The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland,

California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of
the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the Warriors
relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and took the city's name, before changing its
geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971.[b] They play their home games at the Oracle Arena.

The Warriors won the inaugural Basketball Association of America (BAA) championship in 1947,
[c] and won its second championship in 1956, led by Hall of Fame trio Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, and
Neil Johnston. However, the Warriors would not return to similar heights in Philadelphia, and
after a brief rebuilding period following the trade of star Wilt Chamberlain, the team moved to
San Francisco. With star players Jamaal Wilkes and Rick Barry, the Warriors returned to title
contention, and won their third championship in 1975, in what is largely considered one of the
biggest upsets in NBA history.

This would precede another period of struggle in the 1980s, before becoming playoff regulars at
the turn of the decade with stars Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin, colloquially
referred to as "Run TMC". After failing to capture a championship, the team entered another
rebuilding phase in the 2000s. The Warriors' fortunes changed in the 2010s, ushering in a new
era of success led by Stephen Curry. After drafting perennial All-Stars Klay Thompson and
Draymond Green, the team returned to championship glory in 2015, before winning another two
in 2017 and 2018 with the help of former league MVP Kevin Durant.

1946–1962: Early years

Joe Fulks was the league's first scoring champion.

The Warriors were founded in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, a charter member of the
Basketball Association of America. They were owned by Peter A. Tyrrell, who also owned the
Philadelphia Rockets of the American Hockey League.[12] Tyrrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime
basketball promoter in the Philadelphia area, as coach and general manager.[13] The owners
named the team after the Philadelphia Warriors, an old basketball team who played in the
American Basketball League in 1925.[14]

Led by early scoring sensation Joe Fulks, the team won the championship in the league's
inaugural 1946–47 season by defeating the Chicago Stags, four games to one. The NBA, which
was created by a 1949 merger, officially recognizes that as its own first championship.[c] Gottlieb
bought the team in 1951.

In 1959, the team signed draft pick Wilt Chamberlain. Known as "Wilt the Stilt", he led the team
in scoring six times, quickly began shattering NBA scoring records and changed the NBA 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
the NBA ranks among its finest moments.[15]

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. The Warriors played
most of their home games at the Cow Palace in Daly City (the facility lies just south of the San
Francisco city limits) from 1962 to 1964 and the San Francisco Civic Auditorium from 1964 to
1966, though occasionally playing home games in nearby cities such as Oakland and San Jose.

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. The Warriors played
most of their home games at the Cow Palace in Daly City (the facility lies just south of the San
Francisco city limits) from 1962 to 1964 and the San Francisco Civic Auditorium from 1964 to
1966, though occasionally playing home games in nearby cities such as Oakland and San Jose.

Prior to the 1963–64 NBA season, the Warriors drafted big man Nate Thurmond to go along with
Chamberlain. The Warriors won the Western Division crown that season, but lost the 1964 NBA
Finals to the Boston Celtics, four games to one. In the 1964–65 season, the Warriors traded
Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers for Connie Dierking, Lee Shaffer, Paul Neumann and
$150,000 and won only 17 games.

1965–1978: Thurmond and Barry

Nate Thurmond averaged over 20 points per game during five different seasons and over 20
rebounds per game during two seasons while with the Warriors.

In 1965, they drafted Rick Barry in the first round who went on to become NBA Rookie of the
Year that season and then led the Warriors to the NBA Finals in the 1966–67 season, losing (four
games to two) to Chamberlain's new team that had replaced the Warriors in Philadelphia, the
76ers.

1965–1978: Thurmond and Barry

Nate Thurmond averaged over 20 points per game during five different seasons and over 20
rebounds per game during two seasons while with the Warriors.

In 1965, they drafted Rick Barry in the first round who went on to become NBA Rookie of the
Year that season and then led the Warriors to the NBA Finals in the 1966–67 season, losing (four
games to two) to Chamberlain's new team that had replaced the Warriors in Philadelphia, the
76ers.

Rick Barry (shown in 1976) was named the NBA Finals MVP in 1975.

Angered by management's failure to pay him certain incentive bonuses he felt were due him,
Barry sat out the 1967–68 season and signed with the Oakland Oaks of the rival American
Basketball Association for the following year, but after four seasons in the ABA rejoined the
Warriors in 1972. During Barry's absence, the Warriors were no longer title contenders, and the
mantle of leadership fell to Thurmond, Jeff Mullins and Rudy LaRusso. They began scheduling
more home games in Oakland with the opening of the Oakland Coliseum Arena in 1966 and the
1970–71 season would be the team's last as the San Francisco Warriors.

The franchise adopted its brand name Golden State Warriors prior to the 1971–72 season, in
order to suggest that the team represented the entire state of California.[16][b] Almost all home
games were played in Oakland that season; six were played in San Diego, but none in San
Francisco or Daly City. Oakland Arena became the team's exclusive home court in 1971.

The Warriors made the playoffs from 1971 to 1977 except in 1974, and won their first NBA
championship on the West Coast in 1974–75. In what many consider the biggest upset in NBA
history, Golden State not only defeated the heavily favored Washington Bullets but humiliated
them in a four-game sweep. That team was coached by former Warrior Al Attles, and led on the
court by Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes. Barry was named Finals MVP.[17]

At 59-23, the Warriors had the league's best record during the 1975–76 season. They were
upset, however, by the 42–40 Phoenix Suns in seven games in the Western Conference Finals.

1978–1985: A period of struggles

978–1985: A period of struggles

Due of the loss of key players such as Barry, Wilkes and Thurmond to trades and retirements, the
Warriors struggled to put a competitive team on the court from 1978 to 1987 after being one of
the NBA's dominant teams in the 1960s and most of the 1970s. Through the NBA draft, however,
they acquired some players such as high-scoring forward Purvis Short (1978), former Purdue
center Joe Barry Carroll (1980) and center Robert Parish (1976), who was traded to the Boston
Celtics in 1980 along with the draft pick that would become Kevin McHale for the pick used to
draft Carroll. In 1983, the Warriors matched the New York Knicks' offer for free-agent Bernard
King, but, unable to pay his high salary, quickly traded him to the Knicks for guard Micheal Ray
Richardson, whom they soon shipped to New Jersey in exchange for former Georgetown Hoya
point guard Eric "Sleepy" Floyd, and journeyman forward Mickey Johnson. Floyd once scored 29
points for the Warriors in the fourth quarter of a playoff game against the Lakers, though he was
later traded to the Houston Rockets.

The departure of these players for various reasons symbolized the franchise's futility during this
period, as head coach Attles moved up to the front office as general manager in 1980 and the
team made several coaching changes. New owners Jim Fitzgerald and Dan Finane finally
managed to return the team to respectability by hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach
George Karl as head coach in 1986 after selecting St. John's small forward Chris Mullin in the
1985 NBA draft.

1985–1997: The Chris Mullin era

After a subpar stretch in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team had a brief resurgence under
coach Karl, culminating in a 1987 Western Conference Semifinal match against Magic Johnson
and the Los Angeles Lakers which is still shown on TV in the NBA's Greatest Games series. In the
game, Warriors' All-Star point guard Sleepy Floyd's performance in the second half still stands as
the NBA playoff record for points scored in a quarter (29) and in a half (39). His six consecutive
field goals in the fourth quarter led to a 51-point finish for him and a victory for the Warriors.

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 and early 1990s with the high-scoring trio of point guard Tim Hardaway, guard
Mitch Richmond and forward Chris Mullin (collectively known as "Run TMC" after the rap group
Run-D.M.C.). But "Run TMC" stayed together for only two seasons (winning only one playoff
series), when coach Nelson, in a move to get a promising young front-court player to
complement his run-and-gun system, sent Richmond to the Sacramento Kings for rookie power
forward Billy Owens. Nelson had been brought to the Warriors from the Milwaukee Bucks by Jim
Fitzgerald, who along with Dan Finnane owned the team between 1986 and 1995. In 1993–94,
with first-round draft pick and Rookie of the Year power forward Chris Webber playing alongside
off-guard Latrell Sprewell, the Warriors made the playoffs.
At the start of the next season, however, a rift formed between Webber and Sprewell on the one
hand and Nelson on the other. All three soon left the team, and the organization went into a
tailspin. The 1994–95 season was the first under new team owner Chris Cohan, who had bought
out Fitzgerald and Finnane. The Warriors selected power forward prospect Joe Smith as their
first overall draft pick in 1995 and hired Rick Adelman as the new head coach. They sent Tim
Hardaway and Chris Gatling to the Miami Heat for Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles midway through
the 1995–96 season, and ended up with a 36–46 record, three wins short of making the playoffs.
While their home court, the Oakland Coliseum Arena, was being extensively renovated, the
1996–97 Warriors played their home games in the San Jose Arena and struggled to a 30–52
finish.[18] Following the season, Mullin was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Erick
Dampier and Duane Ferrell.[19]