Golden State Warriors
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Golden State Warriors | |
 |
|
| Conference | Western Conference |
| Division | Pacific Division |
| Founded | 1946 |
| History | Philadelphia Warriors 1946-1962 San Francisco Warriors 1962-1971 Golden State Warriors 1971-present |
| Arena | Oracle Arena |
| City | Oakland, California |
| Team Colors | Midnight blue, Golden Gate orange, California yellow |
| Owner | Chris Cohan |
| Head Coach | Don Nelson |
| Championships | BAA: 1 (1947) NBA:2 (1956, 1975) |
| Conference Titles | 6 (1947, 1948, 1956, 1964, 1967, 1975) |
| Division Titles | 7 (1948, 1951, 1956, 1964, 1967, 1975, 1976) |
The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team based in Oakland, California, United States. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
"Golden State" is derived from the nickname of the state of California, The Golden State, derived from the 1849 Gold Rush. The Warriors and C.D. Chivas USA of Major League Soccer currently are the only major league franchises in the U.S. to exclude the name of their city, metro area, state or region from the team's name.
Contents |
[edit] Home arenas
- Philadelphia Arena (1946-1962)
- Philadelphia Convention Hall (1952-1962)
- Cow Palace (1962-1964, 1966-1971 and two games in 1975 NBA Finals)
- San Francisco Civic Auditorium (1964-1967)
- USF War Memorial Gymnasium (1964-1966)
- San Jose Arena (now the HP Pavilion) (1996-1997)
- Oakland Coliseum Arena/Oakland Arena/ORACLE Arena (1966-1967, 1971-1996 and 1997-present)
[edit] Franchise history
[edit] Philadelphia Warriors
The Philadelphia Warriors were a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, they won the championship in the league's inaugural 1946-1947 season by defeating the Chicago Stags, four games to one. (The BAA became the National Basketball Association in 1949.)
The team was founded by Peter A. Tyrrell, President and General Manager of the Philadelphia Arena. Tyrrell was one of the eleven founders of the BAA/NBA. Tyrrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, to manage and coach his new team. Eddie Gottlieb was the long-time promoter of the Philadelphia Sphas (South Philadelphia Hebrew Association), one of the mainstays of the original American Basketball League. Gottlieb retained ownership of the ABL Sphas until that league disbanded in 1955. The Warriors are one of only three original BAA/NBA teams still in existence, the others being the Boston Celtics and New York Knickerbockers.
The Warriors won their only other championship as a Philadelphia team in the 1955-1956 season, defeating the Fort Wayne Pistons four games to one. The stars of this era in the team's history were Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston. In 1959, the team signed draft pick Wilt Chamberlain. Known as "Wilt the Stilt," Chamberlain quickly began shattering NBA scoring records and changed the style of play forever. On March 2, 1962, in a Warrior "home" game played in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points against the Knickerbockers, a single-game record.
Coach Eddie Gottlieb purchased the Philadelphia Warriors from Pete Tyrrell in 1951 and sold the team in 1962 to an owner in San Francisco.
[edit] San Francisco Warriors
In 1962, Franklin Mieuli purchased the majority shares of the team and relocated the franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors, playing most of their home games at the Cow Palace (actually located in neighboring Daly City), though occasionally playing home games in nearby cities such as Oakland and San Jose. The Warriors won the 1963-1964 Western Division crown, losing the NBA championship series to the Boston Celtics, four games to one.
In 1965, the Warriors drafted Rick Barry in the first round. Barry was named NBA Rookie of the Year in his first season, then led the Warriors to the NBA finals in the 1966-1967 season, where the team lost (four games to two) to the team that replaced the Warriors in Philadelphia, the 76ers. Angered by management's failure to pay him certain incentive awards he felt he was due, Barry sat out the 1967-1968 season, joining the Oakland Oaks of the rival American Basketball Association the following year. After several seasons in the ABA, Barry rejoined the Warriors in 1972.
With the opening of the Oakland Coliseum Arena in 1966, the Warriors began scheduling increasing numbers of home games at that venue. The 1970-1971 season would be the team's last as the San Francisco Warriors. They changed their name to the Golden State Warriors for the 1971-1972 season, playing almost all home games in Oakland. Six "home" games were played in San Diego during that season but more significantly, none were played in San Francisco or Daly City.
[edit] Golden State Warriors
As the Golden State Warriors, the franchise has won only one NBA championship, in 1974-1975. In what many consider the biggest upset in the history of the NBA, the Warriors defeated the heavily-favored Washington Bullets in a four-game sweep. That team was coached by former Warrior Al Attles, and led on the court by Rick Barry, Jamaal Wilkes, and Phil Smith. So little was felt of the team's chances in the playoffs, even by their home fans, that the Coliseum Arena scheduled other events during the dates of the NBA playoffs. As a result, the home games of the Warriors' only West Coast championship were played not in Oakland but at the Cow Palace in Daly City.
The team had another successful string of wins in the late 80s/early 90s with the high scoring trio of point guard Tim Hardaway, guard Mitch Richmond, and forward Chris Mullin (collectively known as "Run T-M-C" after the rap group Run-D.M.C.). However, with then coach Don Nelson wishing to get players who can handle the ball in his run-n-gun system, he made a trade that broke up the Run T-M-C core by sending Richmond to the Sacramento Kings for Billy Owens while by passing Dikembe Mutombo, who was selected next by the Denver Nuggets. Nelson was brought to the team by Jim Fitzgerald, who owned the team between 1986 and 1995.
The following year, 1993-94, with first-round draft pick and Rookie of the Year Chris Webber playing alongside Latrell Sprewell, the Warriors made the playoffs. The season after that, however, saw a rift form between Webber, Sprewell and Nelson. All three soon left the team, and the organization went into a tailspin. The Warriors have never made the playoffs since. 1994-1995 was also the first season under current team owner Chris Cohan. Former GM Garry St. Jean receives much of the blame for the Warriors' struggles since then. St. Jean brought in several players, such as Terry Cummings, John Starks, and Mookie Blaylock, who were well past their primes. He also drafted several flops, such as Todd Fuller (while Kobe Bryant was still available) and Steve Logan (who never played an NBA game). St. Jean did, however, draft several players who are the core of the most recent Warriors squad, including 2-time NBA slam dunk champion Jason Richardson (from Michigan State), Duke swingman Mike Dunleavy, Jr. and Troy Murphy (from Notre Dame). For a few years, with rising star Antawn Jamison and Guard Gilbert Arenas leading the team, the Warriors seemed like a team on the rise. In the end the young Warriors just didn't have enough in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. After the 2002-2003 season, St.Jean's earlier mistakes of committing money to players like Danny Fortson, Adonal Foyle and Erick Dampier were painfully felt by Warriors fans when the team was unable to re-sign up-and-coming star Gilbert Arenas, despite Arenas' wanting to stay in Golden State.
After spending two years in the Warriors front office as a special assistant, Chris Mullin succeeded St. Jean and assumed the title of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. Among his first moves were the hiring of three former teammates to help run the organization: Mitch Richmond (special assistant), Mario Elie (assistant coach) and Rod Higgins (General Manager). Mullin hoped to build the team around Richardson, Dunleavy, and Murphy--complementing them with experience in Derek Fisher, a free agent signed by Golden State after playing a key role on three championship Lakers squads, Calbert Cheaney, a playoff-tested sharpshooter and Adonal Foyle, an excellent shot-blocker who is perhaps better known for his off-court work as founder of the campaign finance reform organization,Democracy Matters. At the 2005 trading deadline, Mullin further added to the team by acquiring guard Baron Davis, bringing the team its first "superstar" since Mullin himself.
Warriors fans hoped that 2005-2006 would finally be the season that the team ended their playoff drought. Despite the poor play of newly re-signed Mike Dunleavy and the broken hand of first round draft pick Ike Diogu, the Warriors enjoyed a great start to the 2005-2006 season. They entered the new year with a winning percentage over .500 for the first time since 1994, but lost their first five games of 2006 and managed to win only 13 more games through the end of March. Davis failed to remain healthy and played in just 54 games. He suffered a sprained right ankle in mid-February and didn't return for long before being listed as an inactive player the remainder of the season. The injury-prone Davis has not played a full season since the 2001-2002 campaign. Though Davis is widely considered a star player, he often found himself at odds with coach Mike Montgomery. On April 5, 2006, the Warriors were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 114-109 overtime loss to the Hornets, extending their playoff drought to 12 seasons.
In the 2006 NBA draft, the Warriors selected center Patrick O'Bryant with the 9th overall selection. The seven-foot O'Bryant had just finished his sophomore year at Bradley University.
On August 29, 2006, Golden State announced that it had bought out the remaining two years of head coach Mike Montgomery's contract and hired previous Golden State and former Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson to take over in his place. Since Nelson's first stint as Warriors coach ended in 1995, the team had used eight different head coaches: Bob Lanier (interim 1995) Rick Adelman (1995-1997), P.J. Carlesimo (1997-1999), Garry St. Jean (1999-2000), Dave Cowens (2000-2001), Brian Winters (2001-2002), Eric Musselman (2002-2004), and Mike Montgomery (2004-2006). Since 1995, the best record the Warriors have finished a season with is 38-44, obtained in the 2002-2003 season during Musselman's first year as head coach.
The Warriors hold the active record (12) for the most consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance (see Active NBA non-playoff appearance streaks). The 2006-2007 brings new hope the Warriors and the Warriors faithful. With Don Nelson at the helm, Baron Davis healthy, leading scorer Jason Richardson back, and future stars Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins on the rise, the Warriors are sure to make a run at the playoffs.
[edit] Season-by-season records
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, % = Win-Loss %
| Season | W | L | % | Playoffs | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Warriors (BAA) | |||||
| 1946-47 | 35 | 25 | .583 | Won 1st Round Won Conference Finals Won BAA Finals |
Philadelphia 2, St. Louis 1 Philadelphia 2, New York 0 Philadelphia 4, Chicago 1 |
| 1947-48 | 27 | 21 | .563 | Won BAA Semifinals Lost BAA Finals |
Philadelphia 4, St. Louis 3 Baltimore 4, Philadelphia 2 |
| 1948-49 | 28 | 32 | .355 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Washington 2, Philadelphia 0 |
| Philadelphia Warriors (NBA) | |||||
| 1949-50 | 26 | 42 | .382 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Syracuse 2, Philadelphia 0 |
| 1950-51 | 40 | 26 | .606 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Syracuse 2, Philadelphia 0 |
| 1951-52 | 33 | 33 | .500 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Syracuse 2, Philadelphia 1 |
| 1952-53 | 12 | 57 | .174 | ||
| 1953-54 | 29 | 43 | .403 | ||
| 1954-55 | 33 | 39 | .458 | ||
| 1955-56 | 45 | 27 | .625 | Won Conference Finals Won NBA Finals |
Philadelphia 3, Syracuse 2 Philadelphia 4, Fort Wayne 1 |
| 1956-57 | 37 | 35 | .514 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Syracuse 2, Philadelphia 0 |
| 1957-58 | 37 | 35 | .514 | Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
Philadelphia 2, Syracuse 1 Boston 4, Philadelphia 1 |
| 1958-59 | 32 | 40 | .444 | ||
| 1959-60 | 49 | 26 | .653 | Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
Philadelphia 2, Syracuse 1 Boston 4, Philadelphia 2 |
| 1960-61 | 46 | 33 | .582 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Syracuse 3, Philadelphia 0 |
| 1961-62 | 49 | 31 | .613 | Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
Philadelphia 3, Syracuse 2 Boston 4, Philadelphia 3 |
| San Francisco Warriors | |||||
| 1962-63 | 31 | 49 | .388 | ||
| 1963-64 | 48 | 32 | .600 | Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals |
San Francisco 4, St. Louis 3 Boston 4, San Francisco 1 |
| 1964-65 | 17 | 63 | .213 | ||
| 1965-66 | 35 | 45 | .438 | ||
| 1966-67 | 44 | 37 | .543 | Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals |
San Francisco 3, Los Angeles Lakers 0 San Francisco 4, St. Louis 2 Philadelphia 4, San Francisco 2 |
| 1967-68 | 43 | 39 | .524 | Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
San Francisco 2, St. Louis 2 Los Angeles Lakers 4, San Francisco 0 |
| 1968-69 | 41 | 41 | .500 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Los Angeles Lakers 4, San Francisco 2 |
| 1969-70 | 30 | 52 | .366 | ||
| 1970-71 | 41 | 41 | .500 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Milwaukee 4, San Francisco 1 |
| Golden State Warriors | |||||
| 1971-72 | 51 | 34 | .622 | Lost Conference Semifinals | Milwaukee 4, Golden State 1 |
| 1972-73 | 47 | 35 | .573 | Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
Golden State 4, Milwaukee 2 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Golden State 1 |
| 1973-74 | 44 | 38 | .537 | ||
| 1974-75 | 48 | 34 | .585 | Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Won NBA Finals |
Golden State 4, Seattle 2 Golden State 4, Chicago 3 Golden State 4, Washington 0 |
| 1975-76 | 59 | 23 | .720 | Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals |
Golden State 4, Detroit 2 Phoenix 4, Golden State 3 |
| 1976-77 | 46 | 36 | .561 | Won 1st Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Golden State 2, Detroit 1 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Golden State 3 |
| 1977-78 | 43 | 39 | .524 | ||
| 1978-79 | 38 | 44 | .463 | ||
| 1979-80 | 24 | 58 | .293 | ||
| 1980-81 | 39 | 43 | .476 | ||
| 1981-82 | 45 | 37 | .549 | ||
| 1982-83 | 30 | 52 | .366 | ||
| 1983-84 | 37 | 45 | .451 | ||
| 1984-85 | 22 | 60 | .268 | ||
| 1985-86 | 30 | 52 | .366 | ||
| 1986-87 | 42 | 40 | .512 | Won 1st Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Golden State 3, Utah 2 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Golden State 1 |
| 1987-88 | 20 | 62 | .244 | ||
| 1988-89 | 43 | 39 | .524 | Won 1st Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Golden State 3, Utah 0 Phoenix 4, Golden State 1 |
| 1989-90 | 37 | 45 | .451 | ||
| 1990-91 | 44 | 38 | .537 | Won 1st Round Lost Conference Semifinals |
Golden State 3, San Antonio 1 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Golden State 1 |
| 1991-92 | 55 | 27 | .671 | Lost 1st Round | Seattle 3, Golden State 1 |
| 1992-93 | 34 | 48 | .415 | ||
| 1993-94 | 50 | 32 | .610 | Lost 1st Round | Phoenix 3, Golden State 0 |
| 1994-95 | 26 | 56 | .317 | ||
| 1995-96 | 36 | 46 | .439 | ||
| 1996-97 | 30 | 52 | .366 | ||
| 1997-98 | 19 | 63 | .232 | ||
| 1998-99 | 21 | 29 | .420 | ||
| 1999-2000 | 19 | 63 | .232 | ||
| 2000-01 | 17 | 65 | .207 | ||
| 2001-02 | 21 | 61 | .256 | ||
| 2002-03 | 38 | 44 | .463 | ||
| 2003-04 | 37 | 45 | .451 | ||
| 2004-05 | 34 | 48 | .415 | ||
| 2005-06 | 34 | 48 | .415 | ||
| 2006-07 | 10 | 11 | .476 | ||
[edit] Current roster
| Golden State Warriors Current Roster |
||||
| Head Coach: Don Nelson | Edit | |||
| SF | 22 |  |
Matt Barnes | (UCLA) |
| F/C | 15 |  |
Andris Biedriņš | (Latvia) |
| F | 11 |  |
Žarko Čabarkapa | (Serbia) |
| PG | 5 | |
Baron Davis | (UCLA) |
| PF | 9 | |
Ike Diogu | (Arizona State) |
| SF | 34 | |
Mike Dunleavy, Jr. | (Duke) |
| G | 8 | |
Monta Ellis | (Lanier HS, Jackson, MS) |
| C | 31 |  |
Adonal Foyle | (Colgate) |
| PG | 4 | |
Keith McLeod | (Bowling Green) |
| PF/C | 1 | |
Troy Murphy | (Notre Dame) |
| C | 20 | |
Patrick O'Bryant | (Bradley) |
| G/F | 2 |  |
Mickaël Piétrus | (France) |
| SG | 23 | |
Jason Richardson | (Michigan State) |
| PG | 3 | |
Anthony Roberson | (Florida) |
| Golden State Warriors | ||||
STARTING LINEUP Monta Ellis- PG Baron Davis- SG Jason Richardson- SF Mikael Pietrus- PF Andris Biedrins- C
[edit] Head coaches
| Coach | Years active |
|---|---|
| Edward Gottlieb | 1946-1955 |
| George Senesky | 1955-1958 |
| Al Cervi | 1958-1959 |
| Neil Johnston | 1959-1961 |
| Frank McGuire | 1961-1962 |
| Bob Feerick | 1962-1963 |
| Alex Hannum | 1963-1966 |
| Bill Sharman | 1966-1968 |
| George Lee | 1968-1970 |
| Al Attles | 1970-1980 |
| Johnny Bach | 1980 |
| Al Attles | 1980-1983 |
| Johnny Bach | 1983-1986 |
| George Karl | 1986-1988 |
| Ed Gregory | 1988 |
| Don Nelson | 1988-1995 |
| Bob Lanier | 1995 |
| Rick Adelman | 1995-1997 |
| P. J. Carlesimo | 1999-2000 |
| Garry St. Jean | 1999-2000 |
| Dave Cowens | 2000-2001 |
| Brian Winters | 2001-2002 |
| Eric Musselman | 2002-2004 |
| Mike Montgomery | 2004-2006 |
| Don Nelson | 2006- |
[edit] Players of note
[edit] Basketball Hall of Famers
- 11 Paul Arizin
- 24 Rick Barry
- 13 Wilt Chamberlain
- 10 Joe Fulks
- 14 Tom Gola
- 6 Neil Johnston
- 16 Jerry Lucas
- 00 Robert Parish
- 17 Andy Phillip
- 42 Nate Thurmond
- Eddie Gottlieb (team founder-owner)
Arizin, Fulks, Gola, Johnston and Philip played all or most of their tenure with the Warriors in Philadelphia. Chamberlain's tenure was about evenly divided between Philadelphia and San Francisco. Lucas and Parrish were elected mainly for their performances with other teams. Thurmond and Barry are the only Hall-of-Famers who spent significant time with the team since the 1971 move to Oakland and the name change to "Golden State."
[edit] Retired numbers
- 13 Wilt Chamberlain, C, 1959-65 (including 1959-62 in Philadelphia)
- 14 Tom Meschery, F, 1961-71 (including 1961-62 in Philadelphia)
- 16 Al Attles, G, 1960-71 (including 1960-62 in Philadelphia); Head Coach, 1970-83; also team executive
- 24 Rick Barry, F, 1965-67 & 1972-78
- 42 Nate Thurmond, C, 1963-74
- 17 Chris Mullin, G, 1986-97 & 2001
Meschery, Attles, Barry, Thurmond and Mullin are also members of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.
[edit] Not to be forgotten
- Gilbert Arenas
- Victor Alexander
- Muggsy Bogues
- Manute Bol
- Earl Boykins
- Nathan Bowens
- Brian Cardinal
- Joe Barry Carroll
- Speedy Claxton
- Larry Costello
- Erick Dampier
- Dale Davis
- Tony Delk
- Derek Dickey
- Joe Ellis
- Derek Fisher
- Sleepy Floyd
- Danny Fortson
- World B. Free
- Winston Garland
- Chris Gatling
- Tom Gugliotta
- Tim Hardaway
- Rod Higgins
- Tyrone Hill
- Wayne Hightower
- Larry Hughes
- Antawn Jamison
- Keith Jennings
- Charles Johnson
- Damon Jones
- Bernard King
- Rudy LaRusso
- Sarunas Marciulionis
- Donyell Marshall
- Chris Mullin
- Jeff Mullins
- Eduardo Nájera
- Billy Owens
- Clifford Ray
- Mitch Richmond
- Cliff Robinson
- Guy Rodgers
- Cazzie Russell
- Ralph Sampson
- Woody Sauldsberry
- George Senesky
- Purvis Short
- Joe Smith
- Larry Smith
- Phil Smith
- Latrell Sprewell
- John Starks
- Bobby Sura
- Terry Teagle
- Tom Tolbert
- Nick Van Exel
- Chris Webber
- Jamaal Wilkes
- Gus Williams
- David Wood
[edit] External links
- Official
- Golden State Warriors Official Website – Player profile, statistics, biography, and wallpapers.
- Blogs
- Golden State of Mind- Warriors Community + news, hype, rumors, humor, science, history, and fashion
- The City - Golden State Warriors interviews, news, game recaps, and more.
- Message Boards
- WarriorsWorld Forum – Bulletin board to discuss the Golden State Warriors.
- Portals
- Golden State Warriors Basketball at Zimbio – A publicly editable portal for tracking Warriors news, highlights, and rumors.
- Golden State Warriors news site
Current major league teams: Golden State Warriors (NBA) • Oakland Athletics (MLB) • Oakland Raiders (NFL) • San Francisco Dragons (MLL) • San Francisco 49ers (NFL) • San Francisco Giants (MLB) • San Jose SaberCats (AFL) • San Jose Sharks (NHL) • San Jose Stealth (NLL)
Current minor league teams: California Victory (USL-1) • Oakland Slammers (IBL) • San Francisco Quakes (NIFL) • San Jose Giants (CL) • Santa Cruz County Breakers (NPSL) • Tri City Ballers (IBL)
