an overview of the best players in each position in Golden State Warriors history, including Kevin Durant, Wilt Chamberlain, and Stephen Curry.
Among the most prosperous teams in NBA history is the Golden State Warriors. They have won four NBA titles since the 2015 campaign, for a total of seven titles. We are going to sift through the archives and rank the best players in team history at every position, just like we did with the Lakers and Celtics in recent weeks.
There are clear favorites for every position in the Warriors’ history, such as Wilt Chamberlain as their best center and Stephen Curry as their best point guard. But how often do we rank the top five players at each position on the court for a team like the Warriors, who appear to have captured everyone’s attention since their 2015 championship run? Up to this point, the answer was seldom.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that we have chosen these rankings exclusively on the basis of the contributions each player made to the Golden State Warriors and their organization when perusing our list and explanations. What they did when they were on other teams has no bearing on this discussion or significance. Now that we have cleared things out, let’s look at the rankings.
According to position, these are the best players in Golden State Warriors history.
The 5 Greatest Point Guards In Golden State Warriors History 1. Stephen Curry
– 4x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 2x MVP, 9x All-Star, 1x All-Star Game MVP, 9x All-NBA Team Selection
2. Tim Hardaway
– 3x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team Selection
3. Guy Rodgers
– 3x All-Star
4. Sleepy Floyd
– 1x All-Star
5. Baron Davis
– N/A
In the past, the point guard position has not always been the best one for the Golden State Warriors. That is, until a man by the name of Stephen Curry showed there and completely rewrote the story. In addition to being the best shooter in NBA history, Stephen Curry is ranked as one of the game’s two greatest point guards ever. His impact on the team and the league, as well as his volume and efficiency, have stood the test of time. He is the only choice to be considered their greatest point guard ever, having won four NBA titles, two MVP awards (including the only unanimous one in NBA history), and one MVP award in the Finals.
The Golden State Warriors selected Tim Hardaway with the 14th overall pick in 1989, and he brought with him some of the best point guard touches and deft footwork we have ever seen. Equipped with a lethal crossover, Hardaway quickly rose to prominence for the squad, winning three consecutive All-Star selections from 1990 to 1992, including his first one in year two. In addition to winning three All-Star choices and two All-NBA Team selections, Hardaway averaged 19.8 points, 9.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while playing for Golden State from 1990 to 1996.
Guy Rodgers played point guard for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors from 1959 through 1966. During that period, Rodgers averaged 12.8 points and 8.3 assists per game, but a championship was out of the question because the Celtics were the league’s dominant team. Rodgers led the team to the playoffs four times and was selected for three All-Star games during his tenure. They made it to the NBA Finals in 1964, but the Celtics defeated them in five games.
You’ve probably never heard of Sleepy Floyd, another point guard for the Warriors. Floyd enjoyed his finest period of play as their starting point guard from 1983 to 1988. In 1987, after averaging 18.8 points, 10.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, he was selected for his only All-Star team. Over his six seasons on the team, he shot 46.8% from the field and averaged 17.7 points, 6.7 assists, and 1.6 steals a game.
Baron Davis is arguably one of the most overlooked and undervalued point guards of all time in the eyes of basketball fans from the 2000s. Davis will always be remembered as the head of Golden State during the We Believe period. In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, Davis guided the Warriors to an upset victory over MVP Dirk Nowitzki and the widely favored Dallas Mavericks in the first round. Throughout his four seasons with the squad from 2005 to 2008, it was his finest achievement. Davis won the 2007 thefts championship by averaging 20.1 points, 8.1 assists, and 2.0 steals a game for Golden State during that period.
The 5 Greatest Shooting Guards In Golden State Warriors History 1. Klay Thompson
– 4x NBA Champion, 5x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, 1x All-Defensive Team Selection
2. Jeff Mullins
– 1x NBA Champion, 3x All-Star
3. Mitch Richmond
– 1x Rookie Of The Year
4. Latrell Sprewell
– 3x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Team Selection, 1x All-Defensive Team Selection
5. Monta Ellis
– 1x Most Improved Player
Another position not devoid of talent in Warriors history is the shooting guard position. As far as this position goes in the Warriors history, Klay Thompson is the runaway choice as an incredible two-way asset and clutch performer which led to four NBA titles in a nine-year stretch. Thompson has become one of the greatest three-point shooters ever alongside his teammate Stephen Curry while also being able to defend multiple positions. Thompson has also given us some incredible moments in his career from 37 points in a quarter to his historical Game 6 playoff performances. Simply put, the history of the Warriors cannot be told without him.
Jeff Mullins is a relatively unknown name when it comes to their greatest shooting guards but he did more than most for the team during his 10 seasons with the team. Mullins averaged 17.5 points per game with the team from 1967 through 1976 while shooting 46.6% from the field. In 1975, Mullins helped the Warriors win an NBA championship in his seventh playoff appearance with the team. Mullins was a three-time All-Star with them as well with four seasons of at least 20.5 points per game and over 46.0% shooting.
One of the more exciting and electric players in Warriors history was Mitch Richmond. Sure, he was more known for his days with the Kings but nobody could ever forget the days of Run TMC in Golden State. Richmond burst onto the scene in 1989 with a Rookie of the Year campaign that saw him average 22.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 46.8% shooting. Although he lasted just three seasons with the team, his impact on the franchise can never be erased.
As horrifying as the ending of his Warriors career was, Latrell Sprewell will always be a large part of their history during the 1990s. Sprewell played with the team from 1993 through 1998 and averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game during that time. By his second season in 1994, Sprewell would earn All-Star, All-NBA, and All-Defensive Team honors which is more than many can say as shooting guards for their team over the years.
One of the more talented yet less accomplished shooting guards in Warriors history was Monta Ellis. He was a scoring machine who averaged 19.6 points per game in seven seasons with the Warriors from 2006 through 2012. In 2007, he earned Most Improved Player honors in his second season going from 6.8 points per game to 16.5 points per game the following year with the We Believe team. In 2010 and 2011, Ellis led the NBA in minutes played while averaging over 34.0 points per game each season and shooting over 44.5%.
The 5 Greatest Small Forwards In Golden State Warriors History 1. Kevin Durant
– 2x NBA Champion, 2x Finals MVP, 3x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Team Selection
2. Rick Barry
– 1x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 1x Rookie Of The Year, 8x All-Star, 1x All-Star Game MVP, 6x All-NBA Team Selection
3. Paul Arizin
– 1x NBA Champion, 1x Rookie Of The Year, 10x All-Star, 1x All-Star Game MVP, 4x All-NBA Team Selection
4. Chris Mullin
– 5x All-Star, 4x All-NBA Team Selection
5. Andre Iguodala
– 4x NBA Champion, 1x Finals MVP, 1x All-Defensive Team Selection
The most complicated and stacked position in Golden State Warriors history has to be the small forward position. Kevin Durant is our number-one small forward in team history considering the levels of dominance he obtained in his three short seasons there. In three years, Durant would lead the team to three Finals appearances and two NBA championships while taking home both Finals MVP awards. He averaged 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game in his time with the team which resulted in one of the most dominant runs we have ever seen from a team in NBA history.
Rick Barry should and could arguably be ahead of Durant as the franchise’s greatest small forward considering his time with the team. Between ABA stints, Barry played eight seasons with Golden State averaging 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. In 1975, he led the Warriors to their third title in franchise history and claimed Finals MVP honors with 29.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. Barry would also take home a scoring title in just his second season with the team averaging 35.6 points per game on 45.1% shooting.
Paul Arizin played his entire 10-year career with the Philadelphia Warriors while also taking a two-year hiatus to serve in the United States Marine Corps. Arizin was a two-time scoring champ with the team averaging 22.8 points and 8.6 rebounds in his career. In 1956, Arizin helped lead the Warriors to an NBA championship averaging 27.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in the series against the Fort Wayne Pistons. He was named an All-Star every season he was on the court as well which very few players have done in their professional careers.
Chris Mullin is an absolute legend in Golden State for his 10 years of service to the franchise. His best stretch as a player came between 1989 and 1993 when he went to five straight All-Star Games and earned four All-NBA Team selections. During this stretch, Mullin averaged 25.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.9 steals per game although playoff success was at a minimum.
The final member of our top five small forwards in Golden State Warriors history is a former Finals MVP and four-time NBA champion, Andre Iguodala. Known more for his defensive efforts than anything else, Iguodala was a key member of the Warriors championship run in 2015. That season, he was a member of the All-Defensive First Team with his play carrying over through the NBA playoffs and Finals. Iguodala was named Finals MVP that series for his defensive efforts against LeBron James which resulted in a six-game series win.
The 5 Greatest Power Forwards In Golden State Warriors History 1. Draymond Green
– 4x NBA Champion, 1x Defensive Player Of The Year, 4x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, 8x All-Defensive Team Selection
2. Jamaal Wilkes
– 1x NBA Champion, 1x Rookie Of The Year, 1x All-Star, 2x All-Defensive Team Selection
3. Jerry Lucas
– 1x All-Star
4. Chris Webber
– 1x Rookie Of The Year
5. Antawn Jamison
– N/A
As far as power forwards go in Golden State Warriors history, it has to be one of the two weakest positions in franchise history after the top spot. Draymond Green takes that spot fairly easily as one of the catalysts for four NBA championships as a defensive and playmaking savant. At his peak, Green was a perennial member of the All-Defensive Team and also the 2017 Defensive Player Of The Year. In his career with the team, he has averaged 8.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game but his leadership and overall impact cannot or will not ever be underestimated.
Jamaal Wilkes played just three short seasons with the Warriors from 1975 through 1977 but his impact on the franchise will never be forgotten. As a rookie in 1975, Wilkes would earn Rookie of the Year honors while also helping the team win their third NBA championship in franchise history next to Rick Barry. He would make two All-Defensive Teams following his tremendous rookie season and averaged 16.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in his three seasons there.
Jerry Lucas spent just one and a half seasons as a member of the Golden State Warriors and still accomplished more than most power forwards in team history. In those 143 games, Lucas averaged 17.5 points and 15.2 rebounds per game for the Warriors. In 1971, Lucas earned an All-Star selection in his only full year with the team averaging 19.2 points and 15.8 rebounds per game.
If you think that is crazy, Chris Webber spent even less time with the Warriors as the number-one overall pick in the 191993 NBA Draft. Due to coach Don Nelson and Webber having irreconcilable differences, Webber would play just one season with the team which is still one of the greatest rookie seasons ever. Webber would play 76 games and averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.2 steals, and 2.2 blocks per game while winning the Rookie of the Year award.
The final power forward that we ranked in the top five for the Golden State Warriors is Antawn Jamison. Although he has no individual accolades to speak of with the team, Jamison played a major role in their franchise’s transition from 1999 through 2003. In his five seasons with Golden State, Jamison would average 20.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game on 45.4% shooting from the field.
The 5 Greatest Centers In Golden State Warriors History 1. Wilt Chamberlain
– 1x MVP, 1x Rookie Of The Year, 6x All-Star, 1x All-Star Game MVP, 6x All-NBA Team Selection
2. Nate Thurmond
– 7x All-Star, 5x All-Defensive Team Selection
3. Neil Johnston
1x NBA Champion, 6x All-Star, 5x All_NBA Team Selection
4. Andrew Bogut
– 1x NBA Champion, 1x All-Defensive Team Selection
5. Robert Parish
– N/A
The Center position is one that is very top-heavy in Warriors history led by the most dominant player to ever play the position for them Wilt Chamberlain rewrote the history books with six straight scoring titles to begin his career with the team which included a 50.4 points per game season in 1962. As a rookie, Chamberlain would win Rookie of the Year, MVP, and All-Star Game MVP averaging 37.6 points and 27.0 rebounds per game. Although he never delivered an NBA title with them, his 41.5 points and 25.1 rebounds per game are two franchise records that will never be broken.
Nate Thurmond was tabbed as Chamberlain’s replacement when they shipped him off to Philadelphia in 1965. Thurmond would play 11 seasons with the Warriors, averaging 17.5 points and 16.9 rebounds per game over that span. In 1968, he recorded one of the very few 20.0 points and 20.0 rebounds per game seasons in NBA history with the Warriors as well. Thurmond just missed out on their 1975 championship run, leaving the team in 1974 to join the Chicago Bulls.
Neil Johnston had a very short but dominant NBA career, all with the Warriors from 1952 through 1959. Johnston would win three scoring titles and one rebounding title during that time, averaging 19.4 points and 11.3 rebounds in his eight-year career. In 1956, Johnston helped lead the Warriors to an NBA championship when he averaged 20.3 points and 14.3 rebounds over the course of the entire playoffs.
Andrew Bogut did not have the greatest career for a former first overall draft pick but he sure made his presence known with the Warriors from 2013 through 2016. Bogut would play a massive role in their 2015 championship run as a member of the All-Defensive Team averaging 6.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game. He served as a massive interior presence in the NBA Finals against the Cavaliers and is forever regarded highly in Warriors history.
The final center that we have ranked in the top five in Warriors history is Robert Parish. Much more well-known for his time with the Celtics, Parish began his career with the Warriors in 1977 and stayed through 1980. Parish would average 13.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks during his four seasons with the Warriors. It wasn’t until the Celtics fleeced the Warriors for Parish’s services in 1980 in one of the most lopsided trades ever that people really began to take notice of how good he was going to be in his caree