Syracuse Nationals

About Syracuse Nationals

The Syracuse Nationals were an American professional basketball team that was part of the National Basketball League (NBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) which existed from 1939 to 1963. They are currently known as the Philadelphia 76ers, and are the NBA's oldest franchise.

The team began in 1939 in Syracuse, New York as the Syracuse Nationals, an independent professional team. In 1946, they joined the National Basketball League, becoming the largely Midwest-based league's easternmost team. In 1949, the Nationals were one of seven NBL teams that merged with the Basketball Association of America (BAA) to form the NBA. In 1955, the Nationals (led by forward Dolph Schayes) won the NBA championship.

1946/47: Owned by Italian immigrant Danny Biasone the Syracuse Nationals begin play in the National Basketball League, in the same year professional basketball was finally gaining some legitimacy with the rival Basketball Association of America that was based in large cities like New York and Philadelphia. While in the NBL with teams largely consisting of small Midwestern towns the Nationals put together a 21-23 record finishing in 4th place. In the playoffs, the Nats would be beaten by the fellow upstate neighbor Rochester Royals in 4 games.