NBA Champions ·

1948 Baltimore Bullets

The 1948 Baltimore Bullets captured the NBA championship behind Don Barksdale, head coach Buddy Jeanette, and a balanced starting five. Grady Lewis anchored the bench. Ring Holders Club uses curated roster ratings for this title team — not official NBA statistics.

The 1948 Baltimore Bullets stand among the 1948 NBA champions — a team built to survive the grind of a long postseason and win four rounds when it mattered most. In Ring Holders Club, this squad appears in the draft pool with year-specific player ratings reflecting each member's contribution during that title run, not career averages.

Head coach Buddy Jeanette guided a starting five of Chuck Reiser, Joe Holland, Don Barksdale, Paul Hoffman, Connie Simmons. Don Barksdale led the group as the highest-rated contributor in our curated model, setting the tone on both ends of the floor.

Off the bench, Grady Lewis provided the sixth-man punch that championship rotations need — the kind of high-minute reserve who keeps lineups fresh through long playoff series.

The 1947–48 season culminated in a Finals victory that added another chapter to NBA history. Playoff basketball in that year rewarded depth, matchups, and the ability to adjust series to series — qualities this roster embodied in our simulation data.

For the Baltimore Bullets, the 1948 ring broke a drought or opened a new chapter in the early NBA era, when the league was still finding its identity.

In Ring Holders Club you may draft any of these seven members — five starters, the sixth man, and the head coach — when their championship year appears on the spin wheel. That makes the 1948 Baltimore Bullets a high-stakes reveal: Don Barksdale and Buddy Jeanette are premium picks, but role players like Connie Simmons can still swing a simulated series.

Historical context on this page is written for entertainment and education. Player ratings and roster roles are curated estimates based on public records such as Basketball-Reference. Ring Holders Club is not affiliated with the NBA, its teams, or its players.

Championship roster

1948 Baltimore Bullets championship roster
PlayerRoleRating
Chuck ReiserSG74
Joe HollandPG73
Don BarksdaleSF80
Paul HoffmanPF76
Connie SimmonsC78
Grady Lewis6th man72
Buddy JeanetteCoach82

Ratings are year-specific curated estimates for Ring Holders Club — not official NBA stats.