| ||||||||||
| Dates: | April 10–21 | |||||||||
| Eastern Finals: | Warriors defeated Bombers, 4–3 (Eastern and Western champions) | |||||||||
| Western Finals: | Bullets defeated Stags, 2–0 (Runners-up bracket) | |||||||||
| BAA Finals | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ← 1947 | ||||||||||
| 1949 → | ||||||||||
The 1948 BAA Finals was the championship round of the Basketball Association of America's 1947–48 season.
The defending BAA champion Philadelphia Warriors of the Eastern Division faced the Baltimore Bullets of the Western Division, with Philadelphia having home court advantage.
Baltimore was not the Western Division champion but advanced to the championship round by winning a four-team playoff among the Eastern and Western Division runners-up. Meanwhile, the Eastern and Western Division champions, Philadelphia Warriors and St. Louis Bombers, played one long series to determine the other finalist, a best-of-seven series that Philadelphia won 4–3. In the runners-up bracket, Baltimore and Chicago from the West had first eliminated New York and Boston from the East, then faced each other in a best-of-three series. The format was used only twice, in 1947 and 1948, and generated two champions from the runners-up bracket.
The six games of the final series were played in twelve days, with at least one day off except prior to the decisive game. Division champions Philadelphia and St. Louis had played the seven games of their semifinal series in fifteen days, March 23 to April 6, with at least one day off before every game. The entire playoff tournament extended 30 days.
1948 BAA 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.
| Baltimore Bullets (Western Division Champion) | Philadelphia Warriors (Eastern Division Champion) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28–20 (.583)
2nd Western, 1st Overall |
Regular season | 27–21 (.563)
1st Eastern, 5th Overall | ||
| Defeated the (2) New York Knicks, 2–1 | First Round | Immediately advanced to the BAA Semifinals, having won the Eastern Division. | ||
| Defeated the (3) Chicago Stags, 2–0 | BAA Semifinals | Defeated the (1) St. Louis Bombers, 4–3 | ||
Series summary[]
| Game | Date | Away Team | Result | Home Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | April 10 | Baltimore | 60–71 | Philadelphia |
| Game 2 | April 13 | Baltimore | 66–63 | Philadelphia |
| Game 3 | April 15 | Philadelphia | 70–72 | Baltimore |
| Game 4 | April 17 | Philadelphia | 75–78 | Baltimore |
| Game 5 | April 20 | Baltimore | 82–91 | Philadelphia |
| Game 6 | April 21 | Philadelphia | 73–88 | Baltimore |
| Preceded by 1947 |
BAA Finals 1948 |
Succeeded by 1949 |