Our series on the four jerseys fans of every NBA team continues today. It’s Pacific Division week, and today we’re focusing on the Golden State Warriors. Remember, we’re not just going to list off four popular players in team history. We know that when you’re wearing a jersey, you’re going for a “look.” So every day we’re going to tell you the jersey you’ve got to have, the jersey you can’t go wrong with (in case you can’t find the first one), the jersey that will make people say “Oh, that’s awesome,” and the joke jersey that will have everyone laughing.
The Warriors have a long, storied history in the NBA. They were born the Philadelphia Warriors in the NBA’s predecessor, the BAA. A lot of fans don’t realize when Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in that “Phila” Philadelphia jersey, he was doing it for the Warriors. From there they moved to San Francisco and finally Oakland where they took their current name, the Golden State Warriors.
Wilt was one of the many NBA all-time legends to suit up for the Warriors. And with their three titles, the Warriors have as many as the Pistons and the 76’ers, tying them for 5th most in NBA history. But the Warriors have only been to the playoffs eight times since that title in 1974-75. There have been ups and downs for fans of this franchise. With these four jerseys, we hope to capture the essence of the Warriors fan.
Gotta Have:
Chris Mullin — It was so tempting to cheat here and make the entire “Run TMC” (Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin) your “gotta have” jersey. We even talked about making these three our top three jerseys. But that wouldn’t accurately reflect the history of the team, so we went with the guy who was there the longest. Mullin is one of the NBA’s greatest shooters and he spent many years at or near the top of most shooting categories. Oh, and he was an original Dream-Teamer, too. Mullin is associated with the Warriors perhaps more than any other player in history, making his #17 an absolute gotta-have.
You Can’t Go Wrong With:
Rick Barry — Barry is one of the greatest players of all time. He might not be the most likable guy of all time, but his accomplishments on the floor more than cancel that out. He led the Golden State version of the Warriors to their only title since moving out of Philly. He also led the universe in free throw shooting with his trademark under-hand style. Grab that #24 and wear it proudly. Bonus points if you make it the San Francisco version.
“Oh, That’s Cool”:
Nate Thurmond — Nate might the most underrated big men in history, even though he was named to the “50 Greatest” team. How often do you hear his name mentioned among the All Time greats? He’s fifth all time in rebounds per game, and eighth in total rebounds. In the the 1967-68 season, he averaged 20.5 points and 22.0 rebounds per game. He’d later, after being traded away, record the NBA’s first ever quadruple double. So grab that #42, head down to Big Nate’s BBQ in San Francisco, and hopefully the staff will be so impressed you’re rocking the owner’s jersey, you’ll get a free drink or two.
“Oh, That’s Funny”:
Ed Mikan — So many choices for this one. In the end, we felt we needed to go deep into the franchise’s roots. Back in the early 50’s, when the franchise was in its infancy, a Mikan patrolled the paint for the Warriors. Sadly it was the wrong one. While big brother George was carving out a legendary career in Minneapolis, Ed was bouncing around from team to team trying to make a living. For two years, that living was made with the Warriors. You’ll have to work hard to custom make this #15 jersey, but once you do, Warriors fans will get a kick out of it. Like Jeff Garcia said when we were putting the list together, “being a fan of Ed Mikan is like being a fan of Sylvester Stallone’s brother.”
There you have it. The four jerseys Warriors fans have got to have. Disagree with us? Let us know who we missed in the comments.
Previous jerseys:
Atlantic Division: Boston, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto
Central Division: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee
Southeast Division: Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, Washington
Tomorrow: The Los Angeles Clippers
Jeff Garcia collaborated on this post
