A League Is Born
To understand the 1947 Finals, you first have to understand the league it belonged to: the Basketball Association of America (BAA). Founded in 1946 by the owners of major ice hockey arenas, the BAA wasn't even the best pro league in the country; that
honor belonged to the older, more established National Basketball League (NBL). But the BAA had a crucial advantage. While the NBL operated in smaller midwestern towns, the BAA planted its flag in the massive arenas of major cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. This big-market strategy, conceived by men who knew how to fill seats for hockey games, was a bet on basketball's future as a major spectator sport. The 1946-47 season was the BAA's inaugural campaign, a rough-and-tumble test to see if this vision could work.
Enter 'Jumpin' Joe,' The First Scoring Star
Every league needs a star, and the BAA found its first one in Philadelphia Warriors forward Joe Fulks. A World War II veteran, "Jumpin' Joe" was a revolutionary offensive force. He pioneered the one-handed jump shot at a time when most players still used two-handed set shots. In the BAA's first season, Fulks completely dominated, leading the league with 23.2 points per game—a full seven points ahead of the runner-up. His scoring prowess was unlike anything the pro game had seen, making him a must-see attraction. Fulks wasn't just a regular-season wonder; he was the prototype for the modern playoff hero, a player who could single-handedly take over a game when the stakes were highest.
The First-Ever Finals
The inaugural BAA Finals pitted Fulks' Philadelphia Warriors against the Chicago Stags. With a convoluted playoff format that saw the division champions play each other to eliminate one finalist, the Warriors actually entered the championship round as their division's runner-up. But they had Joe Fulks. In Game 1, he exploded for 37 points—including 21 in the fourth quarter—to lead the Warriors to a decisive 84-71 victory. The series was a showcase for the league's big-city model, playing out in Philadelphia and Chicago. The Warriors ultimately dispatched the Stags in five games, with Fulks averaging over 26 points, to capture the first championship in what is now recognized as NBA history.
The Blueprint for the NBA
The 1947 Finals didn't just crown a champion; it validated the BAA's entire business model. It proved that professional basketball could thrive in major arenas and that individual star power could drive fan interest. Within two years, the BAA's strategy proved so successful that it absorbed its rival, the NBL, to form the National Basketball Association in 1949. The NBA officially adopted the BAA's history as its own, making the 1947 championship the league's very first. The victory also established the Warriors—now the Golden State Warriors—as one of the league's foundational franchises. While teams like the Chicago Stags would eventually fold, the seeds of the modern league were planted.
