Long before Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green hoisted Larry O’Brien trophies in Oracle Arena, a championship foundation was built at the start of the Warriors organization.
Before the franchise moved to the Bay Area, the Philadelphia edition of the Warriors were winning hardware of their own. In 1947, the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America kicked off with 11 teams in two divisions.
Eddie Gottlieb’s Warriors earned a playoff bid with a 35-25 record. After eliminating the St. Louis Bombers and New York Knicks, the Philadelphia Dubs faced the Western Division-leading Chicago Stags in the first-ever BAA Finals.
The Warriors opened the series with a pair of decisive victories to give them a 2-0 lead. In game three, the Warriors stole a three-point road win, but in the fourth game of the series, they could not complete the sweep. After a one-point Chicago win in game four, the Warriors went back to Philadelphia for a chance to clinch the title on their home floor.
April 22, 1947
Philadelphia rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to be crowned champions with an 83-80 victory in game five of the 1947 BAA Finals.
Future Hall of Famer Joe Fulks capped off his Finals run with 34 points on 10-of-34 shooting. The 1947 BAA scoring champion lived at the free-throw line, knocking down 14-of-18 attempts from the stripe against the Stags.
View the box score from the Warriors first championship via Basketball Reference — here.
Via @WarriorsPR:
On this date in 1947, the Philadelphia Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags, 83-80, in Game 5 of the series, earning the Warriors' first-ever championship. pic.twitter.com/TrAnW5Gm75
— Warriors PR (@WarriorsPR) April 22, 2020
The BAA championship from the 1946-47 inaugural season will forever be remembered alongside the Warriors five other title banners in San Francisco’s Chase Center.
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