# 1947–48 BAA season

The 1947–48 BAA season was the second season of the Basketball Association of America. The 1948 BAA Playoffs ended with the Baltimore Bullets winning the BAA Championship, beating the Philadelphia Warriors in 6 games in the BAA Finals.
Although not celebrated at the time, this season was historic, with Wataru Misaka of the New York Knicks becoming the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball.
The NBA recognizes the three BAA seasons as part of its own history so the 1947–48 BAA season is considered the second NBA season.

## Notable occurrences

Coaching changes :
| Offseason |||
| Team | 1946–47 coach | 1947–48 coach |
| New York Knicks | Neil Cohalan | Joe Lapchick |
| Providence Steamrollers | Robert Morris | Albert Soar |
| In-season |||
| Team | Outgoing coach | Incoming coach |
| Providence Steamrollers | Albert Soar | Nat Hickey |

## Preseason events

Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Toronto folded before the season started, leaving the BAA with only seven teams. (All cities except Pittsburgh would get new NBA teams in future years.) The Baltimore Bullets were brought into the league from the American Basketball League to provide a more convenient number, eight.

## Teams

1947-48 Basketball Association of America :
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| Eastern | Boston Celtics | Boston, Massachusetts | Boston Garden | 13,909 |
| Eastern | New York Knicks | New York, New York | Madison Square Garden | 18,496 |
| Eastern | Philadelphia Warriors | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Arena | 5,526 |
| Eastern | Providence Steamrollers | Providence, Rhode Island | Rhode Island Auditorium | 5,300 |
| Western | Baltimore Bullets * | Baltimore, Maryland | Baltimore Coliseum | 4,500 |
| Western | Chicago Stags | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Stadium | 17,000 |
| Western | St. Louis Bombers | St. Louis, Missouri | St. Louis Arena | 15,000 |
| Western | Washington Capitols | Washington, D.C. | Uline Arena | 8,000 |
* First season in BAA *

## Final standings
### Eastern Division

| # | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte | Eastern Divisionvte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | x-Philadelphia Warriors | 27 | 21 | .563 | – |
| 2 | x-New York Knicks | 26 | 22 | .542 | 1 |
| 3 | x-Boston Celtics | 20 | 28 | .417 | 7 |
| 4 | Providence Steamrollers | 6 | 42 | .125 | 21 |

### Western Division

| # | Western Divisionvte | Western Divisionvte | Western Divisionvte | Western Divisionvte | Western Divisionvte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | x-St. Louis Bombers | 29 | 19 | .604 | – |
| 2 | x-Baltimore Bullets | 28 | 20 | .583 | 1 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Stags | 28 | 20 | .583 | 1 |
| 4 | x-Washington Capitols | 28 | 20 | .583 | 1 |

## Playoffs

There were no byes. Western and Eastern champions St. Louis and Philadelphia immediately played a long semifinal series with St. Louis having home-court advantage. Philadelphia won the seventh game in St. Louis, 85–46, two days before Baltimore concluded its sequence of tie-breaker (not shown) and two short series with other runners-up.
| First Round | First Round | First Round | BAA Semifinals | BAA Semifinals | BAA Semifinals | BAA Finals | BAA Finals | BAA Finals |
| | | | W1 | St. Louis* | 3 | | | |
| | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 2 |
| W2 | Baltimore | 2 | | | | E1 | Philadelphia* | 2 |
| W2 | Baltimore | 2 | | | | W2 | Baltimore | 4 |
| E2 | New York | 1 | | | | W2 | Baltimore | 4 |
| E2 | New York | 1 | W2 | Baltimore | 2 | | | |
| | | | W3 | Chicago | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Boston | 1 | W3 | Chicago | 0 | | | |
| W3 | Chicago | 2 | | | | | | |
* * Division winner
* Bold Series winner

## Statistics leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points | Max Zaslofsky | Chicago Stags | 1,007 |
| Assists | Howie Dallmar | Philadelphia Warriors | 120 |
| FG% | Bob Feerick | Washington Capitols | .340 |
| FT% | Bob Feerick | Washington Capitols | .788 |
Note: Prior to the 1969–70 season, league leaders in points and assists were determined by totals rather than averages.

## BAA awards

* All-BAA First Team
** C Ed Sadowski, Boston Celtics
** F Joe Fulks, Philadelphia Warriors
** F Howie Dallmar, Philadelphia Warriors
** F Bob Feerick, Washington Capitols
** G Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags
* All-BAA Second Team
** G Buddy Jeannette, Baltimore Bullets
** C Stan Miasek, Chicago Stags
** G Carl Braun, New York Knicks
** G Fred Scolari, Washington Capitols
** G John Logan, St. Louis Bombers
* BAA Rookie of the Year
** F/G Paul Hoffman, Baltimore Bullets