1947 BAA Finals Game 5 (Philadelphia Warriors vs Chicago Stags)

Lore & Background

The Warriors won the inaugural Basketball Association of America (BAA) championship in 1947, and won again in 1956, led by Hall of Fame trio Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, and Neil Johnston. After the trade of star Wilt Chamberlain in January 1965, the team finished the 1964–65 season with the NBA's worst record (17–63). Their rebuilding period was brief, however, as they drafted Rick Barry four months after the trade. Barry, along with Jamaal Wilkes, powered the Warriors to their third championship in 1975, widely considered one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. The team struggled in the 1980s, then became playoff regulars at the turn of the decade with stars Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin, nicknamed 'Run TMC'. Led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the team returned to championship glory in 2015. In 2016, the Warriors achieved the best-ever regular-season record at 73–9 before losing the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games after surrendering a 3–1 series lead. After signing former MVP Kevin Durant, the team won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018. They lost the 2019 Finals to the Toronto Raptors and Durant left that off-season. After missing the playoffs the next two seasons, the Warriors returned to the playoffs and defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Finals.

In Their Own Story

As the final buzzer cut through the haze of cigarette smoke and sweat hanging over the Chicago Stadium floor, Joe Fulks dropped his hands to his sides, chest heaving, watching the referee's signal confirm the impossible: the Philadelphia Warriors were champions. The scoreboard didn't lie—the first title in professional basketball history belonged to them. In the locker room afterward, amidst a cacophony of shouts and tears, a young player stared at the simple wooden cup being passed around. It lacked the ornate silver of modern trophies, but it carried the weight of an entire new sport. They had done it. The foundation was laid.

Reader's Guide

Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, the team won the championship in the league's inaugural 1946–47 season by defeating the Chicago Stags, four games to one. The NBA, which was created by a 1949 merger, officially recognizes that as its own first championship.

Did You Know?

• The Warriors were founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America.
• The team was named after the Philadelphia Warriors, an old basketball team who played in the American Basketball League in 1925.
• Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, a single-game record.
• The franchise adopted the name Golden State Warriors before the 1971–72 season to suggest that the team represented the entire state of California.
• The Warriors hold several NBA records: best regular season, most wins in a season (regular season and postseason combined), and best postseason run.