NBA Champions ·
1947 Philadelphia Warriors
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.
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.
Championship roster
Featured in Ring Holders Club
| Player | Role | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Fulks | SF | 88 |
| Howie Dallmar | SG | 75 |
| Petey Rosenberg | PG | 72 |
| George Senesky | PF | 74 |
| Ed Sadowski | C | 72 |
| Jack George | 6th man | 70 |
| Eddie Gottlieb | Coach | 80 |
Ratings are year-specific curated estimates for Ring Holders Club, not official NBA stats.
Rest of the roster
| Player | Pos | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Angelo Musi | G | 5-9 guard, second on the team in scoring |
| Art Hillhouse | C | starting center |
| Ralph Kaplowitz | G/F | |
| Jerry Fleishman | G | |
| Matt Guokas | F | father of Matt Guokas Jr., a 1967 76ers champion |
| Jerry Rullo | G |