1947 Overview
From Hoopedia
1946-47 NBA Season
When the Basketball Association of American was formed, Eddie Gottlieb knew the new league needed star power. So Gottlieb, the coach and general manager of the Philadelphia Warriors, made sure that Joe Fulks played as much as possible. The more Fulks played, the more he would score and the more fans would be interested, Gottlieb figured.
He was right. The jump-shooting Fulks became a star, averaging 23.3 points per game (nearly seven more than the next highest) in the days of lopsided balls, dimly lit gyms and no 24-second shot clock, and the Warriors drew crowds.
Better yet, led by the 6-5 Fulks, they won the BAA’s first title.
Communication, though, was a bit of a problem. Fulks’ city-bred teammates weren’t sure what to make of his Kentucky twang. “It took me about a month and a half before I could understand him,” Howie Dallmar recalled.
Ernie Calverley of the Providence Steamrollers led the league with 3.4 assists per game. Other stars in the fledgling league were Washington’s Bob Feerick and Bones McKinney, Detroit’s Stan Miasek and Chicago’s Max Zaslofsky.
The 60-game regular season belonged to the Washington Capitols, coached by Red Auerbach to a 49-11 record, including a 29-1 mark at home.
But the playoffs featured an old hockey format where the best teams played in the first round. Chicago shocked the Capitols behind the play of Zaslofsky and center Chuck Halbert to advance to the Finals. The Warriors defeated St. Louis and New York to reach the championship series, where Fulks, Dallmar and Angelo Musi led Philadelphia past Chicago 4-1.
The Warriors pocketed about $2,000 per man in bonus money for winning the league championship.
