75) Jerry Rullo, G, 1946-1950

Before he passed away in 2016, at the age of 94, Rullo was the last living member of the first NBA champions, the ’46-’47 Philadelphia Warriors. A Philadelphia native who starred at Temple, Rullo spent three of his four NBA seasons with the Warriors, plus one unsuccessful year with the Baltimore Bullets. After his time in the NBA, he also played for two more legendary Philadelphia semi-pro teams: the Sunbury Mercury and the Philadelphia SPHAs. Rullo was a minor contributor to the ’46-’47 Warriors, averaging just 2.5 points per game and failing to score at all in three BAA Finals appearances.

74) Don Martin, C, 1946-1949

The first and only NBA player from Division II Central Missouri State, Martin was one of the older players on the original St. Louis Bombers, a full four years removed from his NCAA career. A bench option at power forward and center, he averaged a career high 3.1 points per game in three seasons in St. Louis before getting released halfway though the ’48-’49 campaign.

73) Press Maravich, G, 1946-1947

Much more well known now as a longtime NCAA coach and the father of Naismith Hall of Fame inductee Pete, Maravich was also an original member of the short-lived Pittsburgh Ironmen. He was the second leading scorer in their inaugural game, with eight points, but played mainly in garbage time of blowouts for the rest of the season. Already 31 years old when the Ironmen folded at season’s end, Maravich retired as a player and shifted into coaching. He started off as an assistant at his alma mater, Davis and Elkins (in West Virginia) and was eventually the head coach at Clemson, N.C. State, and LSU, where he led his son.

72) Aubrey Davis, F, 1946-1947

A two-sport star at Oklahoma Baptist, Davis served in World War II and then attempted an MLB career when he returned to the states. After languishing for several AA clubs in the summer of 1946, he decided to try his hand at pro basketball as well, signing with the St. Louis Bombers. Making his debut in a November 2nd win over Pittsburgh, Davis became the first Oklahoman to play in the NBA. He averaged 4.9 points per game in ’46-’47 as a backup small forward, then signed with the Hammond Calumet Buccaneers of the NBL for one season before retiring from basketball. Davis’ pro baseball career didn’t go much further either, ending after two seasons without an MLB call-up.

71) Ossie Schectman, G, 1946-1947

On November 1st, 1946, the Knicks visited Toronto to take on the Huskies in the first NBA game. The first basket of that first game, an underhanded lay-up, was scored by Schectman, forever etching his name in pro basketball lore. He scored 11 points that night and averaged 8.1 points per game for the season, good for third on New York. But in a sign of the times for pro basketball, he quit the team because the road trips were interfering with his salesman career, and instead signed with the more regional Paterson Crescents of the ABL. Though Schectman is now widely known as the first basket scorer, this wasn’t always a verifiable fact. When Rickey Green scored the five millionth point in NBA history 1988, the league actually had to do some research to figure out that it was Schectman who scored the first. In part for his historic basket and in part for his star turns at Long Island University and with the semi-pro Philadelphia SPHAs, he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

70) Nick Shaback, G, 1946-1947

The NBA was just a brief stop for Shaback, playing one season with the Cleveland Rebels in between stints in the AAU, ABL, NYSL, and CSL, plus multiple independent teams. He never attended college, joining the AAU ranks with the New York Orbachs instead, before embarking on his pro career. One of the senior leaders on the Rebels, he made the third most appearances on the team in ’46-’47, despite averaging just 4.6 points per game.

69) Ben Scharnus, F, 1946-1949

By the time he signed with the Cleveland Rebels in 1946, Scharnus had played for multiple teams across numerous pro and semi-pro leagues, including several years in the ABL. Born and raised in New Jersey, he starred for Seton Hall in the early ’40s and was one of seven former Pirates who suited up in the inaugural NBA season. Scharnus lasted just two seasons in the NBA, one with the Rebels then one with the Providence Steam Rollers before retiring to earn his masters degree and teach high school.

68) Red Wallace, G, 1946-1947

One of the older players on the original Celtics, having joined the team after a long stint in the U.S. Army, Wallace was a key guard off the bench early in the season. He was later traded on New Year’s Day to the Toronto Huskies and upped his scoring on the lesser team, averaging 11.5 points in 37 games. His 38 points outburst in a late January win over the Washington Capitols stands as the franchise single-game record for the Huskies, who folded after one season. Missing his home in Northeast Pennsylvania, Wallace left the NBA in 1947 to sign with the Scranton Miners of the Eastern Basketball League, and spent the rest of his playing and coaching career there.

67) John Abramovic, F, 1946-1948

Likely the greatest basketball player in the history of Salem University, a small private school in West Virginia, Abramovic led the nation in scoring in his junior and senior seasons and was the first in NCAA history to reach 2,000 career points. Following a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, he was back in his hometown of Pittsburgh playing with a semi-pro team when the Ironmen were added as a charter member of the NBA. Starting at small forward, he was the team’s second-leading scorer with 11.2 points per game in ’46-’47 but the franchise folded after finishing dead last in the standings. He was drafted by the Celtics in the ensuing dispersal draft, then traded to the St. Louis Bombers, then waived, then signed with the Baltimore Bullets. Having played only lightly in just nine total games in ’47-’48 between the Bombers and Bullets, Abramovic left for the Syracuse Nationals of the NBL. When that franchise then joined the NBA as part of the 1949 merger, he retired from basketball and returned to the family broom manufacturing business.

66) Cecil Hankins, G, 1946-1948

A halfback in football and a shooting guard in basketball, Hankins was part of national title teams in both sports at Oklahoma State (then called Oklahoma A&M) in 1945. He could have gone pro in either and initially opted for football, but made a quick switch when the NFL team that drafted him, the Boston Yanks, wanted him to switch positions. Signing with the St. Louis Bombers, he got off to a strong start, averaging nearly 10 points per game in his first 20 appearances, but his playing time and stats trailed off as the season ran on. After barely even appearing in St. Louis’ first round loss to the Warriors, Hankins was traded to Boston and played one year with the Celtics before retiring to return to Oklahoma to coach high school ball.

65) Buddy O’Grady, G, 1946-1949

One of three original Washington Capitols who had played their college ball just down the street at Georgetown, O’Grady returned to his alma mater as a coach in 1949, after retiring from the NBA. He started his pro career winning an NBL championship with the Rochester Royals (who joined the NBA three years later and are now the Sacramento Kings), then was a deep bench option for the Capitols, who finished the ’46-’47 NBA regular season with the league’s best record but were upset by the Chicago Stags in the playoff semifinals. O’Grady had better stats later on in stints with the St. Louis Bombers and Providence Steam Rollers, averaging 4.7 points per game in ’48-’49, his last season as a player.

64) Hank Lefkowitz, F, 1946-1947

As the sport of basketball was still not particularly popular in the U.S., at least compared to baseball or boxing, the early NBA teams would often load their rosters with local prep heroes to drum up interest. Such was the story with Lefkowitz, who was a star at Cleveland Heights High School and then Case Western Reserve College when he signed with the Cleveland Rebels in 1947. It’s another sign of the times that Lefkowitz had just finished his senior year of play at Case Western Reserve when he joined the Rebels just days later, while still technically attending school. He played in 24 regular season games down the stretch, then upped his scoring average in two playoff appearances. When the Rebels folded after the season, he gave up on basketball and started his own construction company.

63) Frido Frey, G, 1946-1947

Though raised in Brooklyn, Frey was born in Germany in 1921 and became just the third European-born player in NBA history when he first suited up for the Knicks. After graduating from Long Island University in 1941, he played for several independent and semi-pro teams before reaching the Knicks. He averaged 3.8 points per game in his 23 appearances as New York made a late season run to reach the playoffs. One and done in the NBA, Frey spent several more seasons playing pro ball in the American Basketball League and New York State Professional League.

62) Dino Martin, G, 1946-1948

Don “Dino” Martin is the the answer to the trivia question “who was the first player to score 40 points in a game?” He did so on January 9, 1947, leading his Providence Steam Rollers to a win over the Cleveland Rebels. His record for most points in a game would last for just five days, when the season’s eventual scoring champ, Joe Fulks, scored 41 in a Warriors victory. Martin averaged 12.2 points per game in ’46-’47 but saw his playing time severely decrease in ’47-’48 and retired as a player to coach at his high school, De La Salle Academy in Newport, Rhode Island. In addition to his 40-point performance, Martin also holds the distinction of being the first Georgetown Hoya to play in the NBA.

61) Art Spector, F, 1946-1950

His name isn’t typically mentioned alongside franchise legends like Bill Russell or Larry Bird, but Spector does hold the distinction of being the first player ever signed by the Boston Celtics. He also eventually became the last of the original Celtics, staying with the team through the ’49-’50 season, retiring just before Red Auerbach took over and completely re-invented the franchise. Why the Celtics signed Spector first is not particularly clear. He was a starter at Villanova and later in the ABL with the Baltimore Bullets and Trenton Tigers but never put up huge stats or accepted any accolades. After averaging 5.0 points per game over four seasons in Boston, Spector became a scout for the franchise and was instrumental in their decision to select Chuck Cooper in 1950, making him the first Black draftee in NBA history.

60) Al Brightman, F, 1946-1947

Part of the original Celtics in ’46-’47, Brightman was the first player in franchise history to score 20 or more points in a game, when he dropped 26 in an early December loss to the Chicago Stags. It was a peak highlight of a standout season for the forward, whose 9.8 points per game were second on the team behind Connie Simmons. But coaching was his true passion, so he moved on from the NBA after one season to coach at Seattle University, guiding the program from Division II obscurity to regular NCAA Tournament appearances before abruptly quitting at age 32 in 1956, after an in-game altercation with UCLA’s John Wooden.

59) Irv Rothenberg, C, 1946-1949

Hardly a star player at Long Island University or during his early years in the ABL, Rothenberg found his niche as a solid passing big man in the NBA for three seasons. He played sparingly for the Cleveland Rebels in ’46-’47 and then peaked in ’47-’48 and ’48-’49, despite splitting his time across four franchises. He averaged 7.8 points per game for the St. Louis Bombers in 24 appearances, then 5.9 points and 1.3 assists in 53 games for the Knicks.

58) Wilbert Kautz, G, 1946-1947

Having turned 31 just before the ’46-’47 season started, Kautz was one of the NBA’s oldest original players. He put his years of experience with NBL and independent teams to good use, averaging 5.1 points per game for a good Chicago Stags team. Kautz was quiet for most of Chicago’s postseason run, but in the deciding game five of the NBA Finals, he finished with 10 points, albeit in a losing effort to the Warriors. Though his NBA career lasted just one season, Kautz was one of the biggest early basketball stars in Chicago, thanks to his All-American honors while at Loyola, and his star turn with the Chicago Bruins of the ABL.

57) Mickey Rottner, G, 1946-1948

One of two Loyola All-Americans, along with Wilbert Kautz, to play for the inaugural Chicago Stags, Rottner was eventually inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. While serving in the Army during World War II, he got his post-college basketball start with the Camp Grant Warriors, a military team. Rottner also spent a year with the Sheboygan Red Skins of the NBL before signing with the Stags. He averaged 7.6 points per game in ’46-’47, and 1.7 assists per game, which led the team and placed him fifth in the NBA overall. His playing time tanked in the postseason as the Stags reached the NBA Finals, then fell even further in ’47-’48. Rottner retired to become a scout, eventually working for the Stags’ NBA successors in Chicago, the Packers.

56) John Janisch, F, 1946-1948

Things went poorly for the Detroit Falcons in their first and only NBA season, but it certainly wasn’t the fault of Janisch. The former Valparaiso star lined up at forward with Stan Miasek in Detroit and the pair carried the team most nights. Janisch finished the season averaging 11.6 points per game, second on the team behind Miasek and 18th in the NBA. He scored 20+ points in six different games, including three a row early in the season, but the Falcons cratered in the standings down the stretch and folded after just one year. Janisch headed to Boston in the ensuing dispersal draft and struggled to find playing time. He was traded mid-season to the Providence Steam Rollers, then retired soon after with a career average of 10.5 points per game. In Falcons franchise history, he’s second all-time in points, free throws, field goals, and win shares, trailing only Miasek in each category.

55) Coulby Gunther, F, 1946-1949

His 14.1 points per game in ’46-’47 were enough to finish in the top 10 in the NBA in scoring, but not enough for Gunther to lead the Pittsburgh Ironmen out of the standings basement. A New York native, he attended St. John’s for just one year before joining the military for World War II, then opted to join the pros upon his return. When the Ironmen folded after one season, Gunther went down as the franchise’s all-time leader in points, field goals, free throws, and win shares. He was selected by the Providence Steam Rollers in the dispersal draft but bounced around several other pro leagues before returning to the NBA in ’48-’49, when the Steam Rollers sold him to the St. Louis Bombers. His second NBA season was much less successful, averaging just 5.0 points per game for St. Louis, so he returned to the ABL for the remainder of his career. 

54) Earl Shannon, G, 1946-1949

Not quite the best of the five Rhode Island alums that were part of the original Providence Steam Rollers, but close, as Shannon averaged 12.1 points per game in his first season. His star successor at Rhode Island, Ernie Calverley, was the main attraction, but Shannon was still key, with a solid set shot despite standing just 5’11”. This would turn out to be a career peak, as Shannon’s numbers dropped over the next two seasons with Providence, before a final quiet year with the other New England team, the Celtics. Shannon then returned to the Army Air Corps, serving in Korea just as he had in World War II.

53) Giff Roux, F, 1946-1949

He was a decent contributor for three-plus years with the St. Louis Bombers, and lives on forever in the franchise’s all-time top 10 scorers, but Roux’s biggest claim to fame is a little more ignominious. In one game in January of the ’47-’48 season, Roux attempted 20 free throws and missed all of them. Nearly 75 years later, it’s still a record for most attempts without a make in a single game. Undaunted, Roux had a season 14 points just a few nights later in a loss to the Capitols, though he ultimately averaged just 4.1 points per game for his career. 

52) Hank Beenders, C, 1946-1949

Playing under the legendary Clair Bee, Beenders was the starting center on the ’40-’41 Long Island University team that won the NIT title. He then served with the Army Air Corps in World War II and was playing with an independent semi-pro team in Upstate New York when the BAA was formed. Teaming up as a reliable inside-outside duo with Ernie Calverley, Beenders was the second-leading scorer on the Providence Steam Rollers in ’46-’47, with 12.3 points per game. He was then traded during the ’47-’48 season to the Warriors and found only limited playing time with them and in a later stint with the Celtics. Born in the Netherlands before moving to the U.S. at age eight, Beenders was the first Dutch player in NBA history, and the only one for 30 years, until Swen Nater joined as part of the 1976 ABA merger.

51) Chet Carlisle, F, 1946-1947

Having turned 30 just before his first appearance with the Chicago Stags, Carlisle was one of the oldest players in the inaugural NBA season. He had starred at Cal under the legendary Nibs Price back in the mid ’30s, then played several years of AAU ball before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. When he returned from service, Carlisle was starring for an AAU team sponsored by the 20th Century Fox film studio when the NBA was started. He signed with the Chicago Stags and contributed 5.0 points per game in 51 regular season contests. In game two of the 1947 NBA Finals, Carlisle led all scorers with 19 points, but it was in a losing effort against the Warriors. 

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By the numbers: The first NBA season (’46-’47)

Number of franchises: 11 (only three of which survived to this day: Celtics, Knicks, and Warriors)

Best regular season record: Washington Capitols (49-11)

Worst regular season record: Pittsburgh Ironmen (15-45)

Leading scorer: Joe Fulks (23.1 points per game); only two other players scored 15+ points per game

Assists leader: Ernie Calvelrey (3.4 per game); only two other players averaged two-plus assists per game

Oldest player: Ben Goldfaden, Washington Capitols (age 33 on opening day)

Youngest player: Max Zaslofsky, Chicago Stags (age 20 on opening day)

Number of players with a career eventually lasting five seasons or more: 20 (Zaslofsky and Connie Simmons had the longest careers, at 10 years each)

Number of players with a career that lasted just the ’46-’47 season: 87 (54% of the league)

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50) Don Putman, G, 1946-1950

A member of the St. Louis Bombers for all four years of the team’s existence, Putman is second all-time in franchise games played and in the top 10 in points, assists, field goals, and free throws. He peaked in his first season, averaging 6.6 points per game, which was fifth on the team, before falling back into a more supporting role in his final three years. One more franchise superlative for Putman: in the first ever Bombers game, he was the leading scorer with 12 points, in a win over the Pittsburgh Ironmen. He also participated in the last ever Bombers game before they folded in 1950, scoring just three points in a loss to the Stags.

49) Frankie Baumholtz, G, 1946-1947

Named MVP of the 1941 NIT Tournament, where he led Ohio to a surprise run to the Finals, Baumholtz was also a star for the school’s baseball team and went pro in the California League in 1941. He was talented enough to eventually make it up to the majors but had his career cut short by commissioned service in the U.S. Navy. When he returned from the Pacific, Baumholtz found that pro basketball was now more of a viable career path and attempted to balance stints with the Youngstown Bears of the ABL and the Cincinnati Reds of the MLB. He soon after joined the Cleveland Rebels for their inaugural NBA season and was an instant star, pouring in 25 points in their first game, a win over the Toronto Huskies. Baumholtz was named 2nd-Team All-BAA after scoring 20+ points 12 times, averaging 14.0 for the season, but missed the stretch run and playoffs for the Rebels because he had to report to Reds spring training. The Reds soon signed him to a new contract that year that included a clause that he could no longer pursue a pro basketball career. Baumholtz thus retired from the NBA as third in points and assists in Rebels history.

48) Leo Gottlieb, G, 1946-1948

Though he averaged just 5.5 points per game in his two seasons with the Knicks, Gottlieb does hold the distinction of being the leader scorer in the first game in franchise history. In fact, it was the first game in NBA history, with Gottlieb scoring 14 points to lead the Knicks to a win over the Toronto Huskies. He was also New York’s leading scorer in their second game with 12 points, and added two 20+ point performances later in the season, but overall Gottlieb faded in and out of the rotation, as was normal at the time for any non-superstar. In addition to his two seasons with the Knicks, Gottlieb spent several years in the ABL, including with the legendary Philadelphia SPHAs. His nephew, Ronald Rothstein, was also a superlative first, as the coach of the inaugural Miami Heat in ’88-’89.

47) Ray Wertis, G, 1946-1948

One of the fellow New Yorkers recruited by player-coach Ed Sadowski to join him on the Toronto Huskies, Wertis played in the first NBA game on November 1st, 1946, scoring six points in a Huskies loss. Despite standing just 5’11”, he soon became one of the team’s most consistent scorers but was traded in mid-December, alongside Sadowski, to the Cleveland Rebels. Wertis also played for the Providence Steam Rollers in ’47-’48 and finished his NBA career with 3.6 points per game over two seasons.

46) Milt Schoon, C, 1946-1950

Listed at 6’7″ but likely taller, Schoon was one of the biggest players in the original NBA. He wanted to join the military during World War II but was deferred due to his height and instead played for Valparaiso, where he was supposedly the only opposing center who could handle DePaul’s George Mikan. He was easily the biggest guy on the ’46-’47 Detroit Falcons but found limited playing time, averaging 2.9 points per game, and left the NBA to join the Sheboygan Red Skins of the NBL. When the Red Skins then joined the NBA in ’49-’50 as part of the BAA/NBL merger, Schoon was a key rotation piece, the sixth man backing up starting center Noble Jorgensen. When the Red Skins folded, he joined the Denver Refiners of the NPBL and in that league’s one and only season, scored 64 points in one game, which was widely considered the pro basketball record at the time, until Elgin Baylor scored 70 in a game in 1960.

45) George Munroe, G, 1946-1948

Not many NBA players can say they’ve retired to attend law school. In fact, Munroe might be the only one. An All-American at Dartmouth, Munroe served in World War II in the U.S. Navy before signing with the St. Louis Bombers. He was fourth on the team in scoring in ’46-’47, with 7.0 points per game, then came up big in the franchise’s first playoff game, scoring 16 in a loss to the Warriors. Playing time was more scarce for Munroe after a trade to the Celtics for the ’47-’48 season, so he retired from basketball to enroll at Harvard Law School. After earning a Rhodes Scholarship and studying at Oxford, he eventually became CEO of the Phelps Dodge mining corporation in Arizona. 

44) Irv Torgoff, F, 1946-1949

Red Auerbach famously created the prototype for the modern sixth man with Frank Ramsey on the late ’50s Celtics but Torgoff was his lesser known beta test. A former recipient of the Haggerty Award for best NCAA player in New York, Torgoff led Long Island to the NIT title in 1939, then spent six seasons with the Philadelphia SPHAs of the ABL before signing with Auerbach’s Washington Capitols for the inaugural NBA season. A swingman who could play three positions, Torgoff slotted beautifully into Auerbach’s versatile lineup, averaging 7.9 points per game in his first two seasons. He was later traded to the Baltimore Bullets and then the Philadelphia Warriors during the ’48-’49 season before retiring to start a sales career in his native New York.

43) Butch van Breda Kolff, G, 1946-1950

Most people know Van Breda Kolff as the combustible coach whose feud with Wilt Chamberlain arguably cost the Lakers the 1969 title, but he was also a member of the original Knicks. Freshly graduated from Princeton in 1946, he signed with the Knicks late in the ’46-’47 season and played only sparingly in 16 games. But he soon after became a staple in the lineup, peaking at 7.0 points per game in ’48-’49, when the Knicks came within one win of the NBA Finals. He retired in 1951 to become a coach and despite his intense reputation, did become the first coach to ever lead a team to the Final Four (Princeton in 1965) and the NBA Finals (Lakers in 1968 and 1969). 

42) Bob Faught, F, 1946-1947

A Cleveland native, like many of the ’46-’47 Rebels, Faught was a star at Cleveland Heights High School before moving on to Notre Dame (where he was twice an All-American), the Pacific during World War II, and finally back to Northeast Ohio. He averaged 6.7 points per game for the Rebels in ’46-’47 but upped it to 8.3 per game in the playoffs, good for third on the team. But the Rebels lost their first round series to the Knicks and soon after folded. Faught was selected by the Philadelphia Warriors in the dispersal draft but opted to retire from basketball instead, capping his career at one season.

41) Grady Lewis, F, 1946-1949

It’s been confined to lifestyle footwear status for decades now but in the NBA in the ’50s and ’60s, the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star was the pre-eminent choice of players. One of the biggest advocates of this popularity was Lewis, who joined the shoe company as a salesman in 1950 and soon rose up to the executive level after developing the low-top Chuck Taylor. Before he was a shoe sales legend, Lewis was a star player for the Phillips 66 Oilers of the AAU, then spent three seasons in the NBA. He started with the Detroit Falcons in ’46-’47 but had his best season in ’47-’48, split between the St. Louis Bombers and Baltimore Bullets. Lewis was selected by the Bombers in the Dispersal Draft and averaged 6.9 points in 24 games for them, then was traded to the Bullets, who had just joined the NBA from the ABL. Lewis was one of Baltimore’s leading scorers down the stretch as the team made a shocking run to the NBA title. He then spent one more season with St. Louis as a player-coach and one as just coach until the franchise folded in 1950.

40) Chuck Gilmur, F, 1946-1951

Gilmur was the first NBA player from Washington and a rarity in the early days of the league when it was dominated by players from the East Coast and Midwest. He signed with the second westernmost team in the original NBA, the Chicago Stags, and averaged 6.0 points and 1.4 assists per game over his first three seasons. He was fifth in the NBA in assists in ’47-’48, but also led the league that year in personal fouls. After three seasons with the Stags that included an NBA Finals appearance in 1947, Gilmur signed with the Washington Capitols and played there until they folded in 1951. He then returned to his native Washington to become a teacher and coach at Lincoln High School in Tacoma.

39) Leo Mogus, F, 1946-1951

One of seven members of the ’46-’47 Cleveland Rebels who played college ball in Ohio, Mogus is, in fact, the only NBA player in history from Youngstown State. He was also a football star for the Penguins and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1985. Mogus put up 33 points for Cleveland in a November win over Toronto but the cash strapped franchise soon after traded him to that Huskies team, and he was their leading scorer down the stretch with 13.3 points per game. Thanks to both franchises folding after one season, Mogus, who finished ninth in the NBA in scoring in ’46-’47, is in the top 10 all-time in scoring for both of them. He was selected by the Baltimore Bullets in the dispersal draft but played for three franchises during the ’47-’48 season, via trades to the Indianapolis Jets and Fort Wayne Pistons. He finally settled in with a single team late in his career, playing out the ’48-’49 and ’49-’50 seasons with the Warriors.

38) Stan Noszka, G, 1946-1949

Born and raised in the Pittsburgh area and a star at Duquesne, Noszka was a natural fit for the Pittsburgh Ironmen in ’46-’47. He paired up with John Abramovic as a scoring wing duo of Pittsburgh locals, averaging 8.7 points per game in ’46-’47, good for third on the team. Noszka was selected by Boston in the dispersal draft after the Ironmen folded, and couldn’t sustain his offensive output, averaging just 2.9 points per game in two seasons with the Celtics. He returned home to play for a couple teams in the Ohio/Pennsylvania based AAPBL before retiring to enter politics, eventually serving several terms as a Democrat in the Pennsylvania State Senate.

37) Jack Garfinkel, G, 1946-1949

Like so many Jewish players of his era, Garfinkel spent some time with the Philadelphia SPHAs of the ABL before the NBA was founded. Previous to going pro, Garfinkel was a winner of the Haggerty Award, given to the top college player in New York, while starring at St. John’s. He was one of the elder players on the original Celtics at 28 years old and led the team in assists in ’46-’47. His 1.5 assists per game in ’46-’47 and 1.4 in ’47-’48 both placed in the top 10 in the NBA in their respective years. After three seasons with the Celtics he returned to the ABL to close out his career.

36) Bob Doll, F, 1946-1950

Nicknamed “Ichabod” for his tall, gangly body, Doll was one of the premier post scorers in the early NBA but also a surprisingly adept passer. He was named MVP of the 1940 NIT Tournament while leading Colorado to the title, then an All-American in ’41-’42 as the Buffaloes reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. In his first two NBA seasons with the St. Louis Bombers, he averaged 9.5 points per game, lining up in a dominant front court with Red Rocha. After returning home to Colorado to play for the newly formed Denver Nuggets of the NBL, he then signed with the Celtics and spent two more seasons in the NBA in Boston. Soon after retiring from basketball, Doll was found dead near his home in Rabbit Ears Pass, Colorado from an apparent suicide.

35) Tommy Byrnes, F, 1946-1951

Part of the original Knicks, Byrnes contributed four points in the first NBA game, a New York win over the Toronto Huskies. He eventually became one of the team’s leading scorers in ’46-’47, with 7.6 points per game, and lasted five seasons total with the Knicks, Indianapolis Jets, Baltimore Bullets, Washington Capitols, and Tri-Cities Blackhawks. As one of only a handful of players on this list to last until at least the ’50s, Byrnes managed to accumulate some rebounding stats, which didn’t get tracked until ’50-’51.

34) Art Hillhouse, C, 1946-1948

A bruiser at center at 6’7″, 220 pounds, Hillhouse was an enforcer on the Warriors team that won the inaugural NBA title. He was fourth on the team in playoff scoring with 8.7 points per game, but perhaps the bigger indicator of his importance to the team was his distinction of being the only player to ever foul out in all five games of a playoff series. That series was the NBA Finals, as the Warriors defeated the Chicago Stags and became the first NBA champions. Hillhouse turned 31 soon after that title was clinched and lasted just one more brief season with the Warriors. His pro career had started seven years prior to the formation of the NBA and Hillhouse spent time with several independent and ABL franchises.

33) Johnny Norlander, F, 1946-1951

While stationed at Norfolk during World War II, Norlander played on a Naval basketball team coached by Red Auerbach. When Auerbach soon after took over as head coach of the Washington Capitols in the newly formed BAA, Norlander was one of several former players he called up to join the team. An efficient post scorer and tough defender, he was the starting power forward for most of the first four seasons of Capitols history, including their run to the 1949 NBA Finals. Norlander peaked in his first season, ’46-’47, with 10.4 points per game. He was the first Capitols player to tally 20 points in a game, scoring 22 in an early season loss to the St. Louis Bombers, then following it up with a 21 point performance the next night against the Cleveland Rebels. He retired in 1951 when the Capitols folded, and sits in the top five all-time in franchise history in points and assists.

32) Ralph Kaplowitz, G, 1946-1948

The longest living member of the original Knicks, Kaplowitz passed away in 2009 at the age of 89. He was in the starting lineup on opening night, in the first ever NBA game, scoring seven points as the Knicks defeated the Toronto Huskies. Kaplowitz was soon after traded to the Philadelphia Warriors for cash and became a key piece for them down the stretch as they won the inaugural NBA title. He averaged 5.6 points per game in two NBA seasons and played in another NBA Finals with the Warriors in 1948 before returning to his roots in the ABL. He is one of eight players in NBA history to play for multiple seasons and reach the Finals every year.

31) Lee Knorek, C, 1946-1950

His original college, DeSales in Toledo, Ohio, actually shut down after his junior year, so Knorek transferred to Detroit Mercy after World War II, and caught the attention of pro scouts. He left school during his senior season to sign with the Knicks late in ’46-’47. Making an instant splash by scoring 21 points in just his second game with the team, Knorek was a key play maker down the stretch and one of New York’s leading scorers in the postseason, where they lost in the BAA Semifinals to the Warriors. After averaging 6.7 points and 1.6 assists per game in three seasons with the Knicks, he was traded to the Baltimore Bullets in 1949 but refused to play, opting to retire instead and return to his native Ohio.

30) Dick Schulz, F, 1946-1950

His pro career started with independent teams in his native Wisconsin before Schultz joined the Sheboygan Red Skins of the NBL. He played in four NBL Finals with those legendary Red Skins teams, winning a title in 1943, then joined the Cleveland Rebels for the inaugural NBA season at age 30. Schulz was one of Cleveland’s premier offensive threats but the struggling team soon traded him to the Toronto Huskies for Ed Sadowski. Despite his age and his disruptive start, Schulz lasted four seasons in the NBA, playing for the Baltimore Bullets, Tri-Cities Blackhawks, and Washington Capitols in addition to Cleveland and Toronto. With 7.5 points per game, he was the sixth leading postseason scorer on the ’47-’48 Baltimore team that won a stunning NBA title. His pro career ended where it started, as Schulz signed with the Red Skins in January of 1950 after they joined the NBA via merger, then played in their final 29 games before they folded.

29) Stan Stutz, G, 1946-1949

Born Stanley Modzelewski in Massachusetts, he legally shortened it to Stutz once his basketball career took off, to avoid confusion.  With his patented one-handed running jumper, Stutz led the NCAA in scoring for three consecutive seasons while at Rhode Island then became one of the top scorers in the ABL, winning a championship with the Baltimore Bullets in 1946 before joining the NBA. He led the Knicks in playoff scoring in ’46-’47 with 16.8 points per game and became the first Knicks player to score 30 or more points in a postseason game, helping New York advance past the Cleveland Rebels in the league quarterfinals. Stutz spent two seasons with the Knicks then one with his old ABL team the Bullets before retiring.

28) Jim Seminoff, G, 1946-1950

A starting forward on the original Chicago Stags, Seminoff got off to a slow start but was one of their top play makers by the playoffs, averaging 10.4 points per game in the 1947 NBA Finals and leading the team in postseason assists. Over four seasons, two with Chicago and two with the Celtics, Seminoff averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 assists per game. He finished in the top five in the NBA in assists in the ’47-’48 and ’48-’49 seasons and is in the top 10 in Stags franchise history in both assists and points. Before playing in the NBA, Seminoff was a leading scorer at USC, a veteran of Iwo Jima as a part of the U.S. Marines, and an All-Star in the AAU ranks while playing for the 20th Century Fox team.

27) George Nostrand, C, 1946-1950

When the Toronto Huskies began promotion for the first NBA game in history, wherein they’d be hosting the Knicks, they placed Nostrand front and center. That’s because at 6’8″, was the tallest player on their roster, and the Huskies promised free admission to anyone taller. Nostrand scored 14 points in that game but was traded by the struggling franchise to the Cleveland Rebels just a few weeks later. In fact, despite averaging a respectable 8.2 points for his career, Nostrand was traded or sold five times in his four NBA seasons. His peak came with the Providence Steam Rollers in ’47-’48, averaging 11.6 points per game, albeit for one of the worst teams in NBA history.

26) Ariel Maughan, F, 1946-1951

Though he was nicknamed “Ace” for his shooting accuracy, Maughan was also one of the league’s first above-the-rim players, able to leap high enough to lay it in the basket. These two skills made him essentially unstoppable in the early days of the NBA, but he was never able to earn consistent enough minutes to blossom into a star. His best season was ’48-’49, when he averaged 10.8 points per game for the St. Louis Bombers, but then was essentially a non-entity in the playoffs. His second best season was the inaugural one, when he averaged 9.0 points per game for the Detroit Falcons. With the franchise folding after just one season, Maughan stands as their third all-time leading scorer, and second in assists.

“Blind in one eye, deaf in one ear, and nicknamed “Fat Freddy” for his weight issues, Scolari was nonetheless one of the first superstars of the NBA.”

25) Tony Jaros, F, 1946-1951

A two-sport star at Minnesota, Jaros opted to take a chance with the new burgeoning pro leagues of basketball over the more assured baseball infrastructure. He was one of the stars of the original Chicago Stags, averaging 8.2 points per game and coming up huge in the playoffs, scoring 29 in a first round win over the Capitols, and then 21 in game five of the NBA Finals against the Warriors. Though he then left for the NBL, joining his hometown Minneapolis Lakers, Jaros was soon back in the NBA with that Lakers team after they joined the league in ’48-’49. Though he was more of a role player in his three NBA seasons with Minneapolis, he earned two championships off bench. After retirement, Jaros opened a restaurant in his childhood neighborhood in Minneapolis, called Tony Jaros’ River Garden, which still displays pictures of him from his playing days on the walls and serves his signature “Greenie” cocktail long after his passing.

24) Mel Riebe, G, 1946-1949

A member of the Cleveland and Ohio Sports Halls of Fame thanks to his exploits at the prep and pro levels, Riebe was 30 years old already by 1946 but was one of the leading scorers on original Cleveland Rebels. He then spent the ’47-’48 season with the Celtics, and the ’48-’49 season split between Boston and the Providence Steam Rollers before retiring to attend college. Because he had played professionally, Riebe couldn’t join the basketball team at Wooster so he instead became a star amateur golfer. Before reaching the NBA, he spent several years as a semi-pro star for AAU and NBL teams based in the Cleveland area, thrilling fans with his array of trick shots.

23) Angelo Musi, G, 1946-1949

Even by 1946 NBA standards Musi was a tiny guy, listed at just 5’9″ when he took the court for the Warriors in ’46-’47. But his heart was immeasurable and he endeared himself immediately to Philadelphia fans, many of which already loved him for his exploits at Temple. He was team captain and the second leading scorer (with 9.4 points per game) on the ’46-’47 Warriors, as they won the first NBA title. He ultimately spent three seasons with Philadelphia, also playing in the 1948 NBA Finals, before retiring to start his own vending business.

22) Bud Palmer, F, 1946-1949

It’s still debatable which player was the “inventor” of the jump shot but Palmer is considered one of a handful of guys with a legitimate claim to that title. It served him well in his three NBA seasons, all with the Knicks, who named him captain of the inaugural ’46-’47 season. He led the team in scoring in ’46-’47 with 9.5 points per game, then upped that average to 13.0 per game in ’47-’48 and 12.3 per game in ’48-’49. In the postseason Palmer was even more deadly, averaging 14.4 points in his 14-game postseason career. After retiring as a player he immediately became a broadcaster, eventually calling Knicks games for years on both radio and television.

21) Ernie Calverley, G, 1946-1949

Most of the NBA’s all-time greatest point guards, from Bob Cousy to Magic Johnson to Chris Paul, have led the league in assists per game multiple times. But the first player to do it was Calverley, a man who was always more interested in coaching basketball than playing it and actually retired after just three seasons to do just that. His league leading totals in ’46-’47 and 47′-’48 were at rates that wouldn’t even be mentioned today in a game summary. He finished ’46-’47 with 3.4 assists per game, and totaled 2.5 in ’47-’48, both for the Providence Steam Rollers. He was also the team’s leading scorer in its inaugural season, with 14.3 points per game, and when the franchise folded in 1949, he went down as its all-time scoring and assists leader.

20) Don Carlson, G, 1946-1951

Just like Tony Jaros, Carlson was a Minneapolis native who started his pro career with the Chicago Stags, then joined the Lakers in the NBL in 1947, and followed them back to the NBA in ’48-’49. Starting in the back court with Max Zaslofsky, Carlson was third on the Stags in both scoring (10.7 points per game) and assists as they reached the first NBA Finals in ’46-’47. On the Lakers, he won three consecutive championships, starting with the NBL title in 1948, then the NBA versions in 1949 and 1950, before finishing his career with the Baltimore Bullets in ’50-’51.

19) Kleggie Hermsen, F, 1946-1953

Part of the Sheboygan Red Skins in their NBL days, Hermsen eventually suited up for eight different NBA franchises but never reunited with his former NBL team. The one year that the Red Skins were in the NBA, ’49-’50, Hermsen was one of the better players on the Chicago Stags. But his peak came in ’48-’49, averaging 12.0 points per game to lead the Baltimore Bullets, who won a shocking NBA title in their first year in the league. He also spent time with the Toronto Huskies and Cleveland Rebels in ’46-’47, the Washington Capitols in ’48-’49 (helping them reach the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Lakers), the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in ’50-’51, and in ’51-’52 with the Indianapolis Olympians and Boston Celtics, where he reunited with his former Capitols coach, Red Auerbach.

18) Sonny Hertzberg, G, 1946-1951

Though he spent large parts of his career playing under Red Auerbach on both the Washington Capitols and Boston Celtics, Hertzberg will always be remembered as a Knick. He was a New Yorker through and through, born in Brooklyn and an attendee of CCNY, where he teamed with future Knicks coaching legend Red Holzman. On the original ’46-’47 Knicks, Hertzberg was the second leading scorer with 8.7 points per game, and he lasted through part of the ’47-’48 season with them before getting traded to Washington. He was a key contributor on the ’48-’49 Capitols that reached the NBA Finals and had two solid seasons with Boston before retiring. Always a leader on the court, Hertzberg was a natural fit for the Knicks front office, where he was a longtime scout, and the broadcasting booth, where he regularly called play-by-play on the radio.

17) John Mahnken, C, 1946-1953

Though his stats were never particularly impressive, Mahnken benefitted from his size, durability, and youth. Only five original NBA players had longer careers than him and all of them were certified stars. He started off with the Washington Capitols for two seasons, then had a career best year in ’48-’49, averaging 9.4 points and 2.2 assists per game despite getting traded twice, from the Baltimore Bullets to the Indianapolis Jets to the Fort Wayne Pistons. Like so many of the original Capitols, he eventually reunited with Red Auerbach on the Celtics, coming off the bench in Boston in ’51-’52 and ’52-’53.

16) Kenny Sailors, G, 1946-1951

Many players can lay claim to the title, but Sailors probably has the best argument as the man who popularized the jump shot. It was an alternative to the two-handed set shot that still dominated the first couple seasons of the NBA, even as jump shot pioneers like Sailors and Joe Fulks took over. Sailors never led the NBA in scoring but he finished in the top five in ’48-’49 with 15.8 points per game for the Providence Steam Rollers and in ’49-’50 with 17.3 points per game for the Denver Nuggets. He also finished in the top 10 in assists per game four times, including as high as second in ’46-’47. Though Sailors had plenty of statistical success in his career, he only made the playoffs once in five seasons, a first round loss with the Cleveland Rebels in 1947. In 2012 he was inducted into the NCAA Basketball Hall of Fame for his time at Wyoming, that included a national title in 1943 and two Player of the Year honors.

15) Howie Dallmar, F, 1946-1949

Though he was the starting point guard, team leader in assists, and third in scoring on the ’46-’47 Warriors team that won the first NBA title, Dallmar is best known for his NCAA exploits as both a player and coach. He led Stanford to the 1942 NCAA championship and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. After his playing days ended, he immediately became a head coach, first at Penn, then returning to his alma mater in 1954 and becoming their head coach for over two decades. Dallmar also was the team assists leader and second in scoring as the Warriors returned to the 1948 NBA Finals, and he was named 1st-Team All-BAA that season while leading the league in total assists.

14) Belus Smawley, G, 1946-1952

Yet another player who could lay claim to the title of father of the jump shot, Smawley honed it during his All-American days at Appalachian State, then unleashed it on the NBA starting in ’46-’47. A prototypical shooting guard, he paired in the back court with John Logan and propelled the St. Louis Bombers for four seasons, averaging 13.4 points per game during that stretch. Smawley then finished out his career with short stints with the Syracuse Nationals and Baltimore Bullets after the Bombers folded. He’s second all-time in Bombers history in points and assists, trailing only Logan in both categories.

13) Chick Halbert, C, 1946-1951

Too tall at 6’9″ to serve in the military during World War II, Halbert played for independent semi-pro teams in his native Texas before joining the Chicago Stags in ’46-’47. Starting at center, he was the second leading scorer in Chicago that season, with 12.7 points per game, helping to lead them to the NBA Finals and earning him 2nd-Team All-BAA honors. He bounced around between the Warriors, Celtics, Providence Steam Rollers, Washington Capitols, and Baltimore Bullets over the next four seasons but was solid at every spot. His legacy would have been helped by the NBA keeping track of rebounds before ’50-’51, as he likely racked up as many as anyone in the first two seasons of the league.

12) Jerry Fleishman, G, 1946-1953

After graduating from New York University in 1944, Fleishman caught on with the famous Philadelphia SPHAs. When the BAA was formed in 1946, he joined the crosstown Warriors, and came off the bench at guard as the team won the league’s inaugural title. After four seasons with the Warriors he played in the ABL for a while before making a brief comeback with Philadelphia in ’52-’53, averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and assists in what would be his final NBA season.

11) John Logan, G, 1946-1951

His first four NBA seasons came with the St. Louis Bombers, which ended up being the entirety of the franchise’s existence, as it folded in 1950. Logan led the team in scoring in his first two seasons, with 12.6 points per game in ’46-’47 and 13.4 in ’47-’48. He followed it up with a career high 14.1 points per game in ’48-’49, while also finishing third in the NBA with 4.8 assists per game. Named 2nd-Team All-BAA in his first three seasons, Logan was an early pick of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks in the 1950 dispersal draft after the Bombers folded, but spent just one quiet season with his new team before retiring. He will forever stand as the Bombers’ all-time franchise leader in games, field goals, free throws, points, and assists.

10) Noble Jorgensen, C, 1946-1953

His rookie season in the BAA came alongside his brother, Roger, on the Pittsburgh Ironmen, but neither Jorgensen contributed much to that team as they finished dead last at 15-45 (Nate Silver’s ELO system ranked it as the worst season in BAA, NBA, or ABA history). Jorgensen spent a couple seasons in the Pacific Coast Professional Basketball League after the Ironmen folded, before returning to the NBA with the Sheboygan Red Skins in ’49-’50, another franchise that folded after just one season. But Jorgensen had three more solid seasons with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and the Syracuse Nationals, ultimately averaging 8.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for his career.

9) Ed Sadowski, C, 1946-1950

After playing several years for various teams in the ABL and NBL, including the Fort Wayne Pistons who would eventually join the NBA in the 1949 merger, Sadowski signed on with the Toronto Huskies of the BAA in 1946 as a player-coach. Listed as 6’5″ and almost 250 pounds, he was still an imposing figure on the court even though he was already 29 years old, but he was overwhelmed by his coaching assignment and traded mid-season to the Cleveland Rebels. Both the Huskies and Rebels folded after the inaugural BAA season, but Sadowski caught on in ’47-’48 with the Celtics, finishing third in the league with 19.4 points per game, and becoming the first player in franchise history to be named All-BAA.

8) Bob Feerick, G, 1946-1950

He played under the legendary Red Auerbach on the Washington Capitols, and was easily the biggest star of the franchise’s brief history. Feerick got his professional start with the Oshkosh All-Stars, a former barnstorming outfit that later joined the NBL, and was ready to take the BAA by storm in ’46-’47. He finished second in scoring that season with 16.8 points per game, and fourth in ’47-’48 with 16.1 points per game, and was 1st-Team All-BAA in both. He also led the league in free throw percentage in ’48-’49, when he became the first player in NBA history to shot over 85% for a season. After Auerbach left to coach at Duke in 1949, Feerick briefly took over as a player-coach, and he would eventually coach for 12 years at his alma mater, Santa Clara.

7) Bones McKinney, F, 1946-1952

The second biggest star on the Washington Capitols after Bob Feerick, but McKinney lasted a little longer in the league after the Capitols folded in 1951 and therefore is higher on this list. He was 1st-Team All-BAA in ’46-’47, and was the second-leading scorer on the ’48-’49 Capitols team that lost to the Lakers in the NBA Finals. After Auerbach left and Feerick took a brief shot as player-coach, McKinney was the team’s player-coach for the ’50-’51 season during which the franchise folded, but not before he coached the league’s first black player, Earl Lloyd.

6) George Senesky, G, 1946-1954

Philadelphia born-and-bred, Senesky appropriately became a Warrior for life in his professional career. He was the third-leading playoff scorer on the ’46-’47 championship Warriors team, with 10.9 points per game, and stuck with the team until his 1954 retirement. One year later, he took over as head coach of the then moribund franchise and led them to the 1956 NBA title. He therefore has the distinction of being the first person to ever win an NBA title as a player, then later win one as a coach. Though Senesky never led the league in assists, he did finish in the top 10 for five straight seasons, and in ’50-’51 he became just the fifth player in league history to average over five assists per game in a season.

5) Stan Miasek, C, 1946-1953

The first, and only, player ever to be named 1st-Team All-BAA for the Detroit Falcons, for whom he starred in ’46-’47 until the franchise folded after just one year. Miasek was fourth in the BAA in scoring in that inaugural season, with 14.9 points per game, which would turn out to be a career high. He was selected by the Chicago Stags in the 1947 dispersal draft and became a complementary player to the great Max Zaslofsky until that franchise folded in 1950. After a brief stopover in the NBPL, Miasek returned to the NBA and put up solid stats for two more seasons with the Baltimore Bullets and Milwaukee Hawks.

4) Fred Scolari, G, 1946-1955

Blind in one eye, deaf in one ear, and nicknamed “Fat Freddy” for his weight issues, Scolari was nonetheless one of the first superstars of the NBA. Starring on the Washington Capitols with Bob Feerick and Bones McKinney, he led the league in free throw percentage in ’46-’47 (at 81.1%, he was the only player to shoot over 80% from the line) and was named 2nd-Team All-BAA for two straight seasons. After playing in the 1949 NBA Finals with the Capitols, Scolari eventually also spent time with the Nationals, Bullets, Pistons, and Celtics, outlasting most of his peers and even getting named to the NBA All-Star Game in 1952 and 1953.

3) Connie Simmons, C, 1946-1956

Raised in Queens, Simmons attended the legendary Flushing High School and then became just the second player in NBA history to join the league straight from high school. He planned on attending Holy Cross to play with Bob Cousy but was instead convinced to sign with the Celtics to play with his older brother, Johnny. After spending some time with Boston, then leading the Bullets to the 1948 NBA title, Simmons eventually returned to his native New York via trade in 1949, becoming the first big Knicks star. Manning the middle on a legendary frontline that also included Harry Gallatin and Nat Clifton, Simmons helped the Knicks reach three straight NBA Finals starting in 1951, and averaged 10.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in his four seasons at Madison Square Garden.

2) Max Zaslofsky, G, 1946-1956

Undoubtedly the best guard of the BAA’s first few seasons, Zaslofsky was also easily the biggest star in the brief history of the Chicago Stags. His first four seasons in the BAA were all with the Stags until they folded in 1950, and he was named 1st-Team All-BAA in each of those years, and holds basically every major franchise record possible (except for total assists, where’s he second after Andy Phillip). He was the leading scorer on the ’46-’47 Stags team that lost to the Warriors in the inaugural BAA Finals, and finished second in the BAA in scoring in ’47-’48 with a career high 21.0 points per game, marking him as just the second player in league history to average 20+ points per game in a season (after Joe Fulks). When the Stags franchise ended in 1950, Zaslofsky, who was raised in Brooklyn and played college ball at St. John’s, was thrilled to be selected by the Knicks in the dispersal draft. He was the leading playoff scorer on the ’50-’51 and ’51-’52 Knicks teams that lost in the NBA Finals, and in 1952 became one of the franchise’s first All-Stars. All told, Zaslofsky played on six teams that reached the NBA Finals, one with the Stags, three with the Knicks, and two with the Pistons, but never earned a ring.

1) Joe Fulks, F, 1946-1954

The first and only member of the class of 1946 to be inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, Fulks was far-and-away the biggest star of the league until George Mikan came along. Nicknamed “Jumpin’ Joe” for his innovative jump shot (most players back then were still using the two-handed set shot), he won the first two BAA scoring titles (with 23.2 points per game in ’46-’47 and 22.1 in ’47-’48), and scored 63 points in one game in 1949, setting a record that would stand for over a decade. Fullks then averaged a career high 26.0 points per game in ’48-’49, but finished second in scoring that year behind the rookie Mikan. The Philadelphia Warriors certainly benefited from his scoring prowess, as he led the team to the first BAA title in 1947, then a follow-up appearance in the BAA Finals in 1948. Fulks lasted in the NBA until 1954, when he retired at the age of 32. Before reaching the pro league, he had been a star at Murray State, and then served in World War II as a U.S. Marine.