season, based in Toronto, Ontario...
68-66 in front of 7,090 spectators at Maple Leaf GardensMaple Leaf GardensMaple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
. Ossie Schectman scored the opening basket for the New York Knickerbockers against the Toronto Huskies. Schectman and his teammates Sonny Hertzberg, Stan Stutz, Hank Rosenstein, Ralph Kaplowitz, Jake Weber, and Leo "Ace" Gottlieb went on to win the opening game 68 – 66 and finish the season with a 33 – 27 record. In 1949, the BAA became the National Basketball Association (NBA), and Schectman’s shot is considered the first basket in the NBA.
Eastern Division
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Capitols Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a charter Basketball Association of America team based in Washington, D.C. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach.... |
49 | 11 | .817 | – |
| Philadelphia Warriors C | 35 | 25 | .583 | 14 |
| New York Knicks New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association... |
33 | 27 | .550 | 16 |
| Providence Steamrollers Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a National Basketball Association team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of November 2011, the Steamrollers remain the last pro sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island.... |
28 | 32 | .467 | 21 |
| Boston Celtics Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which... |
22 | 38 | .367 | 27 |
| Toronto Huskies Toronto Huskies The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season, based in Toronto, Ontario... |
22 | 38 | .367 | 27 |
Western Division
| Team | W | L | PCT. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Stags Chicago Stags The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..- Franchise history :The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities... |
39 | 22 | .639 | – |
| St. Louis Bombers St. Louis Bombers (NBA) The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1946. The team ceased operations in 1950.- Franchise history :... |
38 | 23 | .623 | 1 |
| Cleveland Rebels Cleveland Rebels The Cleveland Rebels were a Basketball Association of America team based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Franchise history:The Rebels were an inaugural franchise in the BAA's first season... |
30 | 30 | .500 | 8½ |
| Detroit Falcons Detroit Falcons (basketball) The Detroit Falcons were a professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. It played in the 1946–47 season in Basketball Association of America, a predecessor organization to the National Basketball Association... |
20 | 40 | .333 | 18½ |
| Pittsburgh Ironmen Pittsburgh Ironmen The Pittsburgh Ironmen were a charter member of the Basketball Association of America . The team was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They ended their only season in the BAA in 1946-47 with a record of 15-45, finishing in fifth and last place in the Western Division and worst overall in the league... |
15 | 45 | .250 | 23½ |
C - BAA Champions
League leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Joe Fulks Joe Fulks Joseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks was an American professional basketball player, sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was one of the first players, albeit posthumously, enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978... |
Philadelphia Warriors | 1,389 |
| Assists | Ernie Calverley Ernie Calverley Ernest A. "Ernie" Calverley was an American basketball guard for the University of Rhode Island. His famous "shot heard round the world," a midcourt shot, as time expired at Madison Square Garden in the National Invitation Tournament moved URI past Bowling Green State University into the semifinal... |
Providence Steamrollers Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a National Basketball Association team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of November 2011, the Steamrollers remain the last pro sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island.... |
202 |
| FG% | Bob Feerick Bob Feerick Robert Joseph Feerick was an American professional basketball player, coach and general manager. He was born in San Francisco, California.... |
Washington Capitols Washington Capitols The Washington Capitols were a charter Basketball Association of America team based in Washington, D.C. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach.... |
40.1% |
| FT% | Fred Scolari Fred Scolari Fred J. Scolari was an American professional basketball player. At 5'10", he played the guard position.... |
Washington Capitols | 81.1% |
Note: Prior to the 1969-70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.
League awards
- All-BAA First Team
- G Max ZaslofskyMax ZaslofskyMax "Slats" Zaslofsky was an American professional basketball player and coach.-Biography:Zaslofsky attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, and St. John's University. He was Jewish....
, Chicago StagsChicago StagsThe Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..- Franchise history :The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities... - F Bones McKinneyBones McKinneyHorace Albert "Bones" McKinney was an American professional basketball player and coach....
, Washington CapitolsWashington CapitolsThe Washington Capitols were a charter Basketball Association of America team based in Washington, D.C. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach.... - F Joe FulksJoe FulksJoseph Franklin "Jumping Joe" Fulks was an American professional basketball player, sometimes called "the first of the high-scoring forwards". He was one of the first players, albeit posthumously, enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978...
, Philadelphia Warriors - C Stan MiasekStan MiasekStanley Miasek was an American professional basketball player.A 6'5" forward/center, Miasek played six seasons in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Detroit Falcons, Chicago Stags, Baltimore Bullets, and Milwaukee Hawks...
, Detroit FalconsDetroit Falcons (basketball)The Detroit Falcons were a professional basketball team based in Detroit, Michigan. It played in the 1946–47 season in Basketball Association of America, a predecessor organization to the National Basketball Association... - F Bob FeerickBob FeerickRobert Joseph Feerick was an American professional basketball player, coach and general manager. He was born in San Francisco, California....
, Washington Capitols
- G Max Zaslofsky
- All-BAA Second Team
- G John LoganJohn Logan-Politicians and judges:* John Alexander Logan , Australian judge* John Logan , Australian judge of the Federal Court of Australia* John William Logan , civil engineering contractor and British Member of Parliament...
, St. Louis BombersSt. Louis Bombers (NBA)The St. Louis Bombers were a National Basketball Association team based in St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1946. The team ceased operations in 1950.- Franchise history :... - G Ernie CalverleyErnie CalverleyErnest A. "Ernie" Calverley was an American basketball guard for the University of Rhode Island. His famous "shot heard round the world," a midcourt shot, as time expired at Madison Square Garden in the National Invitation Tournament moved URI past Bowling Green State University into the semifinal...
, Providence SteamrollersProvidence SteamrollersThe Providence Steamrollers were a National Basketball Association team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of November 2011, the Steamrollers remain the last pro sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island.... - C Chick HalbertChick HalbertCharles P. "Chick" Halbert was an American professional basketball player.A 6'9" center from West Texas A&M University, Halbert played five seasons in the Basketball Association of America...
, Chicago StagsChicago StagsThe Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicago, Illinois, U.S..- Franchise history :The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities... - G Frankie Baumholtz, Cleveland RebelsCleveland RebelsThe Cleveland Rebels were a Basketball Association of America team based in Cleveland, Ohio.-Franchise history:The Rebels were an inaugural franchise in the BAA's first season...
- G Fred ScolariFred ScolariFred J. Scolari was an American professional basketball player. At 5'10", he played the guard position....
, Washington CapitolsWashington CapitolsThe Washington Capitols were a charter Basketball Association of America team based in Washington, D.C. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach....
- G John Logan