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The Chicago Stags were a National Basketball Association team based in Chicagomarker, Illinoismarker, U.S.marker.

Franchise history

The Chicago Stags were founded in 1946 and folded in 1950. Despite their short history, they were able to acquire the draft rights to a young Bob Cousy in a trade with the Tri-Cities Blackhawks (although he never played a game for them). When the Stags folded, a dispersal draft was held to divide up their players around the league. Bob Cousy was drafted by the Boston Celtics. Despite their short existence in the BAA and NBA, the Chicago Stags were rather successful in league play, making their way to the BAA finals in 1947 only to lose to the Philadelphia Warriors.

The beginning of a new league

In the BAA's inaugural year, there were 11 teams split into 2 divisions. The Chicago Stags were placed in the Western Division, and won the division by one game, finishing 39-22 over the 38-23 St. Louis Bombers. They finished second in the regular season standings, only behind the 49-11 Washington Capitols. In the playoffs, they received a first-round bye, only to play the Capitols in the semi-finals. Chicago won the series 4-2, and proceeded to play into the finals. There they played the Philadelphia Warriors, who easily won 4-1.

1947-1948 Season

The next season, however, the Stags were not as competitive. They finished second in their division (which was down to 4 teams). They finished 28-20, finishing only 1 game behind the St. Louis Bombers, and second overall in the league (the total number of teams was down from 11 to 8). In the playoffs they played a tiebreaker (after tying with the Washington Capitols. They won that game by 4 points, and advanced to play the Boston Celtics in the quarter-finals. They won, moving into the semi-finals for the second consecutive year. However, they were then trounced by the eventual champions, the Baltimore Bullets.


The next year, each division was instantly made more competitive with more teams, including the Minneapolis Lakers and the New York Knickerbockers. The Stags finished 3rd, 38-22, seven games behind division-winning Rochester Royals. The playoffs were expanded from 6 to 8 teams, and the Stags played the Lakers. They lost again to the eventual champions, the Lakers, 2-0.

The final season

In Chicago's final season, the league consistently continued its growth, forming a third division, and a total of 17 teams. The Stags finished tied for third with the Fort Wayne Pistons (and behind the Lakers and Royals), 11 games back, with a 40-28 record, and again lost to the Lakers in the opening round.

Players of note

Season-by-season records


Chicago Stags


The Chicago Bullswore replicas of the 1946 Stags uniforms during the 2005-06 NBA seasonas part of the NBA's "Hardwood Classics" program. (They wore them on December 5th, February 22, and April 16)

See also

External links

Chicago Stags (BAA)
1946-47 39 22 .639 Won BAA Semifinals
Lost BAA Finals
Chicago 4, Washington 2
Philadelphia 4, Chicago 1
1947-48 28 20 .583 Won Division Tie
Won 1st Round
Lost Semifinals

Chicago 1, Washington0
Chicago 2, Boston1
Baltimore 2, Chicago 0

1948-49 38 22 .633 Lost Division Semifinals Minneapolis 2, Chicago 0
Chicago Stags (NBA)
1949-50 40 28 .588 Lost Division Tie
Lost Division Semifinals
Fort Wayne 1, Chicago 0
Minneapolis 2, Chicago 0

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