1947 Philadelphia Warriors

Philadelphia went 35-25 and finished second in the BAA Eastern Division in the league's first season, 1946-47. Gottlieb built the team around Fulks, a newcomer out of Murray State whose set shots had no real answer. The Warriors worked through the early playoff rounds, edging the St. Louis Bombers and sweeping the New York Knicks to reach the Finals.

Fulks scored 23.2 a game, nearly ten points clear of the next Warrior. Angelo Musi, a 5-9 guard, added 9.4. Art Hillhouse held down the center spot, and Howie Dallmar, another first-year man, ran the offense and chipped in across the board.

In the Finals the Warriors beat the Chicago Stags four games to one. Fulks stayed in the twenties through the series, and Philadelphia closed it out in five.

This is the oldest title the NBA recognizes, won the year before the league had even settled on its current name. Fulks built his scoring on the jump shot at a time when most players still kept both feet down, and the rest of the game took years to catch up to him.

The starting five was Joe Fulks, Howie Dallmar, Petey Rosenberg, George Senesky, and Ed Sadowski. Eddie Gottlieb coached the group with Jack George as the primary bench scorer.

The full roster ran deeper than the headline names. Role players who mattered included Angelo Musi (5-9 guard, second on the team in scoring); Art Hillhouse (starting center); Matt Guokas (father of Matt Guokas Jr., a 1967 76ers champion).

Playoff formats in the late 1940s were still settling. The 1947 Philadelphia Warriors had to win multiple series against the best teams in the BAA, with travel and rest unlike the modern schedule.

The Philadelphia Warriors share a lineage with other banners from 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022. Compare those seasons on the franchise hub to see how the roster and style changed between title runs.

Looking back, the Philadelphia Warriors won the first championship in pro basketball's modern line, taking the 1947 BAA Finals from the Chicago Stags four games to one. Joe Fulks carried them, scoring 23.2 points a game to lead the new league by a wide margin in a season when most teams struggled to reach 70 as a unit. Eddie Gottlieb both ran the franchise and coached it from the bench.

For the full roster beyond the featured starters, see the table on this page. For other Philadelphia Warriors titles, use the franchise hub linked below.