| Team: | New York Knicks |
| League: | BAA |
| End Year: | 1948 |
| Wins: | 26 |
| Losses: | 22 |
| Division Place: | 2nd |
| Conf Place: | 2nd |
| Coach: | Joe Lapchick[1] |
| Television: | WJZ-TV[2] |
| Radio: | WHN[3] |
| Playoffs: | BAA Quarterfinals (lost to Bullets 1–2) |
The 1947–48 New York Knicks season was the second season for the team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA),[4] which later merged with the National Basketball League to become the National Basketball Association.[5] The Knicks finished in second place in the Eastern Division with a 26–22 record and qualified for the BAA Playoffs. In the first round, New York was eliminated by the Baltimore Bullets in a best-of-three series, two games to one. Carl Braun was the team's scoring leader during the season.[1]
At the 1947 BAA draft, the Knicks selected Dick Holub in the first round, with the fifth overall pick.[6] The Knicks also selected Wataru Misaka,[7] who made the team's final roster and became "the first person of color to play in modern professional basketball", just months after the Major League Baseball color line had been broken by the Brooklyn Dodgers' Jackie Robinson.[8] Misaka was cut after playing only three games with the team.[9] The 1947–48 season was the first as New York's head coach for Joe Lapchick, who had previously held the same position for college basketball's St. John's; he had been hired in March 1947.[10] The Knicks had a 13–13 record in the first 26 games of the season before going on an eight-game winning streak from January 28 to February 11. However, New York won only four of its final 12 regular season contests.[11]
In game one of the first round of the playoffs, held in Baltimore, the Bullets defeated the Knicks 85–81 behind a 34-point performance by Connie Simmons.[12] The Knicks evened the series at one victory apiece by winning the second game 79–69 in New York, as four players scored more than 10 points.[13] The win forced a decisive third game back in Baltimore, which the Knicks lost 84–77. Simmons led the Bullets with 22 points, while Chick Reiser added 21.[14] The Bullets went on to win the 1948 BAA Finals.[15]
See main article: article and 1947 BAA draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | C | Long Island | |||
| – | – | F/C | William & Mary | |||
| – | – | Ray Evans | – | Kansas | ||
| – | – | Ed Golub | – | – | ||
| – | – | Garland Head | – | Texas Tech | ||
| – | – | Ron Livingston | – | Saint Mary's | ||
| – | – | Dan Miller | – | Saint Louis | ||
| – | – | G | Utah | |||
| – | – | Carl Reichert | – | Findlay | ||
| – | – | Tom Tomlinson | – | Southern Methodist |
| 1947–48 BAA records | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=100 | Team | BAL | BOS | CHI | NYK | PHI | PRO | STL | WAS | ||
| Baltimore | — | 5–1 | 5–3 | 5–1 | 2–4 | 6–0 | 3–5 | 2–6 | |||
| 1–5 | — | 3–3 | 1–7 | 4–4 | 6–2 | 2–4 | 3–3 | ||||
| 3–5 | 3–3 | — | 6–0 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 3–5 | 5–3 | ||||
| New York | 1–5 | 7–1 | 0–6 | — | 4–4 | 7–1 | 4–2 | 3–3 | |||
| 4–2 | 4–4 | 2-4 | 1–7 | — | 8–0 | 3–3 | 2–4 | ||||
| 0–6 | 2–6 | 2–4 | 1–7 | 0–8 | — | 0–6 | 1–5 | ||||
| 5–3 | 4–2 | 5–3 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 6–0 | — | 4–4 | ||||
| Washington | 6–2 | 3–3 | 3–5 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 5–1 | 4–4 | — | |||
| Date | Opponent | Score | High points | Record | ||
| 1 | November 13 | 80–65 | Bud Palmer (21) | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | November 15 | 73–67 | Dick Holub (19) | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | November 18 | 87–69 | Stan Stutz (27) | 3–0 | ||
| 4 | November 19 | 63–81 | Bud Palmer (16) | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | November 20 | 56–68 | Dick Holub (24) | 3–2 | ||
| 6 | November 22 | 78–83 | Bud Palmer (30) | 3–3 | ||
| 7 | November 25 | 91–75 | Dick Holub (19) | 4–3 | ||
| 8 | November 26 | Boston | 63–65 | Bud Palmer (16) | 4–4 | |
| 9 | November 27 | @ Philadelphia | 81–59 | Leo Gottlieb (20) | 5–4 | |
| 10 | December 1 | Washington | 62–70 | Tommy Byrnes (15) | 5–5 | |
| 11 | December 6 | @ Providence | 114–85 | Carl Braun (47) | 6–5 | |
| 12 | December 8 | St. Louis | 71–56 | Bud Palmer (19) | 7–5 | |
| 13 | December 10 | @ Boston | 79–75 | Carl Braun (16) | 8–5 | |
| 14 | December 13 | @ Baltimore | 80–66 | Bud Palmer (18) | 9–5 | |
| 15 | December 15 | Philadelphia | 71–74 | Carl Braun (25) | 9–6 | |
| 16 | December 18 | @ Philadelphia | 99–71 | Tommy Byrnes (25) | 10–6 | |
| 17 | December 20 | Boston | 70–58 | Dick Holub (17) | 11–6 | |
| 18 | December 23 | @ Providence | 58–66 | Stan Stutz (17) | 11–7 | |
| 19 | December 25 | Providence | 89–75 | Tommy Byrnes (20) | 12–7 | |
| 20 | December 27 | Chicago | 70–79 | Carl Braun (16) | 12–8 | |
| 21 | January 3 | Baltimore | 70–79 | Dick Holub (16) | 12–9 | |
| 22 | January 7 | Chicago | 74–79 | Bud Palmer (21) | 12–10 | |
| 23 | January 11 | @ Chicago | 86–99 | Dick Holub (22) | 12–11 | |
| 24 | January 15 | @ St. Louis | 59–55 | Dick Holub (24) | 13–11 | |
| 25 | January 17 | @ Washington | 62–78 | Palmer, Tanenbaum (15) | 13–12 | |
| 26 | January 19 | Philadelphia | 57–63 | Carl Braun (24) | 13–13 | |
| 27 | January 23 | @ Boston | 74–58 | Sid Tanenbaum (21) | 14–13 | |
| 28 | January 24 | Baltimore | 58–72 | Sid Tanenbaum (14) | 14–14 | |
| 29 | January 28 | Providence | 75–73 | Dick Holub (16) | 15–14 | |
| 30 | January 29 | @ Philadelphia | 66–60 | Braun, Knorek, Tanenbaum (13) | 16–14 | |
| 31 | January 31 | Boston | 66–64 | Tommy Byrnes (17) | 17–14 | |
| 32 | February 3 | @ Providence | 78–62 | Stan Stutz (20) | 18–14 | |
| 33 | February 4 | Providence | 108–69 | Carl Braun (24) | 19–14 | |
| 34 | February 6 | @ Boston | 68–57 | Carl Braun (15) | 20–14 | |
| 35 | February 8 | Boston | 80–68 | Carl Braun (15) | 21–14 | |
| 36 | February 11 | Providence | 86–63 | Carl Braun (32) | 22–14 | |
| 37 | February 12 | @ Baltimore | 86–96 | Kuka, Tanenbaum (14) | 22–15 | |
| 38 | February 14 | Philadelphia | 78–47 | Bud Palmer (30) | 23–15 | |
| 39 | February 18 | @ Washington | 79–75 | Sid Tanenbaum (19) | 24–15 | |
| 40 | February 19 | @ Chicago | 74–82 | Carl Braun (23) | 24–16 | |
| 41 | February 22 | @ St. Louis | 71–80 | Sid Tanenbaum (23) | 24–17 | |
| 42 | February 28 | Baltimore | 56–78 | Stan Stutz (13) | 24–18 | |
| 43 | March 2 | @ Philadelphia | 66–76 | Bud Palmer (15) | 24–19 | |
| 44 | March 6 | Washington | 69–64 (OT) | Bud Palmer (18) | 25–19 | |
| 45 | March 10 | St. Louis | 73–82 | Bud Palmer (25) | 25–20 | |
| 46 | March 13 | @ Chicago | 51–58 | Bud Palmer (14) | 25–21 | |
| 47 | March 18 | @ St. Louis | 91–80 | Paul Noel (19) | 26–21 | |
| 48 | March 20 | @ Washington | 82–103 | Bud Palmer (23) | 26–22 |
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 1| March 27| @ Baltimore| L 81–85| Bud Palmer (21)| Baltimore Coliseum| 0–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc"| 2| March 28| Baltimore| W 79–69| Bud Palmer (18)| Madison Square Garden III| 1–1|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc"| 3| April 1| @ Baltimore| L 77–84| Sid Tanenbaum (18)| Baltimore Coliseum| 1–2|-
See main article: article and List of 1947–48 BAA season transactions.
| Player | Signed | Former team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Braun | — | Colgate Raiders | |
| Ray Kuka | — | Montana State Bobcats | |
| Paul Noel | — | Kentucky Wildcats | |
| — | NYU Violets |
| Player | Reason left | New team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aud Brindley | — | — | |
| Bob Cluggish | — | — | |
| Bob Fitzgerald | Signed contract | Syracuse Nationals | |
| Frido Frey | Signed contract | Paterson Crescents | |
| Frank Mangiapane | Signed contract | Paterson Crescents | |
| Ossie Schectman | Signed contract | Paterson Crescents |