1974–75 Golden State Warriors season
Professional basketball team season (won NBA championship)
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The 1974–75 Golden State Warriors season was the 29th season in the franchise's history, its 13th in California and the fourth playing in Oakland. After four seasons of second-place division finishes, the Warriors made various changes. Nate Thurmond was traded to the Chicago Bulls for Clifford Ray, a young defensive center.[1] The club drafted Keith Wilkes (later known as Jamaal Wilkes), whose nickname was "Silk". Cazzie Russell had played out his option and joined the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving Rick Barry as the team's leader. Coach Al Attles implemented a team-oriented system that drew on the contributions of as many as ten players during a game. Barry scored 30.6 points per game, led the NBA in free throw percentage and steals per game, and was sixth in the league in assists per game. The Warriors captured the Pacific Division title with a 48–34 record.[1] This was the Warriors’ third championship, and first since they were in Philadelphia in 1956.
| 1974–75 Golden State Warriors season | |
|---|---|
NBA champions | |
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Al Attles |
| Arena | Oakland Coliseum Arena Cow Palace |
| Results | |
| Record | 48–34 (.585) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | NBA champions (Defeated Bullets 4–0) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KTVU |
| Radio | KNBR |
In the playoffs, the Warriors got to the Western Conference Finals by beating the Seattle SuperSonics in six games.[1] In the Western Finals, the Warriors looked like they were about to lose to former teammate Nate Thurmond. The Warriors found themselves down against the Chicago Bulls 3 games to 2. The Warriors rallied to win Game 6 in Chicago and took the series with an 83–79 Game 7 triumph in Oakland.[1] In the NBA Finals, the Warriors faced off against the Washington Bullets. The Warriors took the series in four straight games, including 1-point wins in Games 2 and 4.[1] Rick Barry was named the finals MVP.
The Warriors would not make another NBA Finals appearance again until 2015, where the team faced off against the Cleveland Cavaliers and won its fourth league title. They would also go on to defeat the Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018, and would not win another championship after that until 2022, where they defeated the Boston Celtics.
Offseason
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Keith Wilkes[a] | F |  United States | UCLA |
| 2 | 29 | Phil Smith | G | United States | San Francisco |
| 3 | 47 | Frank Kendrick | F | United States | Purdue |
| 4 | 65 | Willie Biles | G | United States | Tulsa |
| 5 | 83 | Steve Erickson | United States | Oregon | |
| 6 | 101 | John Errecart | G | United States | Pacific |
| 7 | 119 | Brady Allen | United States | California | |
| 8 | 137 | Clarence Allen | United States | UC Santa Barbara | |
| 9 | 155 | Carl Meier | United States | California | |
| 10 | 172 | Marvin Buckley | United States | Nevada |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
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Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Golden State Warriors | 48 | 34 | .585 | – | 31–10 | 17–24 | 19–11 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 43 | 39 | .524 | 5 | 24–16 | 19–23 | 18–12 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 38 | 44 | .463 | 10 | 29–13 | 9–31 | 16–14 |
| Phoenix Suns | 32 | 50 | .390 | 16 | 22–19 | 10–31 | 12–18 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 18 | 21–20 | 9–32 | 10–20 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Golden State Warriors | 48 | 34 | .585 | – |
| 2 | y-Chicago Bulls | 47 | 35 | .573 | 1 |
| 3 | x-Kansas City–Omaha Kings | 44 | 38 | .537 | 4 |
| 4 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 43 | 39 | .524 | 5 |
| 5 | x-Detroit Pistons | 40 | 42 | .488 | 8 |
| 6 | Portland Trail Blazers | 38 | 44 | .463 | 10 |
| 6 | Milwaukee Bucks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 10 |
| 8 | Phoenix Suns | 32 | 50 | .390 | 16 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Lakers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 18 |
Season schedule
Playoffs
| 1975 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conference Semi-finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
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Conference Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
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NBA Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
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| 1975 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Awards and honors
- Rick Barry, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award[3]
- Rick Barry, All-NBA First Team
- Rick Barry, NBA All-Star Game
- Jamaal Wilkes, NBA Rookie of the Year Award
- Jamaal Wilkes, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
- Dick Vertlieb, NBA Executive of the Year Award
Notes
- Later known as Jamaal Wilkes[2]