Season Recaps
The Warriors-A Toast Of Both Coasts
The history of the Warriors is an extensive one, predating the
NBA, covering both coasts, and featuring a range of players that
includes the league's first superstar (Joe Fulks), the only player
to score 100 points in a game (Wilt Chamberlain), one of the best
free throw shooters (Rick Barry), and the first standout from
the former Soviet Union (Sarunas Marciulionis). The team began
in Philadelphia in 1946, moved to San Francisco in 1962, and changed
its name to Golden State after relocating to Oakland in 1971.
The club evolved from an early champion to a team searching for
an audience in the West to a healthy organization with an entertaining
squad.
The franchise came into being for the 1946-47 season
as the Philadelphia Warriors, one of 11 charter members of the
Basketball Association of America, the forerunner to the NBA.
That Warriors team, with Eddie Gottlieb serving as the owner,
general manager, and coach, won the league's first championship,
beating the Chicago Stags, four games to one.
1946-49: "Jumpin' Joe"
The team showcased "Jumpin' Joe" Fulks, a 6-5 deadeye shooter
from Kentucky who won the league's scoring title in 1946-47with
an average of 23.2 points per contest average-6.4 points per game
better than the league's No. 2 scorer, Bob Feerick. (The entire
Warriors team averaged only 68.6 points per game.)
The Philadelphia Warriors won the Eastern Division
in 1947-48, finishing at 27-21, but they lost to the Baltimore
Bullets in the league championship series. Fulks again topped
the league in scoring average (22.1 ppg), but the scoring title
(based on total points) went to Chicago's Max Zaslofsky (1,007
points, 21.0 ppg). Philadelphia's other standout was Howie Dallmar,
who averaged 12.2 points (second highest on the team) and 2.5
assists per game (tops in the league).
Fulks continued to sizzle in 1948-49, scoring 26.0
points per game, including 63 in one contest against Indianapolis.
However, because four teams from the National Basketball League
had jumped to the BAA prior to the season, some new talent was
aboard-including George Mikan, the Minneapolis Lakers' tower of
power who stormed into the BAA and won the scoring title with
1,698 points (an average of 28.3 points per game). The Warriors'
Ed Sadowski, who averaged 15.3 points, finished fifth in the league
in scoring. Despite having two top scorers, Philadelphia finished
at 28-32 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Washington
Capitols.
1949-52: Philadelphia Joins The NBA
The 1949-50 season was the first for the National Basketball Association.
After the dissolution of the BAA's rival, the National Basketball
League, the six surviving franchises joined the BAA to form the
17-team NBA. Some of the established BAA teams didn't want to
be associated with the lesser-known new entrants-such teams as
Sheboygan, Tri-Cities, Anderson, and Waterloo. The result was
a confusing schedule and playoff system.
Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers snared the NBA Championship
in 1950 after winding their way through the playoff puzzle. The
Warriors never made it out of the maze. With Fulks dropping to
14.2 points per game, the team fell to 26-42, 27 games behind
division leader Syracuse. Sadowski was traded to Baltimore 17
games into the season. Vern Gardner picked up the slack for the
Warriors, scoring 13.5 points per game.
The Warriors rebounded in 1950-51 by taking the
Eastern Division title with a 40-26 record. With Fulks regaining
his stroke (18.7 ppg) and solid contributions from Paul Arizin
(9.8 rpg) and Andy Phillip (6.3 assists per game, best in the
league), the team finished ahead of a Boston Celtics squad that
boasted "Easy Ed" Macauley and Bob Cousy.
Philadelphia stormed into the playoffs but was stunned
by the Syracuse Nationals, who had finished in fourth place in
the division but swept the first two games of a best-of-three
series. Nevertheless, the Warriors had a more successful season
than many other clubs. Six teams left the league before the season
began, and Washington disbanded on January 9. George Mikan led
the league in scoring and became a national sports figure, helping
to establish the NBA as a major league sport. The season marked
the first signing of an African-American athlete, Nathaniel "Sweetwater"
Clifton, and the league's first All-Star Game.
In the 1951-52 regular season Philadelphia finished
fourth and Syracuse first, an exact reversal of the previous season's
standings. The results in the playoffs, however, were the same-Syracuse
defeated Philadelphia in the first round. Jump shooter Paul Arizin
paced the Warriors with 25.4 points per game, surpassing Mikan
for the league scoring title in the first year of the expanded
12-foot foul lane, a rule change aimed at limiting Mikan's dominance.
The Warriors' Andy Phillip was selected to the All-NBA Second
Team at season's end.
1952-56: Three Seasons To Forget; One To Remember
The following season Philadelphia fell to the league's worst record-12-57
and 34-1/2 games out of first place. Neil Johnston, a bony, 6-8
hook-shooting center, was the best of an unaccomplished lot, topping
the Warriors and the NBA with 22.3 points per game. Fulks chipped
in 11.9 points per contest, as did Daniel Finn.
The season was the first of three down years for
the club. After placing last in 1952-53, the 1953-54 Warriors
fared little better, finishing in fourth place in the Eastern
Division and out of the playoffs at 29-43. Johnston was the engine,
again leading the league in scoring with 24.4 points per game.
After the season team owners made two rule changes that created
the sport of professional basketball as it now stands: the 24-second
shot clock and the bonus free throw for team fouls. These changes
resulted in a quicker, less foul-prone game that added excitement.
In 1954-55 the team placed fourth in the Eastern
Division, 10 games behind NBA-champion Syracuse. The Warriors
were essentially a two-man team, as Johnston (1,631 points, 22.7
ppg) and Paul Arizin (1,512 points, 21.0 ppg) were the league's
top scorers.
The team's fortunes changed quickly, however. For
the 1955-56 season, Eddie Gottlieb yielded the coaching duties
to former Warriors guard George Senesky. With the league's scoring
average soaring to 99 points per game, the Warriors promptly jumped
to a 12-4 start, won the Eastern Division, and stomped through
the playoffs for the franchise's second championship. The Warriors
defeated the Fort Wayne Pistons, four games to one, in the 1956
NBA Finals.
Arizin (24.2 ppg) and Johnston (22.1) finished second
and third, respectively, on the league's scoring chart, but it
was Tom Gola whom many observers credited with the Warriors' transformation
from worst to first.
The 6-6 Gola, a rookie from 1954 NCAA-champion LaSalle,
had played center in college but shifted to guard for the Warriors.
He scored 10.8 points, hauled in 9.1 rebounds, and dished out
5.9 assists per game. Arizin, Johnston, and Jack George represented
the Warriors at the 1956 NBA All-Star Game.
1956-61: Here Comes "The Stilt"
For the most part, the Warriors remained a strong team for the
next six seasons. In 1956-57 they lost the crown to the Boston
Celtics, who had a multitalented rookie that year named Bill Russell.
The 1957-58 Warriors finished in third place in the Eastern Division
and defeated Syracuse in three games in the division semifinals
before falling to the Celtics, four games to one, in the division
finals.
In 1958-59 the team could place no better than last
in the Eastern Division with a 32-40 record. Arizin was second
in the league in scoring average with 26.4 points per game. The
Celtics, behind Russell, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn,
and Sam Jones, won the division by 12 games with a 52-20 record
and claimed a second NBA title in three years.
Then came Wilt Chamberlain. Among the sport's premier
figures, Chamberlain reeled off an incredible string of seasons-with
averages of 37.6, 38.4, 50.4, 44.8, 36.9, 34.7, and 33.5 points
per game, respectively, in his first seven campaigns-on his way
to a place in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. His
first season, with the 1959-60 Warriors, foretold his greatness.
A territorial draft selection from the University
of Kansas (because he had grown up in Philadelphia), the 7-1 center
was the league's scoring and rebounding leader and an All-Star
in his rookie season. His numbers were astounding-37.6 points
and 27.0 rebounds per game-and at season's end he was named the
league's Rookie of the Year and its Most Valuable Player.
Teamed with Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, and Guy Rodgers,
Chamberlain paced Philadelphia to a 49-26 record, second behind
Boston in the Eastern Division. The Warriors advanced past Syracuse
in the playoffs but then lost to the Celtics in a six-game Eastern
Division Finals.
The 1960-61 season was more of the same-particularly
more of Chamberlain. He once again was the league's top scorer
(38.4 ppg), bettering Elgin Baylor (34.8), Oscar Robertson (30.5),
and Bob Pettit (27.9). Chamberlain also hauled in a league-high
27.2 rebounds per game. Despite his brilliance, basketball was
proving to be a team game, and the Celtics had the better team,
finishing 11 games ahead of Philadelphia in the Eastern Division.
In the 1961 NBA Playoffs, Philadelphia was swept
by Syracuse in the Eastern Division Semifinals. Boston, which
averaged 119.7 points per game, beat St. Louis in the NBA Finals.
1961-62: Chamberlain's 100-Point Night
Chamberlain made the 1961-62 season memorable. "Wilt the Stilt"
averaged an NBA-record 50.4 points while snagging 25.7 rebounds
per contest. Some nights were mind-boggling. In a three-overtime
gut-wrencher against Los Angeles on December 8, Chamberlain poured
in 78 points while "holding" Baylor to 63. Chamberlain scored
73 points against Chicago on January 13, and recorded three 62-point
games in an eight-day stretch in January.
And then there was the unthinkable. On March 2,
against New York at Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain registered
the league's only 100-point game, shooting 36-for-63 from the
field and 28-of-32 from the line. For the season, he registered
more points, 4,029, than minutes played, 3,882.
The Warriors still couldn't pass the Celtics, however.
Finishing 11 games behind Boston (the third straight year that
Philadelphia was at least 10 games behind the Celtics), the Warriors
got past Syracuse in the Eastern Division Semifinals and then
took Boston to the limit in the division finals, only to lose,
109-107, in Game 7 on a Sam Jones basket with two seconds remaining.
1962-65: The Wild, Wild West
The Warriors went west after the 1961-62 season. Eddie Gottlieb,
who had purchased the franchise in 1952 for $25,000, sold it for
$850,000 to a credit card company, which kept 33.3 percent of
the ownership. Meanwhile, Franklin Mieuli put together a group
of almost 40 San Francisco Bay Area investors to purchase the
remainder of the team. The move followed the Lakers' migration
to Los Angeles two seasons earlier and helped open the West for
professional basketball.
Playing their home games at the Cow Palace in the
1962-63 season, the San Francisco Warriors were coached by Bob
Feerick. Chamberlain was a monster inside, averaging 44.8 points
and 24.3 rebounds per game and leading the league in both categories
for a fourth straight season. However, the team couldn't break
the .500 mark and failed to reach the playoffs in the Western
Division. Even worse, the franchise lost $250,000, forcing Mieuli
to seek additional funding.
The next season brought better results. The team-coached
by Alex Hannum and led by Chamberlain, Tom Meschery, Wayne Hightower,
Guy Rodgers, Al Attles, Gary Phillips, and Nate Thurmond-rose
to the top of the Western Division with a 48-32 record. Chamberlain
led the league in scoring for the fifth straight season with 36.9
points per game, and Thurmond was named to the NBA All-Rookie
Team.
The Warriors edged St. Louis in a seven-game series
for the Western Division crown and the right to meet the Celtics
in the 1964 NBA Finals. Bill Russell couldn't contain Chamberlain
alone, but he didn't have to. The Celtics, with Bob Cousy, Tom
Heinsohn, and John Havlicek, won the title in five games. It was
the sixth straight championship for the Celtics, a feat no other
team in a major professional sport had accomplished.
The 1964-65 Warriors represented the low point of
a topsy-turvy three-year run for the club. In 1962-63 the Warriors
had played .388 basketball; in 1963-64 they had battled for the
championship; and in 1964-65 they completed the season at 17-63-worst
in the league and 32 games out of first place. (They returned
to the NBA Finals only two seasons later.)
1965-67: Warriors Trade Wilt, Sign Barry
Chamberlain again was the league's leading scorer (34.7 ppg),
but he did much of his damage with another team-the Philadelphia
76ers, to whom he was traded on January 15, 1965, for Connie Dierking,
Paul Neumann, Lee Shaffer, and cash. On the bright side, Nate
Thurmond finished third in the league in rebounding (18.1 rpg),
and on October 27, 1964, he wiped the glass against Baltimore
for 37 boards. Guy Rodgers was second in the league in assists
with 7.2 per game.
Life without Chamberlain was made easier in the
1965-66 season with the addition of rookie Rick Barry. A shooter
with the ability to go to the hole, Barry finished fourth in the
league in scoring (25.7 ppg), second in free-throw percentage
(.862), and 10th in rebounding (10.6 rpg). Guy Rodgers scored
18.6 points per game and handed out 10.7 assists per contest.
Barry and Rodgers helped the Warriors rise to fourth in the division
at 35-45, only 10 games behind the first-place Lakers.
The team's ascension continued in 1966-67 as the
Warriors topped the Western Division with a 44-37 record. Barry
led the charge as the NBA's scoring leader (35.6 ppg), snapping
Chamberlain's string of seven consecutive seasons atop the league's
scoring charts.
However, Chamberlain, still with the Philadelphia
76ers, got the best of his former team when San Francisco and
Philadelphia clashed in the 1967 NBA Finals. A high-scoring series
ended with the Sixers winning in six games.
In addition to the scoring title, Barry's individual
honors included the Most Valuable Player Award at the 1967 NBA
All-Star Game, where he exploded for 38 points, and a selection
to the All-NBA First Team. Broad-shouldered Nate Thurmond ranked
second in the league in rebounding average with 21.3 boards per
game.
1967-71: Nate Is Great, But Warriors Struggle
Without Barry
Starting in 1967-68, after Barry jumped to the ABA, the Warriors
(sporting jerseys with the words "The City" and a picture of the
Golden Gate Bridge on the front) fell back among the ranks of
the NBA's second tier. Barry's scoring was missed, but the likes
of Rudy LaRusso (21.8 ppg), Thurmond (20.5 ppg), Jeff Mullins
(18.9 ppg), and Fred Hetzel (19.0 ppg) made a formidable foursome
and helped fill the void.
The Warriors managed a winning mark, 43-39, and
finished in third place in the Western Division. They slipped
past St. Louis, four games to two, in the division semifinals,
but in the division finals they were waxed in four straight by
a Los Angeles Lakers team featuring Elgin Baylor, Archie Clark,
Gail Goodrich, and Mel Counts.
In 1968-69 the San Francisco Warriors ran up a 41-41
record and made the playoffs. Thurmond was a workhorse, pulling
down 19.7 rebounds per game, second best in the league, and making
the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Mullins averaged 22.8 points
and scored a season-high 42 points at Detroit on January 29. The
team's visit to the postseason was a short one, however, as the
Warriors lost to the Lakers in a six-game division semifinal series.
Although the Warriors were the only team to beat
the Knicks in the first 24 games of the 1969-70 season, San Francisco's
achievements for the campaign were few. The team finished 30-52
and in sixth place in the Western Division. Jeff Mullins ranked
12th in the league with 22.1 points per game. Nate Thurmond, the
team's leading rebounder and defender, missed 39 games but still
added 21.9 points per contest. Joe Ellis (15.8 ppg), Ron Williams
(14.8), and Clyde Lee (11.0) all registered double-figure scoring
averages.
San Francisco also received a huge boost from Jerry
Lucas (15.4 ppg, 14.4 rpg), a 6-8 forward acquired early in the
season from Cincinnati in exchange for Jim King and Bill Turner.
In another significant move, Al Attles was named player-coach
with 30 games remaining in the season. Attles, an overachieving
6-1 guard, was in his 10th year with the club.
The NBA realigned prior to the 1970-71 season, creating
the Pacific Division with Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego,
Seattle, and Portland. The move was good for the Warriors, who
climbed to a second-place finish in the division with a 41-41
record. They ran into Milwaukee in the newly dubbed Western Conference
Semifinals, and the Bucks ran the Warriors out of the postseason
in five games. Milwaukee, with Lew Alcindor (who later changed
his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Oscar Robertson, went all
the way to the 1971 NBA Championship.
For the season, Mullins hit for 20.8 points per
game, and Thurmond poured in 20.0 points per contest while earning
selection to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Lucas averaged
19.2 points and led the team in rebounding with 15.8 boards per
game, fifth best in the NBA.
1971-72: Warriors Cross The Bay
The franchise was in trouble. Attendance and interest were low,
so the franchise moved across the bay to the Oakland Coliseum
Arena. In an attempt to appeal to a wider audience the team was
renamed the Golden State Warriors and even played a few games
in San Diego.
The Warriors were certainly making noise on the
court. Prior to the 1971-72 season, Lucas was traded to New York
in exchange for Cazzie Russell. A 6-5 forward from Michigan, Russell
had been a role player on a talented Knicks team. He had averaged
9.2 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, in the previous two
seasons, but he exploded with the Warriors for an average of 21.4
points per game.
Russell was joined in the scoring column by Mullins
(21.5 ppg) and Thurmond (21.4), as Golden State started three
players with virtually identical averages. The good news was that
the trio pumped in enough points to propel the Warriors to a 51-31
record. The bad news was that Golden State still finished 18 games
behind a remarkable Lakers team that marched to a 69-13 mark and,
eventually, the league championship. The Warriors drew the defending
NBA-champion Milwaukee Bucks in the Western Conference Semifinals
and lost, four games to one.
1972-74: Barry Comes Back Home
After tearing through the ABA for four years to the tune of 30.5
points per game, Rick Barry was forced by a court decision to
return to the Warriors for the 1972-73 season. His homecoming
suddenly gave the team a formidable starting five, with Barry,
Mullins, Thurmond, Russell, and Jim Barnett, a tough 6-4 guard
from Oregon who averaged 11.8 points.
The Warriors cruised to a 47-35 record, second in
the Pacific Division and fourth best in the Western Conference.
Golden State met Milwaukee in the conference semifinals for the
third consecutive year. The Bucks had won the previous two series,
but this round went to the Warriors in six games. The Lakers,
led by Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich, and Jerry West, eliminated
Golden State in five games in the Western Conference Finals.
Although the Warriors gained on the Lakers in 1973-74,
finishing only three games back in the Pacific Division, the team's
44-38 failed to get them into the playoffs because of 50-win seasons
by Milwaukee, Chicago, and Detroit in the Midwest Division.
Barry, an All-NBA First Team selection, was fifth
in the league in scoring (25.1 ppg), second in free-throw percentage
(.899), fifth in steals (2.11 per game), and eighth in assists
(6.1 apg). A new face on the squad was Butch Beard, obtained from
Seattle in exchange for Mahdi Abdul-Rahman (previously known as
Walt Hazzard).
1974-75: A Shocking Turn Of Events
In 1974-75 Golden State dismantled its team, introduced a new
style of play, and shocked the league with a championship in an
NBA Finals sweep.
After four seasons of second-place finishes, changes
were needed. Nate Thurmond was traded to Chicago for Clifford
Ray, a young defensive center, and Golden State drafted Keith
"Silk" Wilkes (later Jamaal Wilkes), a graceful 6-61/2 forward
whose game was as smooth as his nickname. Cazzie Russell had played
out his option and joined the Lakers, leaving Barry as the Warriors'
only big name and the team's undisputed leader.
Coach Al Attles used this to his advantage, installing
a team-oriented system that drew on the contributions of as many
as 10 players during a game. Attles emphasized pressure defense,
hustle, and passing. Barry played the starring role well, averaging
30.6 points per game (second in the league to Bob McAdoo's 34.5).
He also led the league with a .904 free-throw percentage and finished
sixth in assists with 6.2 per game. Wilkes, meanwhile, contributed
14.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game and collected the NBA Rookie
of the Year Award.
The Warriors won the Pacific Division with a 48-34
record but garnered little attention compared to the Celtics and
the Bullets, who both recorded 60-win seasons in the Eastern Conference.
Golden State met Seattle in the Western Conference Semifinals
and won the series, four games to two. The Warriors then faced
Chicago in a seven-game Western Conference Finals and survived
a three-games-to-two deficit with a road victory in Game 6 and
a hard-fought 83-79 win in Game 7.
Golden State's hustle now had the league's attention,
although the team was still considered unlikely to defeat Washington
in the 1975 NBA Finals. The Bullets boasted one of the NBA's top
scorers in Elvin Hayes (23.0 ppg), the league's top assists man
in Kevin Porter (8.0 apg), and the top rebounder in Wes Unseld
(14.8 rpg). But the Warriors blitzed the Bullets in four straight
games, holding Washington to 95.5 points per game and furthering
the notion that solid team chemistry could overcome superior individual
talent.
1975-76: Warriors Shoot For Second Straight Title
Sneaking up on the league wasn't as easy the following year, although
the season was sweet for Phil Smith. Smith, a second-year guard
from the University of San Francisco who had been overshadowed
by Wilkes as a rookie, arrived in style in 1975-76, pouring in
20.0 points per game and earning selection to the All-NBA Second
Team.
Barry was sensational again. An All-NBA First Team
selection, he was the league's best free-throw shooter (.923)
and finished fifth in assists with 6.1 per game. Wilkes averaged
17.8 points, and exciting rookie Gus Williams added 11.7.
The Warriors compiled the league's best regular-season
record, 59-23, and ran over Detroit, four games to two, in the
Western Conference Semifinals. But then it was Golden State's
turn to be surprised, as they lost to a flashy Phoenix squad in
the conference finals. The Suns won Game 4, 133-129, in double
overtime, then took Games 6 and 7 to advance to the Finals.
1976-80: The Lean Years
The ABA merged with the NBA for the 1976-1977 season, bringing
new teams and new talent to the league. Golden State, however,
didn't have enough of the latter to stay in the championship hunt.
The team did have its third consecutive excellent draft, as they
selected center Robert Parish in 1976 with the eighth overall
pick.
Rick Barry, Phil Smith, Jamaal Wilkes, and Gus Williams
provided the bulk of the offense, while Parish and Clifford Ray
anchored the interior defense. The Warriors (46-36) finished in
third place in the Pacific Division behind the Lakers and the
Portland Trail Blazers. Golden State then slipped past Bob Lanier
and Detroit in a best-of-three first-round series but was upended
by Los Angeles in seven games in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Warriors began to fall apart in 1977-78. Wilkes
took free-agency dollars to join the Lakers, and Gus Williams
did the same with Seattle. (Golden State later received Los Angeles's
1978 first-round pick and $250,000 as compensation for Wilkes.)
The Warriors, meanwhile, signed veteran E. C. Coleman, who earned
NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors for his work.
Golden State finished at 43-39, posting a winning
record for the seventh straight season, but the Warriors placed
last in a strong Pacific Division and missed playoff qualification
by one victory. Barry led the league and set a team record with
a .924 free-throw percentage using the old-fashioned underhand
style. He also scored 23.1 points per game.
The 1977-78 season was Barry's last in a Warriors
uniform. He signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets after
the season, becoming the third top scorer to leave the Warriors
in two years.
In 1978-79 there wasn't enough firepower to overcome
those losses. Phil Smith continued to shine with 19.9 points per
game, and Robert Parish continued to improve, adding 17.2 points
and 12.1 rebounds per game. Parish also set a team record with
217 blocked shots for the year. John Lucas, a heady point guard,
came over from Houston as compensation for Barry and finished
second in the league with 9.3 assists per game.
Lucas, in his third season, together with Parish
and rookies Purvis Short and Wayne Cooper helped make the Warriors
the youngest team in the league in average age, at 24.3 years
old, and experience, with 2.3 years. The youth and inexperience
showed, as the Warriors dipped below .500 to 38-44 and finished
last in the Pacific Division, 14 games behind eventual NBA-champion
Seattle.
The 1978-79 campaign kicked off a string of seven
losing seasons in eight years. The team sagged in 1979-80, when
it finished 24-58 and tied for the league's second-worst record.
Lucas ranked fifth in the league in assists (7.5 apg) and Parish
finished seventh in rebounding (10.9 rpg), but a torn Achilles
tendon took 31 games from Phil Smith's season. To add injury to
injury, Coach Al Attles tore his Achilles tendon at practice and
missed the final 21 games. Luck was not with this team-the Warriors
were 0-8 in overtime games, the worst mark in NBA history.
1980-82: Changing Times
The Warriors unveiled several new faces for the 1980-81 season
and improved to 39-43, missing the playoffs by just one game.
But not all of the changes were for the better. In a trade that
would haunt the team throughout the 1980s, the Warriors swapped
Parish and their 1980 first-round draft pick to Boston for the
first and 13th picks in the 1980 NBA Draft. Golden State used
the No. 1 pick to select Purdue's Joe Barry Carroll. The 7-foot
center would ring up six seasons of at least 17.0 points per game
(including 24.1 ppg in 1982-83), but Parish would go on to win
three championships with the Celtics, teaming with Larry Bird
and Kevin McHale on one of the best front lines in NBA history.
The Warriors used the No. 13 pick to select Rickey
Brown of Mississippi State and snared Alcorn State's Larry Smith
at No. 24. Carroll and Smith had excellent rookie seasons and
were voted to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Golden State also acquired World B. Free (formerly
Lloyd B. Free) from San Diego in exchange for Phil Smith and a
future draft choice, then obtained Bernard King from Utah for
Wayne Cooper and a draft pick. King, a dazzling scorer who had
missed much of the previous season because of injury, rebounded
to average 21.9 points and win the first NBA Comeback Player of
the Year Award. Free, who once said, "I'm so good, even I can't
stop me," led the team with 24.1 points per game.
The story in 1981-82 had a familiar ending. The
club increased its win total by six games, to 45-37, fourth in
the Pacific Division, but again fell a win shy of reaching the
playoffs. King (23.2 ppg) and Free (22.9) finished eighth and
ninth in the league in scoring, respectively, marking the first
time that two Warriors had ranked in the top 10 since Wilt Chamberlain
and Paul Arizin in 1960-61. King appeared in the NBA All-Star
Game and was selected to the All-NBA Second Team at season's end.
1982-83: King Moves On
Bernard King jumped to the New York Knicks for the 1982-83 season,
leaving behind a team decimated by injuries. Overall, the Warriors
missed 238 player-games because of injury or illness, the most
ever recorded by an NBA team at the time. Nineteen different players
donned the Golden State uniforms during the year, and the team
staggered to a 30-52 record, fifth in the division and 28 games
behind Los Angeles.
The most productive players were Joe Barry Carroll,
who had his best year as a pro (24.1 ppg, seventh in the league),
and Purvis Short (21.4 ppg). The 6-7 Short, in his fifth year
out of Jackson State, went on to post four straight seasons above
20 points per game.
Golden State had brought in Ron Brewer and Micheal
Ray Richardson, two players who had previously shown flashes of
brilliance but who failed to shine in Oakland. Brewer, who had
averaged 18.8 points the previous season, hit at an 11.3 clip
for Golden State in 1982-83. Richardson, obtained from New York
for Bernard King, was suspended in October after failing a drug
test and was subsequently dealt to New Jersey.
1983-86: Slow Improvement
In 1983-84 John Bach became the team's coach and the oldest rookie
coach in NBA history at age 58. Bach's ascension ended the 14-year
reign of Al Attles, who had compiled a 557-518 record and had
guided the team to the 1975 NBA championship, the Warriors only
crown since moving to the Bay Area.
With Short, Carroll, and Eric "Sleepy" Floyd as
the top scorers in 1983-84, the Warriors tallied a 37-45 record,
finishing in fifth place in the division and out of the playoffs.
Among individual accomplishments, Lester Conner ranked ninth in
the league with 1.98 steals per game, Short finished 10th in the
league in scoring (22.8 ppg), and Mickey Johnson was NBA Player
of the Week from February 27 to March 3.
The 1984-85 season was a nightmare. Carroll did
not sign a contract with Golden State, opting to play in Italy.
The Warriors allowed opponents the highest field goal percentage
(.536) and scoring average (117.7 ppg) in the league, and they
tied with Indiana for the worst record in the NBA at 22-60.
With Carroll gone, Larry Smith considered every
rebound his own; he ranked sixth in the league with 10.9 boards
per contest. Short broke free with a career-high 28.0 points per
game.
The Warriors improved in 1985-86 but still finished
in last place in the Pacific Division with a 30-52 mark. Carroll
returned from Europe to score 21.2 points per game, and veteran
Terry Teagle, acquired the previous season, added 14.2 points
per contest. Short led the team in scoring (25.5 ppg) once again,
while heralded rookie Chris Mullin contributed 14.0 points per
game in 55 outings and finished second in the league with an .896
free-throw percentage.
1986-88: Mieuli Sells Team
The 1986-87 season brought changes on and off the court. On May
23, 1986, Jim Fitzgerald and Dan Finnane purchased the franchise
from Franklin Mieuli, and George Karl was subsequently named head
coach. More significantly, the Warriors made the playoffs and,
better yet, advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals.
The team had some fine individual performances.
Joe Barry Carroll scored 21.2 points per game, and Sleepy Floyd,
whose drowsy demeanor masked his on-court quickness, finished
second in the league in assists (10.3 apg). Larry Smith continued
to crash the boards, ranking seventh in the league in rebounding
with 11.5 per game. Floyd and Carroll represented Golden State
at the 1987 NBA All-Star Game.
The team finished at 42-40, third in the Pacific
Division, and drew Utah in the playoffs. After dropping two games
to the Jazz, the Warriors grabbed the next three to become the
first team since 1956 to come back from a two-game deficit in
a five-game series. In the conference semifinals the Warriors
lost to the eventual NBA-champion Lakers in five games, despite
51 points from Floyd in Game 4. Karl finished runner-up to Portland's
Mike Schuler for the NBA Coach of the Year Award.
The success of the previous year evaporated in 1987-88,
a season of transitions and transactions for the Warriors. On
a positive note, however, Golden State took a step toward credibility
when the Warriors lured Don Nelson away from Milwaukee to serve
as the team's general manager. Nelson went to work immediately,
engineering one of the season's biggest trades in December when
he sent Carroll and Floyd to Houston in exchange for Ralph Sampson
and Steve Harris.
Sampson, a mobile 7-4 center, had helped Houston
to the NBA Finals in 1986 but had struggled with injuries since.
True to form, he played only 48 games in 1987-88, averaging 15.6
points and 9.6 rebounds. Injuries hit the team hard, resulting
in 204 missed player-games and bringing a total of 21 players
onto the team. Mullin (20.2 ppg) missed 22 games as he voluntarily
entered an alcohol rehabilitation program. Karl resigned on March
23, and Assistant Coach Ed Gregory assumed the head coaching duties
for the remainder of the season. The team finished with a record
of 20-62.
1988-90: Mullin Returns Stronger Than Ever
Mullin's entry into a rehabilitation program and Nelson's acceptance
of the head coaching job marked the start of better times for
the Warriors. Mullin seemed to pull his life back together after
treatment, and his game reflected the change, as he became one
of the league's best players. Nelson, an improviser while coaching
the Milwaukee Bucks, installed a lineup of guards and forwards
that was as hard to figure out as it was to defend. Golden State
logged a 23-game improvement in 1988-89, finishing 43-39 and in
fourth place in the Pacific Division. The Warriors swept Utah
in a first-round playoff series but lost in five games to the
Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Mullin led the way with 26.5 points per game in
1988-89 and was assisted by a number of quick and small players-rookie
Mitch Richmond (22.0 ppg), Teagle (15.2), Winston Garland (14.5),
Rod Higgins (10.6), and Otis Smith (10.0). Mullin made his first
All-Star Game appearance and was selected to the All-NBA Second
Team, while Richmond was named NBA Rookie of the Year.
When Nelson wanted to go big, he could go really
big. In addition to the 7-4 Sampson, he could call on Manute Bol,
a 7-7 shotblocking specialist from Sudan. Bol led the NBA in blocked
shots (4.31 per game) and set a league record with a rejection
every 5.13 minutes.
The 1989-90 Warriors were laden with runners and
gunners. The team led the league in scoring (116.3 ppg) and compiled
a franchise-record .809 free-throw percentage while setting an
NBA record for the fewest offensive rebounds per game in a season
(11.2). Although the Warriors had a losing record at 37-45, they
were so much fun to watch that the team set an all-time attendance
record by selling out all 41 home games.
The team's top five scorers-Mullin, Richmond, Teagle,
rookie Tim Hardaway, and Sarunas "Rooney" Marciulionis-were all
6-7 or smaller. Mullin, who led the team with 25.1 points per
game, ranked among the league leaders in scoring (seventh), free-throw
percentage (eighth), and field goal percentage (11th).
Nelson didn't necessarily want to field such a small
team. The Warriors thought their woes in the middle would disappear
with the arrival of Alton Lister, who was obtained from Seattle
before the season for a first-round draft pick. But in Golden
State's third game Lister went down for the year when he suffered
a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Bol contributed 238 blocks,
including 13 in one game, but lacked scoring punch (1.9 ppg) and
other skills. Big men Jim Petersen, Christian Welp, Uwe Blab,
and Mike Smrek didn't provide the answers underneath.
1990-92: "Run TMC" Helps Warriors Rap Opponents
The trio of Hardaway, Richmond, and Mullin, known as "Run TMC"
(Tim, Mitch, Chris) came together in 1990-91 as an explosive group,
totaling 72.5 points per game and leading the Warriors to their
best regular-season record in nine years at 44-38. Mullin finished
eighth in the league in scoring (25.7 ppg), Richmond 10th (23.9),
and Hardaway 11th (22.9), taking the team to its highest scoring
average in 23 years (116.6 ppg).
Golden State upset Midwest Division-champion San
Antonio, three games to one, in the first round of the playoffs.
Against the Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Warriors
stole a win in Game 2 at Los Angeles but lost the series, four
games to one.
Golden State decided to break up the Hardaway-Richmond-Mullin
triumvirate before the 1991-92 season, a move that made them less
explosive but more deadly. Realizing that the team needed more
size, Nelson dealt Richmond and Les Jepsen to Sacramento for rookie
forward Billy Owens and a 1995 second-round pick.
Despite Richmond's tremendous popularity in the
Bay Area, the trade seemed to be for the better. Owens, the third
player taken in the 1991 NBA Draft, had the size, at 6-9, and
the versatility to fit the Warriors' free-flowing style. He proved
quickly that he could bang with the big guys inside and handle
the ball outside. He led the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg), logged
time at guard, and averaged 14.3 points en route to a berth on
the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
The move also opened up opportunities for Marciulionis,
the Lithuanian native who in 1989 had become the first player
from the Soviet Union to join the NBA. A 6-5 guard who was strong
and tough, Marciulionis came off the Warriors' bench to average
18.9 points. Mullin (25.6 ppg), Hardaway (23.4), and Marciulionis
formed the top-scoring trio in the league.
Tyrone Hill, Victor Alexander, and Chris Gatling
provided strength and bulk inside. One of the league's most entertaining
assemblages, the Warriors led the NBA in scoring for the second
time in three years (118.7 ppg) and ran up a 55-27 record, second
in the Pacific Division behind Portland.
The Warriors ran into a Seattle team on the rise,
however, and lost in four games in the first round of the 1992
NBA Playoffs. Mullin made the All-NBA First Team and the historic
1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team; Hardaway was named to the All-NBA
Second Team; and Nelson was named NBA Coach of the Year.
1992-93: Injury Bug Bites Golden State
Coming off a 55-win season and possessing the league's most explosive
offense, the Warriors looked like contenders for the NBA title
in 1992-93-until they were seriously hit by the injury bug. The
team led the NBA in games missed due to illness or injury, as
14 players were sidelined for a combined 312 player-games.
The four guns-Mullin, Hardaway, Marciulionis, and
Owens-were on the court at the same time for a total of 2 minutes
and 37 seconds. The fragmented team managed just a 34-48 record
and failed to qualify for the playoffs. Mullin missed nearly half
the season with a torn ligament in his right thumb; Marciulionis
broke his right leg and dislocated his right ankle in a jogging
accident before the season, returned to play 30 games, then sat
out the rest of the year with Achilles tendinitis; Owens missed
45 games with a left knee injury; and Hardaway sat out 16 games
with a bruised right knee.
There were, however, some individual highlights.
Hardaway, a 6-foot point guard with an endless repertoire of moves,
had his share. He finished 13th in the league in scoring (21.5
ppg) and second in assists (10.6 apg), and he was named to the
All-NBA Third Team. Mullin (25.9 ppg) was selected as an All-Star
for the fifth time, although he missed the game because of his
thumb injury. Latrell Sprewell, a springy 6-5 guard from Alabama,
was the most surprising rookie in the league, totaling more than
1,000 points, 250 rebounds, 250 assists, 100 steals, and 50 blocks.
He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team and gave the ailing
Warriors hope for a quick recovery.
1993-94: The Curse Continues In Oakland
The Warriors were unable to shake the injury curse in 1993-94.
The team lost Tim Hardaway and Sarunas Marciulionis for the entire
season and Chris Mullin for the first 20 games. Still, Don Nelson
controlled the damage and coaxed the team to 50 victories, 16
more than the previous year. He was helped by the emergence of
two budding stars: Latrell Sprewell and rookie Chris Webber.
In the biggest draft-day trade in recent history,
the Warriors acquired Webber (the No. 1 overall pick) from the
Orlando Magic in exchange for Anfernee Hardaway (the No. 3 pick)
and three future first-round draft choices. Webber, a skillful
power forward who had led the University of Michigan to the NCAA
Championship Game in each of his two college seasons, provided
the Warriors with a talented big man to complement their potent
perimeter attack.
In 1993-94 Webber became the first NBA rookie in
league history to collect 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists,
150 blocked shots, and 75 steals in a season. He averaged 17.5
points and 9.1 rebounds and edged the Magic's Hardaway for the
NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Sprewell had a tremendous year,
leading the NBA in minutes played and recording 21.0 points per
game. He appeared in his first NBA All-Star Game and was selected
to the All-NBA First Team. However, the Warriors were still weakened
by the season's injuries and were swept by the Phoenix Suns in
the first round of the playoffs.
1994-95: Wounded Warriors Limp Through Another
Lost Season
The 1994-95 campaign was eventful but disastrous for Golden State.
The season began with a couple of deals that seemed to bode well.
Long in the market for a powerful center, the team obtained Rony
Seikaly from the Miami Heat for Billy Owens. The club also sent
Sarunas Marciulionis and Byron Houston to the Seattle SuperSonics
for Ricky Pierce, rookie Carlos Rogers, and two second-round draft
choices. The lineup looked tough: established stars Tim Hardaway
and Chris Mullin, young talents Latrell Sprewell and Chris Webber,
a legitimate rebounding center in Seikaly, and former Sixth Man
Award-winner Pierce off the bench.
But then everything fell apart. Webber began the
season by exercising his option to become a restricted free agent,
claiming irreconcilable differences with Head Coach Don Nelson.
He asked to be traded, and the Warriors obliged, sending the 1994
Rookie of the Year to the Washington Bullets in exchange for third-year
forward Tom Gugliotta and three first-round draft choices.
Then the injuries began-again. Fifteen players lost
a combined 325 player-games, the highest numbers in the NBA in
both categories. Mullin (57 games), Pierce (54), Seikaly (45),
Rogers (29), and Hardaway (19) were just a handful of the wounded
Warriors.
Other changes followed. In mid-February, Nelson
resigned and was replaced by assistant coach Bob Lanier. On February
18 the team traded Gugliotta to the Minnesota Timberwolves for
rookie forward Donyell Marshall, the No. 4 pick in the 1994 NBA
Draft. By the end of the season Golden State was frequently starting
three rookies-Marshall, Rogers, and Clifford Rozier-and giving
substantial time to former CBA players Ryan Lorthridge and Tim
Legler and journeyman David Wood.
The Warriors finished at 26-56 and surrendered an
average of 111.1 points per game to rank last in the league. They
also led the league in turnovers at 18.3 miscues per contest.
Among the few pleasant surprises of the season was the play of
Chris Gatling, who led the NBA in field goal percentage at .633.
At midseason Sprewell was voted to a starting spot in the NBA
All-Star Game.
Golden State's fortunes began to turn in the offseason.
The Warriors found a new coach in Rick Adelman, who had twice
guided the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Finals, and a new
general manager in Dave Twardzik, who had enjoyed a successful
stint with the Charlotte Hornets. Even better, Golden State won
the NBA Draft Lottery, giving the Warriors the first pick in the
1995 NBA Draft. The club took underclassman Joe Smith out of Maryland
with their the No. 1 overall selection.
1995-96: Hardaway Out; Joe Smith In
The Warriors rode the young shoulders of guard Latrell Sprewell
and rookie Joe Smith to post a 10-win improvement in 1995-96.
Unfortunately, that still meant a 36-46 record and no postseason
play for the third time in four years.
The season marked the end of the Tim Hardaway/Chris
Mullin era. Mullin, though his minutes were reduced, was still
an important contributor until March 3, when a torn radial collateral
ligament in his right hand ended his season prematurely. It was
the fourth straight season that a significant part of Mullin's
season was interrupted by injuries. Hardaway, unhappy with Coach
Rick Adelman, was dealt with Chris Gatling to Miami in exchange
for Bimbo Coles and Keith Willis, putting an end to his 6-1/2
years with Golden State.
Smith, despite only two years of seasoning at the
college level, gave Warriors fans reason for optimism in the new
era. He averaged 15.3 ppg and 8.7 rpg and was named to the All-Rookie
First Team, proving that he is a player around which the team
can build. Sprewell, logging nearly 40 minutes per game, led the
team in scoring (18.9 ppg) and finished 17th in the NBA in steals.
1996-97: Do You Know the Way to San Jose?
While the Oakland Coliseum underwent a complete renovation, the
1996-97 Golden State Warriors headed south to San Jose, struggling
to a 30-52 finish in their temporary home.
The season was the final one in a Warriors uniform
for Chris Mullin, the original Dream Teamer who became the team's
all-time leader in games played. The seventh pick in the 1985
draft, Mullin was a Warriors mainstay for more than a decade.
He ended his career at Golden State playing in the shadows of
Joe Smith and Latrell Sprewell, but had his healthiest season
in five years, averaged 14.5 ppg. and was among the league's top
15 in field goal shooting (.553), three-point percentage (.411)
and free throw percentage (.864).
Smith and Sprewell continued to showcase their skills.
Sprewell earned his third All-Star berth, averaging 24.2 ppg to
lead the Warriors. Sprewell scored 40 or more points on six occasions
and set a (West coast) franchise record with 22 free throws (in
25 attempts) against the Clippers on March 10. Smith, in only
his second season, posted 18.7 ppg and a team-best 8.5 rpg.
Veteran Mark Price, who shared the point guard duties
with Bimbo Coles and B.J. Armstrong, led the NBA in free throw
percentage (.906) and passed the 10,000 point plateau on Jan.
12, 1997. The free throw shooting acumen of Price and Mullin helped
the Warriors pace the league with a free throw shooting percentage
of .778.
After the season in San Jose ended, Head Coach Rick
Adelman was fired. Adelman, with a 66-98 record in two seasons,
was replaced by P.J. Carlesimo, who previously succeeded Adelman
at the helm of the Portland Trail Blazers. Bigger news in the
Bay Area was the departure of Mullin, traded to the Indiana Pacers
on 8/12/97 in exchange for Duane Ferrell and Erick Dampier. The
Warriors entered 1997-98 headed to a new building, with a new
coach, new uniforms, a new logo and looking for new success.
1997-98: Strange Homecoming
After spending a season in San Jose while their arena was being
renovated, the Warriors returned returned home to Oakland. Nothing
seemed familiar, however, thanks to a season of trades, transactions
-- and even new uniforms.
The Warriors started 1-14 and never got untracked,
finishing 19-63. The bright spots were forward Donyell Marshall,
who posted career-best numbers in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding
(8.6 rpg); and center Erick Dampier, who averaged 11.8 points
and 8.7 boards.
Golden State made several trades, the most notable
involving longtime Warrior Chris Mullin and former No. 1 pick
Joe Smith. The Warriors sent Mullin to Indiana in August for Dampier
and Duane Ferrell, and Smith and Brian Shaw went to Philadelphia
in February for Jim Jackson and Clarence Weatherspoon.
The season also marked the arrival of Jason Caffey,
Muggsy Bogues and Tony Delk, and the departure of Mark Price,
B.J. Armstrong and Scott Burrell. Shaw, Dickey Simpkins and David
Vaughn arrived and departed by season's end.
Three-time All-Star Latrell Sprewell only played
14 games. The NBA suspended him for the rest of the season for
his altercation with coach P.J. Carlesimo at a team practice.
1998-99: Change is in the Air
Golden State acquired John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings
from New York for Latrell Sprewell shortly before the beginning
of the lockout-shortened season, and the newcomers made an impact
for the Warriors.
Starks averaged 13.8 points, 4.7 assists and 1.38
steals; he and Seattle's Gary Payton were the only players to
lead their teams in all three categories. Mills scored 10.1 points
per game and Cummings, a 17-year veteran, averaged 9.1 points
and provided leadership.
The Warriors went 21-29, including a 13-12 mark
at home. Their 21 victories represented a two-game improvement
over the previous season, despite playing 32 fewer games.
One key newcomer was rookie Antawn Jamison of North
Carolina, who was named college basketball's 1998 National Player
of the Year by numerous media outlets. He averaged 9.6 points
and 6.4 rebounds as an NBA newcomer; those numbers increased to
16.4 points and 9.1 boards in the 18 games in which he played
more than 25 minutes.
1999-2000: Something to Build On
The Warriors entered the 1999-2000 campaign ready to capitalize
on the experience of playoff-tested veterans and the energy and
improvement of young players on the rise. Donyell Marshall, Chris
Mills, Mookie Blaylock comprised the former while the latter included
Antawn Jamison, Jason Caffey, Adonal Foyle and Erick Dampier.
Both groups, however, were hindered by injury. By
the turn of the millennium - with the Warriors preparing to host
the NBA All-Star extravaganza -an optimistic beginning had turned
into another rebuilding season.
Only one week after Jamison went down, Head Coach/GM
Garry St. Jean made the season's biggest trade by acquiring Larry
Hughes in a deal that saw Toni Kukoc land in Philadelphia and
John Starks and Billy Owens leave Golden State. Hughes blossomed
in Golden State, recording four double-doubles, four games with
seven or more assists, and seven 30-point scoring games, including
a 44-point output against the Nuggets.
With the one transaction, St. Jean had pronounced
Hughes and Jamison as the building blocks for the future.
The Warriors have substantially more talent than
last November, and some positives to build on - a league ranking
of second in total rebounds (45.5 per game) as well as ranking
seventh in the league with 8.91 steals per game.
The team's porous interior defense should improve
under new coach Dave Cowens, a Hall of Famer center who was a
gritty player during his 11-year NBA tenure.
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