Golden State Warriors
From Philadelphia to the Splash era. The Warriors won the first BAA title in 1947, moved west in 1962 and, led by Stephen Curry, won four titles between 2015 and 2022 to reach seven in all.
Warriors pregame: nikk_la, CC BY 2.0
Philadelphia beginnings
The Warriors were a founding member of the Basketball Association of America and won its very first championship in 1947 as the Philadelphia Warriors. They won again in 1956.
Wilt Chamberlain joined in 1959, and it was as a Philadelphia Warrior that he scored 100 points in a game in March 1962, played in Hershey, Pennsylvania. That same year the franchise moved to San Francisco.
Joe Fulks, one of the first great jump-shooting scorers, led the 1947 team, and Paul Arizin and Tom Gola starred on the 1956 champions.
Golden State and the 1975 sweep
The team moved across the bay to Oakland in 1971 and took the name Golden State. In 1975, led by Rick Barry, famous for shooting free throws underhanded, the Warriors swept the heavily favored Washington Bullets in the Finals.
Then came a long dry spell. The 2007 We Believe team, an eighth seed that upset top-seeded Dallas, became a cult favorite, but titles stayed out of reach.
Coach Al Attles, a former Warriors player, guided the 1975 team, and Jamaal Wilkes was Rookie of the Year that season. Later, Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond, the Run TMC trio, made the early 1990s fun to watch.
The Splash Brothers dynasty
Stephen Curry, drafted in 2009, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green turned the Warriors into the team of the decade. Under coach Steve Kerr they won in 2015, went 73-9 in 2015-16 for the best record ever, and added titles in 2017 and 2018 after signing Kevin Durant, who was Finals MVP both years.
In 2022 the core won a fourth title together, beating Boston, with Curry as Finals MVP. Golden State reached six Finals in eight seasons.
Green, a second-round pick in 2012, became the defensive brain of the team, and Andre Iguodala was named Finals MVP in 2015 for his work guarding LeBron James.
A new home
In 2019 the Warriors moved back to San Francisco and into Chase Center. Their shooting-first style changed how every team in the league plays, from spacing to the number of threes attempted each night.
For Fly Baller, the Warriors are the modern blueprint: build around a skill, play with joy, and let the whole world copy you.
Curry passed Ray Allen as the career leader in made threes in 2021 and later became the first player to make 4,000.
- Warriors pregame: nikk_la, CC BY 2.0
- Chase Center: Tony Wasserman from San Francisco, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
Text written by Fly Baller.
