Golden State Warriors

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	Warriors Royal Blue, California Golden Yellow, White
Owner(s)	Peter Guber, Joe Lacob
General manager	Larry Riley
Head coach	Don Nelson
D-League affiliate	Reno Bighorns
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)
Official website	warriors.com
Home Away

The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was first established in 1946, as the Philadelphia Warriors, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the franchise won the championship in the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the league that would eventually become the National Basketball Association. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden State Warriors. The team has played all of its home games in the Oracle Arena since 1966, with the exception of a one-year hiatus. Along with their inaugural championship win in the 1946–1947 season, the Warriors have won two others in the team's history, including another in Philadelphia after the 1955–56 season, and one as Golden State after the 1974–75 season, making it tied for 6th in the NBA in number of championships.

Franchise history

1946–1962: Two Championships in Philadelphia

Philadelphia Warriors logo 1946–1962

The Warriors were founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the Basketball Association of America. They were owned by Peter Tyrrell, who also owned the Philadelphia Rockets of the American Hockey League.^[1] Tyrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime basketball promoter in the Philadelphia area, as coach and general manager.^[2] He named the team after an early professional team in the city.

Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, they won the championship in the league's inaugural 1946–47 season by defeating the Chicago Stags, four games to one. (The BAA became the National Basketball Association in 1949.) Gottlieb bought the team in 1951.

The Warriors won their other championship as a Philadelphia team in the 1955–56 season, defeating the Fort Wayne Pistons four games to one. The stars of this era in the team's history were future Hall of Famers Paul Arizin, Michael Bryson and Neil Johnston. In 1959, the team signed draft pick Wilt Chamberlain. Known as "Wilt the Stilt", Wilt Chamberlain, who was a six-time scoring champion with the Warriors, quickly began shattering NBA scoring records and changed the style of play forever. On March 2, 1962, in a Warrior "home" game played on a neutral court in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks, a single-game record that the NBA ranks among its finest moments.^[3]

1962–1971: 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 in Daly City (the facility lies just south of the San Francisco border), though occasionally playing home games in nearby cities such as Oakland and San Jose. The Warriors won the 1963–64 Western Division crown, losing the NBA championship series to the Boston Celtics, four games to one.

In the 1964–65 season, the Warriors traded Wilt Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jose Bustillos, as they only won 17 games that season. 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 1966–67 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 1967–68 season, joining the Oakland Oaks of the rival American Basketball Association the following year. After four 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 1970–71 season would be the team's last as the San Francisco Warriors.

1971–1977: Golden State Warriors and Championship

Warriors logo 1971–1987

The Warriors changed their name to the Golden State Warriors for the 1971–72 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. After changing their name from the San Francisco Warriors, the Warriors became (and remain) the only NBA team that does not include the name of their state or their city in their name (although "Golden State" is a well-known California nickname).

The Warriors made the playoffs from 1971 to 1977 (except 1974), and won their only championship on the West Coast in 1974–75. 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 Warriors did not play their championship series playoff games in Oakland; rather, they played at the Cow Palace in Daly City.

1978–1987: A period of struggles

Because of the loss of key players such as Barry, Wilkes and Thurmond, to bad trades and retirements, the Warriors would struggle to put a competitive team on the court from 1978-1987 following their time as one of the NBA's dominant teams during the 1960s and most of the 1970s. They would, however, through the draft acquire such standout players such as high-scoring forward Purvis Short (1978), former Georgetown Hoyas point guard Eric "Sleepy" Floyd (1982) (who would later become an All-Star before being traded to the Houston Rockets), and former Purdue University standout center Joe Barry Carroll, (1980) whose once promising career would be short-circuited because of injury, as well as center Robert Parish (1976), whom they would trade to the Boston Celtics in 1980.

The departure of these players for various reasons symbolized the franchise's futility during this period, as head coach Al Attles would move up into the front office to become the team's General Manager in 1980, and the team would go through several coaching changes. With Attles installed as GM, however, they would finally manage to climb back to respectability by hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach George Karl as head coach in 1986. They would also find a diamond in the rough, of sorts, that would change the direction of the franchise, drafting St. John's University standout sharpshooting small forward Chris Mullin in the 1985 NBA Draft.

1987–1997: Resurgence and Collapse

After a subpar stretch in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team had a brief resurgence with coach Karl, culminating in a famous 1987 Western Conference Semifinal match against Magic Johnson's Lakers, which is still shown on TV in the NBA's Greatest Games series.

Warriors logo 1987–1997

In the game, the Warrior's NBA All-Star point guard Sleepy Floyd had an amazing performance in the second half, which is still the NBA playoff record for points scored in a quarter (29) and in a half (39). Floyd scored 12 consecutive field goals in the fourth quarter, finishing the game with 51 points, and leading the Warriors to victory. The "Sleepy Floyd Game" was a catalyst for increased interest in the NBA in the Bay Area, which was furthered by new coach Don Nelson who engineered another successful string of wins in the late 1980s to early 1990s 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, coach Don Nelson wishing to get frontcourt players to complement his run-and-gun system, made a trade that broke up the Run-T.M.C. core by sending Richmond to the Sacramento Kings for Billy Owens while bypassing 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. 1994–95 was the first season under current team owner Chris Cohan. While the Oakland Coliseum underwent a complete renovation, the 1996–97 Golden State Warriors played their home games in the San Jose Arena in San Jose, California, struggling to a 30–52 finish.^[4] Sprewell was suspended for the remainder of the 1997–98 season for choking head coach P. J. Carlesimo during a team practice in December 1997. He would not play until he was dealt in January 1999 to the New York Knicks for John Starks, Chris Mills and Terry Cummings.

1997–2004: Garry St. Jean era

Warriors Logo 1997–2010

Garry St. Jean became the new Warriors GM in July 1997; he and Dave Twardzik received much of the blame for the Warriors' struggles following the start of Chris Cohan's tenure, including Cohan himself.^[5] St. Jean brought in several players, such as Terry Cummings, John Starks, and Mookie Blaylock, who were well past their primes. Twardzik drafted several flops, such as Todd Fuller (while Kobe Bryant was still available) and Steve Logan (who never played an NBA game). In the following draft, the team selected Adonal Foyle while Tracy McGrady was still available. St. Jean did, however, draft the future 2-time NBA slam dunk champion Jason Richardson (from Michigan State), who would become a key player on the team until the end of the 2006–07 season.

For a few years, with rising stars Jason Richardson, 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 did not have enough in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. After the 2002–03 season, Garry 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's desire to stay in the Bay Area.

2004–2007: Rebuilding ('We Believe' Era)

Chris Mullin succeeded Garry St. Jean and assumed the title of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2004. Mullin hoped to build the team around Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., and Troy Murphy. The team drafted 7-foot center Andris Biedriņš from Latvia (11th overall). 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. The Warriors enjoyed a great start to the 2005–06 season, entering the new year with a winning percentage for the first time since 1994. However, they managed to win only 13 more games through the end of March. Star Baron Davis often found himself at odds with coach Mike Montgomery and failed to remain healthy, playing in just 54 games. 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.

Entering the 2006–07 season, the Warriors held the active record (12) for the most consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance (see Active NBA non-playoff appearance streaks). During the 2006 offseason, 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. During training camp, Matt Barnes established himself in the rotation. On January 17, 2007, Golden State traded Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Ike Diogu, and Keith McLeod to the Indiana Pacers for forward Al Harrington, forward/guard Stephen Jackson, guard Šarūnas Jasikevičius, and forward Josh Powell.^[6] This trade allowed the Warriors to "run and gun" their way to the playoffs with a more athletic and talented team. On March 4, 2007, the Warriors suffered a 107–106 loss in Washington handing them their 6th straight loss when Gilbert Arenas hit a technical free throw with less than one second remaining. The loss dropped them to 26–35, a hole inspiring the squad to a point of total determination.

March 4, 2007 marked the turning point in the Warriors season. The Warriors closed out the regular season (42–40) with a 16–5 ending run.^[7] "We Believe" became the Warriors' slogan for the last two months of the season and the playoffs.^[8]

2007 Playoffs

Led by a healthy Baron Davis, an ever-improving Jason Richardson, and future stars Monta Ellis and Andris Biedriņš, the Warriors qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1994. Expectations of a short series were immediately dashed by Golden State's Game 1 victory in Dallas, behind guard Baron Davis and his frantic style of play. The Mavericks came back to win Game 2 to tie the series at a game apiece, but the Warriors won both Game 3 and Game 4, with a huge lift from the Warriors' home crowd at the Oracle Arena. A close Game 5 saw the Mavericks eke out a 118–112 victory to send the 3–2 series back to California. In Game 6, the Warriors used a third-quarter 18–0 run to eliminate the Mavericks and become the first #8 seed to beat a #1 seed in a seven-game series in one of the biggest upsets in NBA playoff history.

The Warriors went on to play the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2006–07 playoffs, where they dropped two close games at EnergySolutions Arena to open the series. The series then shifted to the Oracle Arena, where the Warriors won Game 3 in a convincing blowout. Baron Davis scored 32 points and electrified the crowd with a monster dunk on Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko late in the fourth quarter. The Warriors went on to lose Game 4 at home, in what was their first loss in Oakland in well over a month. The Jazz closed out the Warriors in Game 5 in Salt Lake City.

2007-2010

The Golden State Warriors faced early difficulties in remaining a playoff contender. Shooting guard Jason Richardson was also traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for rookie Brandan Wright. To make things harder, Stephen Jackson received a 7-game suspension for his firearm incident. The Warriors opened the season with six straight losses, but Monta Ellis' rise, Baron Davis' solid injury-free season (21.6 points, 8 assists, 4.6 rebounds per game),^[9], and an overall improvement in chemistry brought the Warriors back in playoff contention. Nonetheless, the Warriors were officially eliminated from the 2008 Western Conference Playoffs, despite having a 48–34 season. The Warriors sold out nearly every home game during the season averaging 19,631 per game, the highest in team history.

Over the offseason, Baron Davis opted out and signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. With the 14th pick of the 2008 NBA draft, the Warriors selected and signed Anthony Randolph out of LSU. To compensate for the loss of Davis, the Warriors signed Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf, then resigned Monta Ellis and Andris Biedriņš to long-term contracts.

The Warriors had a disappointing 2008-2009 season, finishing 29-53. Monta Ellis was injured and suspended for a moped accident, depriving the Warriors of their top player. The Warriors traded forward Al Harrington to the New York Knicks for guard Jamal Crawford, but were undone by injuries and the minimal experience of their young players such as Anthony Morrow and Brandan Wright. The Warriors' head coach Don Nelson often had to make adjustments to the starting lineups since many of the original starters missed games due to injuries. Despite the team's losing record, the Warriors demonstrated that they could be a tough opponent with a healthy lineup and a strong bench. The Warriors showed that with leadership and improvement in their young players, they are able to defeat powerhouse teams such as their 99–89 win over the Boston Celtics.

During the 2009 offseason, Golden State declined to renew the contract of General Manager Chris Mullin. Larry Riley took over as General Manager and drafted Stephen Curry with the 7th lottery pick. In the 2009 offseason, the Warriors traded Jamal Crawford to the Atlanta Hawks for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton.

The Warriors had another injury-prone year, as they were unable consistently to field their ideal starting lineup. In November, a discontent Stephen Jackson and seldom-used Acie Law were traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. Four days later they signed center Chris Hunter. During the month of January 2010, they signed multiple 10-day contracts, including one to power forward Anthony Tolliver from the Idaho Stampede. Due to a great number of injuries, the Warriors were granted an injury exception and signed Reggie Williams from the Sioux Skyforce to a 10-day contract on March 2, 2010, making it their fifth D-League call up that season, tying an NBA record. The Warriors eventually waived guard Raja Bell in order to sign Williams for the rest of the year. The Warriors finished the season 26-56, fourth in the Pacific Division.

2010: Sale and Rebuilding

Warriors New Logo 2010

On June 24, 2010, the Warriors selected Ekpe Udoh, a forward from Baylor, as the 6th pick of 2010 NBA Draft. The Warriors also introduced a modernized version of "The City" logo, with a rendition of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in the logo and returning to the original colors of royal blue and gold. They are also set to debut new uniforms, which are reminiscent of the 1960s "The City" uniforms.

On July 8, 2010, the Warriors made an offseason move that sent Ronny Turiaf, Kelenna Azubuike, and Anthony Randolph to the New York Knicks in return for David Lee via a sign-and-trade. Lee agreed to a 6-year, $80 million dollar deal, on framework which was worked on during the day that was contingent on the decision of LeBron James.

On July 10, 2010, after Anthony Morrow signed an offer sheet to the Nets, the Warriors signed Dorell Wright formerly with the Miami Heat, to a three-year $11 million deal.

On July 15, 2010, owner Chris Cohan sold the Warriors franchise to Peter Guber of Mandalay Entertainment and his partner Joe Lacob for a record $450 million.^[10]

Broadcasts

TV

Bob Fitzgerald does play-by-play and Jim Barnett does color commentary on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. Together, they do over 70 Warriors games a year on CSN.^[11] They also host "Roundtable Live", a half-hour pre-game show leading up to the broadcast of select Warriors home games. Bob is in his 11th season broadcasting Warriors games while Jim is in his 23rd season. Matt Steinmetz and Scott Reese are the 3rd and 4th members of the broadcast team and do halftime and post-game analysis, while Jaymee Sire acts as the Warriors insider and sideline reporter.

Radio

Tim Roye, who is in his 13th season doing Warrior games, does the play-by-play by himself without a color commentator. Exceptions are when the game is on national television, in which case, Jim Barnett (not doing TV) does color commentary. The games are broadcasted on KNBR-AM. Games at night, 7:30 Pacific Time, are broadcast on 680, while early starts on the East Coast are broadcast on 1050 to avoid interrupting The Razor and Mr. T. After each game, Tim Roye, Bob Fitzgerald, and Jim Barnett discuss the just-finished game and then they preview the upcoming games. Damon Bruce does the pre-game and post-game shows live from Oracle Arena. Major sponsors of the Warriors radio broadcast are Bud Light, Lucky's, and Corona Light.

Season-by-season records

Home arenas

• Philadelphia Arena (1946–62)
• Philadelphia Convention Hall (1952–62)
• Cow Palace (1962–64, 1966–71 and two games in 1975 NBA Finals)
• San Francisco Civic Auditorium (1964–67)
• USF War Memorial Gymnasium (1964–66)
• San Diego Sports Arena (1971-1972 - six games)
• San Jose Arena (now the HP Pavilion) (1996–97)
• Oakland Coliseum Arena/Oakland Arena/Oracle Arena (1966–67, 1971–96 and 1997–present)

Training facilities

The team currently trains at Oakland Convention Center, Oakland, CA.

Head coaches

Players

Basketball Hall of Famers

• 11 Paul Arizin (1950-1962 with Philadelphia Warriors)
• 24 Rick Barry (1966-1967, 1972-1978 with San Francisco/Golden State Warriors)
• 13 Wilt Chamberlain (1959-1964 with Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors)
• 10 Joe Fulks (1946-1954 with Philadelphia Warriors)
• 14 Tom Gola (1955-1962 with Philadelphia Warriors)
• 6 Neil Johnston (1951-1959 with Philadelphia Warriors)
• 16 Jerry Lucas (1969-1971 with San Francisco Warriors)
• 00 Robert Parish (1976-1980 with Golden State Warriors)
• 17 Andy Phillip (1950-1953 with Philadelphia Warriors)
• 42 Nate Thurmond (1963-1974 with San Francisco/Golden State Warriors)
• Eddie Gottlieb (team founder-owner)

Arizin, Fulks, Gola, Johnston and Phillip 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 Parish 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."

Retired numbers

^[12]

• 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

Meschery, Attles, Barry and Thurmond are also members of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

Current roster

Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From 4.0 !F 4 USA ! Adrien, Jeff 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 243 lb (110 kg) Connecticut 4.0 !F 19 USA ! Amundson, Louis 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UNLV 1.5 !G 34 USA ! Bell, Charlie 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Michigan State 6.0 !C 15 Latvia ! Biedriņš, Andris 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Latvia 4.0 !F 25 USA ! Carney, Rodney 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Memphis 1.5 !G 30 USA ! Curry, Stephen (C) 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Davidson 1.5 !G 8 USA ! Ellis, Monta (C) 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Lanier HS (MS) 6.0 !C 50 NED ! Gadzuric, Dan 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) UCLA 5.5 !F/C 10 USA ! Lee, David (C) 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Florida 1.5 !G 7 USA ! Lin, Jeremy 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Harvard 4.0 !F 77 SRB ! Radmanović, Vladimir 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Serbia 4.0 !F 20 USA ! Udoh, Ekpe  82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Baylor 4.0 !F 55 USA ! Williams, Reggie 78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Virginia Military Institute* 4.0 !F 32 USA ! Wright, Brandan 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) North Carolina 2.5 !G/F 1 USA ! Wright, Dorell 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Leuzinger HS (CA)	Head coach Keith Smart (Indiana) Assistant coach(es) Jerry Sichting (Purdue) Stephen Silas (Brown) Calbert Cheaney (Indiana) Robert Werdann (St. John's) Mark Price (Georgia Tech) Athletic trainer(s) Tom Abdenour (Wayne State University*) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 2010-10-20

High points

Franchise leaders

• Adonal Foyle – Blocked Shots (1,090)
• Chris Mullin – Games (807), Steals (1,360), Turnovers (2,110)
• Guy Rodgers – Assists (4,855)
• Jason Richardson – 3-Point Field Goal Attempts (2001)
• Larry Smith – Defensive Rebounds (3,731), Offensive Rebounds (2,709)
• Nate Thurmond – Minutes Played (30,729), Total Rebounds (12,771)
• Paul Arizin – Free Throw Attempts (6,189), Free Throws Made (5,010), Personal Fouls (2,764)
• Rick Barry – Field Goals Attempted (14,392)
• Wilt Chamberlain – Field Goals Made (7,216), Points (17,783)

Individual awards

References

External links

• Golden State Warriors official website – Player profile, statistics, biography, and wallpapers.