| 1947–48 BAA season | |
|---|---|
| League | Basketball Association of America |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Duration |
|
| Games | 48 |
| 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[a][b] |
| Eastern runners-up | St. Louis Bombers[a] |
| Western champions | Baltimore Bullets[a] |
| Western runners-up | Chicago Stags[a] |
| Finals | |
| Venue | |
| Champions | Baltimore Bullets |
| Runners-up | Philadelphia Warriors |
| BAA/NBA seasons | |
The1947–48 BAA season was the second season of theBasketball Association of America. The1948 BAA Playoffs ended with theBaltimore Bullets winning the BAA Championship, beating thePhiladelphia Warriors in 6 games in theBAA Finals.
Although not celebrated at the time, this season was historic, withWataru Misaka of theNew 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]
| 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 |
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 theAmerican Basketball League to provide a more convenient number, eight.
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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 | |||||||||||
| 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.