popular: 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	Image:California Flag.jpg Oakland, California
Team colors	Warriors Royal Blue, California Golden Yellow, White
Owner	Peter Guber Joe Lacob
General manger	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

The Golden State Warriors are a professional basketball team based in Oakland, California, United States. 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, tying them for 6th in the NBA in number of championships.

History

1946–1962: Two Championships in Philadelphia

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. Tyrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime basketball promoter in the Philadelphia area, as coach and general manager. 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.

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 of the 1965 NBA Draft. 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

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 Los Angeles Lakers, which is still shown on TV in the NBA's Greatest Games series.
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. 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

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. 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 in the 1996 NBA Draft, where he drafted 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 University), 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. 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.
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: Rising and Falling

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 Louisiana State University. 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 Radmanović. 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 Falls 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.

Franchise Name History

When Philadelphia became a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), the forerunner of the National Basketball Association, in 1946, one of the first tasks of the team officials was to name the new club. It was decided to name the team after a former Philadelphia professional basketball team -- the Warriors -- who began play in the American Basketball League in 1926.
After 17 seasons in Philadelphia, the Warriors moved to San Francisco, opening in the Cow Palace in the fall of 1962. The team made their new home in Oakland in 1971. In an attempt to get the whole state of California involved with the team, team officials named the club the Golden State Warriors.

Broadcasting

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. 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.

Head Coaches

Coach	Years active
Eddie Gottlieb	1946–55
George Senesky	1955–58
Al Cervi	1958–59
Neil Johnston	1959–61
Frank McGuire	1961–62
Bob Feerick	1962–63
Alex Hannum	1963–66
Bill Sharman	1966–68
George Lee	1968–70
Al Attles	1970–80
Johnny Bach	1980
Al Attles	1980–83
Johnny Bach	1983–86
George Karl	1986–88
Ed Gregory	1988
Don Nelson	1988–95
Bob Lanier	1995
Rick Adelman	1995–97
P.J. Carlesimo	1997–99
Garry St. Jean	1999–00
Dave Cowens	2000–01
Brian Winters	2001–02
Eric Musselman	2002–04
Mike Montgomery	2004–06
Don Nelson	2006–2010

Keith Smart 2010-present

Franchise Arenas

Arena	Years	Notes
Philadelphia Arena	1946-1962	(Philadelphia Warriors)
Philadelphia Convention Hall	1952-1962
Cow Palace	1962-1964 and 1966-1971	(San Francisco Warriors)
San Francisco Civic Auditorium	1964-1967
War Memorial Gymnasium	1964-1966
San Jose Arena	1996-1997	(now the HP Pavilion) (Golden State Warriors)
Oracle Arena	1966-1967, 1971-1996 and 1997-present	Had a home game in San Diego (1971-72)