1946–47 BAA season

1946–47 BAA season
League	Basketball Association of America
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 1, 1946 – March 31, 1947
Number of games	60
Number of teams	11
Regular season
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

The 1946–47 BAA season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America. (Following its third, 1948–49 season, the BAA and National Basketball League merged to create the National Basketball Association or NBA.) The league launched with 11 teams playing a 60-game schedule. The postseason tournament at its conclusion, the 1947 BAA Playoffs, ended with the Philadelphia Warriors becoming the first BAA Champion, beating the Chicago Stags 4 games to 1 in the BAA Finals.

The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history, sometimes without comment,^[1] so BAA 1946–47 is sometimes considered the first NBA 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 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.^[2] The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history, sometimes without comment.^[3]

Final standings

Eastern Division

# Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB 1 x-Washington Capitols 49 11 .817 – 2 x-Philadelphia Warriors 35 25 .583 14 3 x-New York Knicks 33 27 .550 16 4 Providence Steamrollers 28 32 .467 21 5 Boston Celtics 22 38 .367 27 6 Toronto Huskies 22 38 .367 27

Western Division

# Western Division Team W L PCT GB 1 x-Chicago Stags 39 22 .639 – 2 x-St. Louis Bombers 38 23 .623 1 3 x-Cleveland Rebels 30 30 .500 8.5 4 Detroit Falcons 20 40 .333 18.5 5 Pittsburgh Ironmen 15 45 .250 23.5

Statistics leaders

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.

BAA awards

• 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

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 Season Recaps". NBA History (nba.com/history). July 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
2. For instance: "Do you know who scored THE FIRST BASKET in the NBA?". The First Basket: A Jewish Basketball Documentary (thefirstbasket.com). Retrieved 2015-03-04.
3. "NBA Season Recaps". NBA History (nba.com/history). July 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-04.

External links

• NBA History at NBA.com
• 1946–47 BAA Season Summary at Basketball-Reference.com
• The First Basket: A Jewish Basketball Documentary