Golden State Warriors
| Golden State Warriors | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Golden State Warriors logo | ||||
| Conference | Western | |||
| Division | Pacific | |||
| Founded | 1946 | |||
| History | Philadelphia Warriors 1946–1962 San Francisco Warriors 1962–1971 Golden State Warriors 1971–present | |||
| Arena | Chase Center | |||
| Location | San Francisco, California | |||
| Team colors | Royal blue, yellow | |||
| Main sponsor | Rakuten | |||
| President | Brandon Schneider | |||
| General manager | Mike Dunleavy Jr. | |||
| Head coach | Steve Kerr | |||
| Ownership | Joe Lacob (majority) Peter Guber | |||
| Affiliation(s) | Santa Cruz Warriors | |||
| Championships | 7 (1947, 1956, 1975, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) | |||
| Conference titles | 7 (1975, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022) | |||
| Division titles | 12 (1948, 1951, 1956, 1964, 1967, 1975, 1976, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) | |||
| Retired numbers | 7 (6, 13, 14, 16, 17, 24, 42) | |||
| Website | www | |||
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The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based within Oakland, California. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 in Philadelphia, the Warriors moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1962 and took the city's name before changing its geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971. The club plays its home games at the Chase Center.
The Warriors won the inaugural Basketball Association of America (BAA) championship in 1947, and won again in 1956, led by Hall of Fame trio Paul Arizin, Tom Gola, and Neil Johnston. After the trade of star Wilt Chamberlain in January 1965, the team finished the 1964–65 season with the NBA's worst record (17–63). Their rebuilding period was brief due largely to the Warriors' drafting of Rick Barry four months after the trade. In 1975, star players Barry and Jamaal Wilkes powered the Warriors to their third championship, widely considered one of the biggest upsets in NBA history.
The team struggled in the 1980s, then became playoff regulars at the turn of the decade with stars Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, and Chris Mullin, nicknamed "Run TMC". Led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, the team returned to championship glory in 2015, with defensive swingman Andre Iguodala being named Finals MVP. In 2016, the Warriors set the record for best regular season record at 73–9 before losing the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers (against whom they played a record four straight finals) and becoming the first team to lose a series after leading 3–1 in the Finals. After signing former MVP Kevin Durant, the team won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018 (Durant winning both Finals MVPs). They lost the 2019 Finals to the Toronto Raptors, a series that saw Durant and Thompson suffer serious Achilles and ACL injuries, respectively; Durant left that off-season. After missing the playoffs the following two seasons, the Warriors returned to the playoffs with a healthy Thompson and a new supporting cast that included All-Star Andrew Wiggins and key scorer Jordan Poole; they defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Finals, where Curry won his first Finals MVP. The Warriors' dynasty has seen the team win four titles in eight seasons, as well as reach five consecutive Finals from 2015 to 2019 (six Finals in eight years); Curry, Green, Thompson, and Iguodala were on all four 21st-century championship teams, Shaun Livingston and Kevon Looney were on three each.
History[edit]
1949-1962: Early Years In Philadelphia[edit]
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. Tyrrell hired Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime basketball promoter in the Philadelphia area, as coach and general manager. The owners named the team after the Philadelphia Warriors, an old basketball team who played in the American Basketball League in 1925. 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. Gottlieb bought the team in 1951. The Warriors won its next championship in Philadelphia in the 1955–56 season, defeating the Fort Wayne Pistons four games to one. The Warrior stars of this era were future Hall of Famers Paul Arizin, Tom Gola and Neil Johnston. After some racist comments made during 1961, the NBA stripped Tyrrell of his power within the franchise and issued him and ban for life; The franchise was eventually sold onto Oakland Sports & Entertainment, an consortium with the leadership of Alan Littler and Cody Taylor, which promptly moved the franchise onto the San Francisco Bay Area.
