Who won the 1947 BAA Finals?
The Philadelphia Warriors won the 1947 BAA Finals, defeating the Chicago Stags 4-1 in the best-of-seven series. It was the first championship in the history of the Basketball Association of America.
Questions about 1947 BAA Finals
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When was the 1947 BAA Finals played?
The five games of the 1947 BAA Finals were played from the 16th of April to the 22nd of April 1947, with no days off between consecutive games held in the same city.
How did the Philadelphia Warriors reach the 1947 BAA Finals despite not winning their division?
Philadelphia did not win the Eastern Division but advanced through a four-team playoff among the Eastern and Western Division runners-up. Philadelphia and New York, the East's runners-up, each eliminated a Western opponent, St. Louis or Cleveland, before Philadelphia beat New York for the Eastern spot in the Finals.
Why did the Philadelphia Warriors have home-court advantage in the 1947 BAA Finals over the Chicago Stags?
Chicago actually posted the better regular season record that year, which made Philadelphia's home-court advantage a point of dispute. Charley Rosen's book The First Tip-Off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA devotes a chapter to explaining that decision, along with suspicions of tampering with referees during the 1947 playoffs and Finals.
Who was the star player for the Philadelphia Warriors in the 1947 BAA Finals?
Joe Fulks, later inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, was the Warriors' standout, scoring 29 points in the second half of Game 1 alone, including 21 in the fourth quarter.
What happened to the Chicago Stags after the 1947 BAA Finals?
The 1947 BAA Finals were the Chicago Stags' only appearance in the championship round, and the franchise folded three years later. Chicago did not see another team play for a professional basketball championship until the Chicago Bulls won the 1991 NBA Finals, 44 years afterward.