The Baltimore Bullets were a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team based in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. The Bullets competed in the American Basketball League (1944–1947), the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

(1947–1949), and (following the BAA's merger with the National Basketball League) the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(1949–1954). On November 27, 1954, the team folded with a 3–11 record on the season, making the Bullets the last NBA franchise to fold. Out of all defunct NBA teams, the Bullets were members of the association for the longest time and the only defunct team to win a championship. The Bullets name was revived in 1963, when the former Chicago Zephyrs relocated to Baltimore; even after these Bullets relocated to Washington in 1973, they kept their name for 24 more years until they were renamed the Wizards.

Franchise history

ABL (1944–1947)

The Baltimore Bullets began play in 1944 as an American Basketball League (ABL) team. The Bullets acquired their name in reference to the

Phoenix Shot Tower The Phoenix Shot Tower, also known as the Old Baltimore Shot Tower, is a red brick shot tower, tall, located near the downtown Baltimore, downtown, Jonestown, Baltimore, Jonestown (also known later as Old Town), and Little Italy, Baltimore, Lit ...

. In the ABL, Baltimore reached the championship round all three seasons, winning the ABL title in 1946. The Bullets won a division title in 1947, but forfeited that season's championship in favor of playing in the

World Professional Basketball Tournament The World Professional Basketball Tournament was an annual invitational tournament held in Chicago from 1939 to 1948 and sponsored by the ''Chicago Herald American''. Many teams came from the National Basketball League (United States), National Bas ...

(the Bullets' second appearance in the tournament).

BAA/NBA (1947–1954)

The Bullets moved to the Basketball Association of America (BAA) in 1947, and won the 1948 championship over the Philadelphia Warriors (now

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

). In 1949, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (NBL), and became the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Bullets struggled on the court after their championship season, and never posted another winning record. In 1954, Ray Felix won the

NBA Rookie of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottlieb Tr ...

and became the second African-American to be named an

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

. Felix was traded to the Knicks on September 17, 1954, and on November 27, the Bullets became the last NBA franchise to fold.

Season-by-season records

Notes

List of notable personnel

Players

Coaches

* Ben Kramer *

Red Rosan Howard "Red" Rosan (May 22, 1911 – September 3, 1976) was an American basketball player and coach in the American Basketball League (1925–55), American Basketball League (ABL). Rosan played for the Philadelphia Sphas from 1934 to 1945 and co ...

Buddy Jeannette Harry Edward "Buddy" Jeannette (September 15, 1917 – March 11, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. Biography Jeannette was widely regarded as the premier backcourt player between 1938 and 1948. He was named to ...

* Walt Budko * Fred Scolari * Chick Reiser * Clair Bee * Albert Barthelme

Basketball Hall of Fame members

Notes: * ¹ He also coached the team in 1947–1951

Draft

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Bullets (Original) Basketball Association of America teams American Basketball League (1925–1955) teams 1944 establishments in Maryland 1954 disestablishments in Maryland Basketball teams established in 1944 Basketball teams disestablished in 1954 Defunct NBA teams