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138-638: The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association (ABA) for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels . The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of any franchise in the league's history, but the team did not join the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the 1976 ABA–NBA merger . The downtown Louisville Convention Center (now known as The Gardens)

276-605: A one-game playoff game to determine who would get the playoff bid slated for the Eastern Division's fourth place team. The game was scheduled at the Long Island Arena , as New Jersey's Teaneck Armory was unavailable, but the facility was in such poor condition that the game could not be played, and the Colonels won by forfeit. The Colonels then advanced to the Eastern Division semifinals where they lost to

414-639: A 30-second shot clock (as opposed to the NBA's 24-second clock, though the ABA did switch to the 24 second shot clock for the 1975–76 season) and use of a three-point field goal arc , pioneered in the earlier ABL. Also, the ABA used a colorful red, white and blue ball, instead of the NBA's traditional orange ball. The ABA also had several "regional" franchises, such as the Virginia Squires and Carolina Cougars , that played "home" games in several cities. In

552-550: A 30–52 finish. Following the season, Mullin was traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Erick Dampier and Duane Ferrell . Longtime Seton Hall college coach P. J. Carlesimo , who had been recently fired by the Portland Trail Blazers , replaced Adelman as head coach for the 1997–98 season . Sprewell was suspended for the remainder of the season for losing his temper and choking Carlesimo during

690-536: A dispersal draft, with Gilmore going to Chicago. Maurice Lucas went on to be an all-star for the Portland Trail Blazers and Louie Dampier , who ended up being the all-time leader in points and assists, ended his career as a sixth man for the San Antonio Spurs . Coach Hubie Brown went on to coach the Atlanta Hawks for five seasons after the merger before being fired. The Colonels won 448 games in

828-426: A financial situation or familial needs, players should be able to leave for professional leagues early. While the NBA and NCAA initially contested the rule, after the courts ruled in favor of Haywood playing in the ABA, the NBA followed suit and relaxed the four year rule to allow players to enter the league if they qualified as a hardship on the basis of “financial condition…family, [or] academic record.” Haywood paved

966-458: A firearm incident. They opened the season with six straight losses, but Ellis' rise, Davis' solid injury-free season (21.6 points, 8 assists, 4.6 rebounds per game), and an overall improvement in team chemistry brought them back to playoff contention; but in the end the Warriors failed to make the playoffs despite a 48–34 record, which is the best record in NBA history for a non-playoff team since

1104-472: A franchise record with 21 made three-pointers in a win against the Orlando Magic . In February 2011, the Warriors traded Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric for Troy Murphy and a 2012 second-round pick that was used on Draymond Green. On February 27, Murphy and the Warriors reached a buyout agreement and he was waived. In April 2011, Dorell Wright made a franchise record of 184 three-pointers in a season in

1242-477: A game in Kansas City due to the lack of a suitable arena. In addition to the four surviving ABA teams, eight current NBA markets have ABA heritage: Utah , Dallas , Houston , Miami , New Orleans , Memphis , Minnesota , and Charlotte all had an ABA team before their current NBA teams. With the ABA cut down to seven teams by the middle of its final season, the league abandoned divisional play. In 1999,

1380-676: A game. The Colonels finished in third place in the Eastern Division with a 42–36 record. Their average home attendance was 4,157. In the Eastern Division semifinals the Colonels lost a tight series to their rival the Indiana Pacers , 4 games to 3. The Colonels used their draft picks to select Bob Dandridge , who joined the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA and Herm Gilliam , who signed with the NBA's Cincinnati franchise. Bud Olsen, former Kentucky Wesleyan College star George Tinsley , future Kentucky Wesleyan coach Wayne Chapman and former University of Kentucky star Tommy Kron were added to

1518-421: A great start to the 2005–06 season , entering the new year with a plus .500 winning percentage for the first time since 1994, but managed to win only 13 more games through the end of March due to injuries. Davis often found himself at odds with new head coach Mike Montgomery (used to dealing with college players in his long tenure at Stanford) and failed to remain healthy, playing in just 54 games. On April 5, 2006,

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1656-449: A hamstring pull in late November that kept him out for over a month; during this period, the Warriors' performance suffered significantly on both the defensive and offensive ends of the court and the team posted a losing 5–7 record while revealing a lack of bench depth. With Iguodala back in the lineup, the Warriors went on a 10-game winning streak that included six consecutive wins on a single road trip, tying an NBA record. The winning streak

1794-441: A home win versus Los Angeles Lakers, surpassing Richardson's 183 in 2005–06. In a win against the Portland Trail Blazers , Wright then broke another NBA record, becoming the first player to have scored more points in his seventh season than in all his first six seasons combined. Wright ended the season with the most three-pointers made in the NBA that season with 194, as well as the most three-pointers attempted with 516; each mark set

1932-661: A malcontented Stephen Jackson and seldom-used Acie Law were traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell (out for the season with an injury) and Vladimir Radmanovic . Four days later, they signed center Chris Hunter . Starting in January 2010, they issued multiple 10-day contracts, most notably to power forward Anthony Tolliver from the Idaho Stampede . Due to their multiple injuries, they were granted an exception allowing them to sign Reggie Williams from

2070-524: A new Warriors franchise record. Following the season, Curry received the NBA Sportsmanship Award . Coach Smart was dismissed on April 27, 2011, due to the change in ownership. Team President Rowell was also terminated and replaced with Rick Welts . Seventeen-year NBA veteran and former ABC and ESPN commentator Mark Jackson replaced Smart as head coach on June 6. The Warriors selected future All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson with

2208-577: A new league calling itself the ABA 2000 was established. The new league uses a similar red, white and blue basketball as the old ABA, but unlike the original ABA, it does not feature players of similar caliber to the NBA, nor does it play games in major arenas or on television as the original ABA did. Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco . The Warriors compete in

2346-490: A one-year partially guaranteed contract containing a second-year team option; Lin became the first Taiwanese-American player in NBA history. Louis Amundson was then added for little under $ 5 million in mid-September. After coach Don Nelson resigned in September 2010, assistant coach Keith Smart was hired as the team's new head coach. The Warriors won 36 games and failed to make the playoffs in 2010–11. The team broke

2484-412: A playoff berth in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1991 and 1992. However, just one day earlier in a loss against the Portland Trail Blazers , Andrew Bogut suffered a cracked rib kept him out of the postseason; the injury dealt a blow to the sixth-seed Warriors' playoff hopes. Even as the team rolled towards the postseason, signs emerged of trouble in the Warriors' front office. On March 25,

2622-568: A short and easy series win with a Game 1 victory in Dallas thanks to Davis' frantic style of play. The Mavericks came back to win Game 2 easily to tie the series at a game apiece, but the Warriors won both Games 3 and 4 with a huge lift from the home crowd at Oracle Arena. A close Game 5 saw the Mavericks eke out a 118–112 victory with a last-minute surge led by superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki to send

2760-446: A starting role. However, Curry suffered a series of ankle and foot-related injuries that limited him to 26 regular-season games. The Warriors' 2012 off-season moves changed the course of the franchise. In the 2012 draft , the Warriors selected small forward Harrison Barnes with the 7th overall pick, center Festus Ezeli with the 30th pick, small forward Draymond Green with the 35th pick, and 7-foot-1 center Ognjen Kuzmic with

2898-654: A team practice in December, generating the glaring newspaper headline "WARRIORS HIT ROCK BOTTOM" and the declaration by general manager Garry St. Jean that Sprewell would never play for the Warriors again. He would not play in the NBA again until he was dealt in January 1999 to the New York Knicks for John Starks , Chris Mills and Terry Cummings . St. Jean had become the new Warriors' general manager in July 1997; he and his predecessor Dave Twardzik received much of

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3036-658: A terrific regular season. Mullaney coached in the ABA All Star Game, heading up the East team which won 142–115. Dan Issel, Louie Dampier and Artis Gilmore each played in the All Star Game for the East team; Issel was the game's Most Valuable Player. Gilmore ended up as the league's Most Valuable Player at the end of the season and was also the league's Rookie of the Year. Gilmore's impressive statistics included leading

3174-535: A torrid finish to the regular season, which saw them win 23 of 26 games, they ripped through the playoffs, and beat their nemesis, the Indiana Pacers , in a dominant 4 games to 1 victory to win the 1975 ABA championship . Gilmore scored 28 points and grabbed an amazing 31 rebounds in the final game. That same season the Golden State Warriors won the NBA Title. Colonels owner, John Y. Brown, offered

3312-467: A unanimous declaration of support from his players and a three-year 121–109 (.526) record that marked a major turnaround and placed him fourth on the franchise's all-time wins list, trailing Alvin Attles (557), Don Nelson (422) and Eddie Gottlieb (263). Over the 17 years before Jackson took the helm in 2011, the franchise had averaged 30.2 wins per season and made the playoffs only once. Jackson became just

3450-691: Is slightly better than the Colonels'.The Colonels' winning percentage during the Utah Stars ABA existence was 65%.) The Colonels' playoff record was 55–46 (.545). Only the Indiana Pacers won more ABA playoff games (69). On March 6, 1967, the American Basketball Association awarded the franchise that became the Kentucky Colonels to Don Regan for $ 30,000. Later that year the franchise was bought by Joseph Gregory, Mamie Gregory and William C. Boone. John Givens

3588-459: Is still shown on TV in the NBA's Greatest Games series. The second-half performance by the Warriors' All-Star point guard Sleepy Floyd still stands as the NBA playoff record for points scored in a quarter (29) and in a half (39). His six consecutive field goals in the fourth quarter led to a 51-point finish for him and a victory for the Warriors. The "Sleepy Floyd game" catalyzed increased interest in

3726-546: The 1969 ABA All-Star Game in Louisville. Kentucky coach Gene Rhodes was the head coach for the East team, which lost to the West 133–127. Darel Carrier and Louie Dampier repeated as ABA All Stars and were joined by Kentucky's Jim "Goose" Ligon. During this season the Colonels fielded the first ever female professional basketball player when jockey Penny Ann Early joined the team for pregame warmups and appeared briefly during

3864-676: The 1971–72 season , to suggest that the team represented the entire state of California. Almost all home games were played in Oakland that season; six were played in San Diego, but none in San Francisco or Daly City. Oakland Arena became the team's exclusive home court in 1971. The Warriors made the playoffs from 1971 to 1977 except in 1974, and won their first NBA championship on the West Coast in 1974–75 . In what many consider

4002-664: The Cow Palace in Daly City (the facility lies just south of the San Francisco city limits) from 1962 to 1964 and the San Francisco Civic Auditorium from 1964 to 1966, though occasionally playing home games in nearby cities such as Oakland and San Jose . They also played frequently at The University of San Francisco gymnasium. Prior to the 1963–64 NBA season , the Warriors drafted big man Nate Thurmond to go along with Chamberlain. The Warriors won

4140-521: The Los Angeles Clippers . With the 14th pick of that year's draft , the Warriors selected and signed Anthony Randolph out of LSU. To compensate for the loss of Davis, the Warriors signed free agents Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf and re-signed Ellis and Andris Biedriņš to long-term contracts. The Warriors had a disappointing 2008–09 season , finishing 29–53. Ellis was injured in a moped accident, and suspended for 30 games for riding

4278-652: The Louisville Breckenridges left the National Football League in 1923. The Louisville -based Colonels started their time in the ABA as a colorful franchise, and not just because of their bright chartreuse green uniforms. Among the things they were known for was their " mascot " Ziggy, a prize-winning Brussels Griffon dog that was owned by original team owners Joe and Mamie Gregory. They were equally famous for publicity stunts, their most famous coming in 1968 when Penny Ann Early ,

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4416-587: The Minnesota Muskies 3 games to 2. Among the Colonels' draft picks was University of Louisville star Wes Unseld , who opted to take a higher paying deal with the NBA's Baltimore franchise. The Colonels also drafted Manny Leaks and Gene Moore , who signed with the team. Sam Smith was acquired from Minnesota and then Randy Mahaffey and Manny Leaks were traded to the New York Nets for Oliver Darden and Andy Anderson . The Colonels hosted

4554-818: 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 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

4692-506: The Sacramento Kings for rookie power forward Billy Owens , a promising young front-court player meant to complement the coach's run-and-gun system . Nelson had been brought to the Warriors from the Milwaukee Bucks by Jim Fitzgerald , who co-owned the team from 1986 to 1995 with Dan Finnane. In 1993–94 , with first-round draft pick and Rookie of the Year power forward Chris Webber playing with off-guard Latrell Sprewell ,

4830-632: The Sioux Falls Skyforce to a 10-day contract on March 2. They eventually waived the injured Bell to sign Williams for the rest of the year and finished the season 26–56, failing to make the playoffs. Curry finished second in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting to the Sacramento Kings ' Tyreke Evans and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team . The Warriors selected Ekpe Udoh , a power forward from Baylor, as

4968-555: The "Dubs" as a shortening of "W's", the Warriors hold several NBA records: best regular season , most wins in a season (regular season and postseason combined), and best postseason run. Curry and Thompson are generally considered among the greatest backcourts of all time. The Warriors have the third most NBA championships and have the third most Finals appearances; only the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics have more. Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry have been named

5106-464: The 11th pick in the 2011 NBA draft . However, the team did not improve in the 2011–12 NBA season under coach Jackson, finishing the lockout-shortened season with a 23–43 record (13th in the conference) and again failing to make the playoffs. Due to the 2011 NBA lockout , Jackson could not establish his system in training camp. Hindered by several injuries to key players, the team then entered into another chaotic rebuilding phase. Team leader Monta Ellis

5244-571: The 1973–74 season, the ABA also adopted the no-disqualification foul rule: instead of fouling out after six infractions, when a player is charged with his seventh or succeeding fouls, the opposing team retains possession and the offended team attempts any free throw. The ABA also went after four of the best referees in the NBA: Earl Strom , John Vanak , Norm Drucker and Joe Gushue , getting them to "jump" leagues by offering them far more in money and benefits. In Earl Strom's memoir Calling

5382-632: 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 . In 2016 , the Warriors achieved the best-ever regular-season record at 73–9 before losing the Finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games. After signing former MVP Kevin Durant ,

5520-429: The 2009 off-season, Warrior ownership declined to renew the contract of general manager Chris Mullin. Larry Riley , Nelson's longtime assistant coach, was promoted in his place; Riley drafted Curry and traded Jamal Crawford to the Atlanta Hawks for Acie Law and Speedy Claxton . The Warriors had another injury-prone year in 2009–10 as they were consistently unable to field their ideal starting lineup. In November,

5658-477: The 2013–14 season showing flashes of brilliance and also plenty of lapses. In early December their record was 12–9, as compared to 17–4 the year before. One challenging factor was a tough starting schedule that saw them play 14 of their first 22 games on the road, including 10 games against teams holding playoff spots in the standings. A stream of injuries also held the team back, including injuries to Ezeli, Douglas, and O'Neal. Most prominently of all, Iguodala suffered

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5796-547: The 52nd pick. According to sportswriter Anthony Slater, in this draft, "Golden State got a starter [Barnes], a rotation player [Ezeli] and a transcendent talent that perfectly fit the small-ball direction of the league [Green]." In addition, Curry agreed to a four-year, $ 44 million rookie scale contract extension. At the time, many basketball writers considered the move risky for Golden State because of Curry's injury history. In 2016, however, Slater argued that Curry's relatively inexpensive contract paid "huge dividends" by freeing up

5934-504: The 6th pick of the 2010 NBA draft. They also introduced a modernized version of their "The City" logo depicting the new eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge , and switched to a simplified color scheme of royal blue and gold. They also introduced new uniforms reminiscent of the 1969–71 "The City" uniforms. The Warriors made an off-season trade that sent Turiaf, Randolph and Kelenna Azubuike to

6072-568: The ABA All Star Game and were joined by Gene Moore. The Colonels finished the season with a record of 45–39 which was good for second place in the Eastern Division. The Colonels defeated the New York Nets 4 games to 3 in the Eastern Division semifinals but lost in the Eastern Division finals to the Indiana Pacers, 4 games to 1. In July the Colonels traded Jim "Goose" Ligon, Gene Moore and Bud Olsen to Dallas for Cincy Powell . They also signed University of Kentucky star Dan Issel . Issel

6210-467: The ABA eventually caught on with fans, but the lack of a national television contract and protracted financial losses would spell doom for the ABA as an independent circuit. In 1976, its last year of existence, the ABA pioneered the now-popular slam dunk contest at its all-star game in Denver . The league succeeded in forcing a merger with the NBA in the 1976 offseason. Four ABA teams were absorbed into

6348-591: The ABA rejoined the Warriors in 1972. During Barry's absence, the Warriors were no longer title contenders, and the mantle of leadership fell to Thurmond, Jeff Mullins and Rudy LaRusso . They began scheduling more home games in Oakland with the opening of the Oakland Coliseum Arena in 1966 and the 1970–71 season was the team's last as the San Francisco Warriors. The franchise adopted its brand name Golden State Warriors prior to

6486-599: The ABA, more than any other team or franchise. The Colonels' overall regular season record was 448–296; their .602 winning percentage is better than that of any ABA franchise except for the Minnesota Muskies who only played one season. (If the Utah Stars ' statistics are counted on their own, excluding their seasons as the Anaheim Amigos and the Los Angeles Stars, that team's winning percentage, .608,

6624-492: The Bay Area. A new rule was implemented in response to second-round draft picks who quickly become superstars. In June 2003, Cohan elevated marketing executive Robert Rowell to team president, a role which involved hiring, firing and contract negotiation on the basketball side. After a disappointing 2003-04 season , head coach Eric Musselman and St. Jean were fired. Mike Montgomery was hired as head coach and Chris Mullin

6762-734: The Bucks beat the Colonels 131–100. On October 6, 1972, the Phoenix Suns played the Colonels at Freedom Hall. The Suns won, 103–91. The next night the Colonels lost a close game to the Baltimore Bullets, 95–93. Louie Dampier, Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore returned to the ABA All-Star Game. Gilmore was again First Team All-ABA and posted a 55.9% field goal percentage and averaged 17.6 rebounds per game. Issel led

6900-601: The Colonels being part of the merger. They owned the NBA rights to Artis Gilmore , and desperately wanted him on their roster, even at the expense of accepting the geographically much closer Pacers in their place. As a result, John Y. Brown, Jr. was forced to fold the Colonels. Brown would indeed get an NBA franchise: he purchased the Buffalo Braves in 1976, then traded it for the Boston Celtics two years later. Colonels players were distributed to other teams in

7038-709: The Colonels hosted the NBA's Atlanta Hawks for an exhibition game in Frankfort . Julius Erving played for the Hawks, posting 28 points and 18 rebounds in 42 minutes. The Hawks prevailed, 112–99. On September 30, 1972, the Colonels traveled to Phoenix, Arizona for an exhibition game against the Phoenix Suns . The Colonels won, 120–118. On October 1, 1972, the Milwaukee Bucks returned to Freedom Hall. Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar each scored 20 points as

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7176-561: The Colonels moved their home games from the Louisville Convention Center (now Louisville Gardens ) to Freedom Hall . The Colonels defeated The Floridians 4 games to 2 in the Eastern Division semifinals and defeated the Virginia Squires 4 games to 2 in the Eastern Division finals. Facing the Utah Stars in the ABA championship, the Colonels and Stars each won three games before Utah pulled out Game 7 at home in front of an ABA record crowd. The Colonels finished as

7314-412: The Colonels uniform change was that the players' last names on the back had only the first letter capitalized, as opposed to all capital letters, which are almost universally featured on the back of nearly every professional or collegiate basketball uniform where names are featured on the back. Issel's signing helped the Colonels become well known as a legitimate basketball team. Despite an average record in

7452-512: The Indiana Pacers, 4 games to 3. Prior to the Colonels' 1973–74 season the Colonels drafted M. L. Carr and Ron Behagen ; Carr stayed in college and Behagen signed with the NBA's Kansas City-Omaha Kings . The Colonels also selected Ernie DiGregorio in a special circumstance draft but he signed with the NBA's Buffalo Braves . In July 1973 the franchise was bought by a group headed by John Y. Brown, Jr. and his wife Ellie Brown. Ellie Brown

7590-694: The Knicks, the Nets were forced to pay $ 4.3M to the Knicks organization. The Nets offered league superstar Julius Erving instead but the Knicks declined. The Nets had to settle for an arena in Piscataway, New Jersey , and, to meet expenses, were forced to sell the contract of Erving to the Philadelphia 76ers . Two other clubs, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis , were disbanded upon

7728-598: The Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for veteran point guard Steve Blake . Boosted by the additions of Blake and Crawford and the play of 35-year-old Jermaine O'Neal (who returned sooner than expected from wrist surgery), the Warriors were one of the winningest teams in the NBA after the All-Star break. On April 11, in a 112–95 stomping of the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, the Warriors clinched

7866-544: The Mavericks in the regular-season series. The Warriors went on to play the Utah Jazz in the second round of the 2006–07 playoffs, where they dropped two close games at EnergySolutions Arena to open the series. The series then shifted to the Oracle Arena, where the Warriors won Game 3 in a convincing fashion. Davis scored 32 points and electrified the crowd with a monster dunk on Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko late in

8004-800: The Miami Heat, to a three-year, $ 11 million deal. On July 15, 2010, owner Chris Cohan sold the Warriors to Peter Guber of Mandalay Entertainment and his partner Joe Lacob for a then-record $ 450 million. On November 15, the Warriors announced the new 19-person ownership group composed of Joe Lacob , Peter Guber , Vivek Ranadivé , Erika Glazer, Fred Harman , Bob Piccinini, Larry Bowman, Danny German, Marty Glick, Chad Hurley , Craig R. Johnson, Bruce Karsh , Jeffrey A. Miller, Paul Schaeffer, David Scially, Nick Swinmurn , Harry Tsao, John Walecka, Dennis Wong and Chamath Palihapitiya . The Warriors continued their 2010 off-season signing spree by adding Harvard guard Jeremy Lin to their roster with

8142-437: The NBA Champs a million dollars to play a one-game world championship. The Warriors and the NBA refused. The celebration of the 1975 season ended when John Y. Brown, Jr. dealt Dan Issel to the ABA's new Baltimore Claws franchise (which folded after a few preseason exhibition games, never taking the floor in the regular season) for financial reasons. They acquired all-star Caldwell Jones to replace him, but he never gelled with

8280-411: The NBA after being one year removed from their high school graduation. The origin of the Hardship Rule was a result of the NBA prohibiting players from joining the league until they had completed their four years of college eligibility. In 1969, Spencer Haywood left the University of Detroit as a sophomore and signed with the Denver Rockets. The ABA believed that in extenuating circumstances, such as

8418-403: The NBA and the Spirits ownership agreed to phase out future payments in exchange for a one-time payment of $ 500M, making the total value for the deal over $ 800M. The seventh remaining team, the Virginia Squires , received nothing, as they had ceased operations shortly before the merger. The players from the Colonels, Spirits, and Squires were made available to NBA teams through a dispersal draft;

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8556-461: The NBA in 1976–77 as a season-long competition for that season only, and on a permanent basis as a standalone event as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend in 1984. Of the original 11 teams, only the Kentucky Colonels and Indiana Pacers remained for all nine seasons without relocating, changing team names, or folding. However, the Denver Larks/Rockets/Nuggets , a team that had been planned for Kansas City, Missouri , moved to Denver without playing

8694-399: The NBA in the Bay Area; so did new coach Don Nelson , who engineered a string of wins in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the high-scoring trio of point guard Tim Hardaway , guard Mitch Richmond and forward Chris Mullin. Collectively known as " Run TMC " after the rap group Run-D.M.C. , the trio stayed together for just two seasons and won only one playoff series. Nelson sent Richmond to

8832-409: The NBA playoffs had expanded to eight teams per conference. The Western Conference was very strong that season; every playoff team won 50 games, leaving the Warriors two games out of the last playoff spot. The Warriors sold out nearly every home game during the season averaging 19,631 per game, the highest in team history. In the 2008 off-season, Baron Davis opted to return to his hometown and sign with

8970-474: The NBA style of play forever. On March 2, 1962, in a Warrior "home" game played on a neutral court in Hershey, Pennsylvania , Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks , a single-game record the NBA ranks among its finest moments. In 1962, Franklin Mieuli purchased the majority shares of the team and relocated the franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors. The Warriors played most of their home games at

9108-458: The NBA's MVPs while playing for the Warriors, for a total of three MVP awards. 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

9246-436: The New York Knicks in return for star high-scoring power forward David Lee via a sign-and-trade. Lee agreed to a six-year, $ 80 million deal, on a framework contingent on the decision of superstar forward LeBron James to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the Miami Heat that same day. Following Morrow's departure after he signed the New Jersey Nets ' offer sheet, the Warriors signed Dorell Wright , formerly with

9384-409: The Phoenix Suns basketball team from 2007 to 2010, and had recently been working as an NBA broadcast analyst for Turner Network Television (TNT). The Warriors also signed point guard Shaun Livingston and guard Leandro Barbosa during the off-season. The Warriors completed the 2014–2015 regular season with a league-best record of 67–15, setting a Warriors record for wins. The team finished with

9522-663: The Shots , Strom conveys both the heady sense of being courted by a rival league with money to burn — and also the depression that set in the next year when he began refereeing in the ABA, with less prominent players performing in inadequate arenas, in front of very small crowds. Nevertheless, the emergence of the ABA boosted the salaries of referees just as it did the salaries of players. However ABA Teams like Nets, Colonels, Pacers, Spurs, Nuggets and Stars, especially in latest seasons, registered higher attendance on average than most of NBA teams at that time (excluding Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, SuperSonics and Bucks). The freewheeling style of

9660-444: The Utah Jazz. With their lone selection in the 2013 NBA draft , the Warriors made 22-year-old Serbian combo-guard Nemanja Nedovic the 30th and final pick of the first round. Other off-season changes included the departure of free agents Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry and the signings of forward-center Marreese Speights , center Jermaine O'Neal , point guard Toney Douglas , and Serbian center Ognjen Kuzmic . The Warriors began

9798-423: The Utah Stars for a draft pick and cash, and then sent Mike Gale and Wendell Ladner to the New York Nets for former Colonel John Roche. American Basketball Association The ABA was conceived at a time stretching from 1960 through the mid-1970s when numerous upstart leagues were challenging, with varying degrees of success, the established major professional sports leagues in the United States. Basketball

9936-726: The Utah Stars. Mullaney was succeeded by Babe McCarthy . In preseason play against the NBA the Colonels defeated the Houston Rockets 110–102 at Freedom Hall on September 21, 1973, and defeated the Kansas City-Omaha Kings 110–99 the following night. In January 1974 the Colonels traded Jim O'Brien and a first round draft pick to the San Diego Conquistadors for Red Robbins and Chuck Williams . That same month Kentucky dealt Rick Mount to

10074-473: The Warriors in the fourth quarter of a playoff game against the Lakers, though he was later traded to the Houston Rockets. The departure of these players for various reasons symbolized the franchise's futility during this period, as head coach Attles moved up to the front office as general manager in 1980 and the team made several coaching changes. New owners Jim Fitzgerald and Dan Finane finally managed to return

10212-474: The Warriors made the playoffs. At the start of the next season, however, a rift formed between Webber and Sprewell on the one hand and Nelson on the other. All three soon left the team, and the organization went into a tailspin. The 1994–95 season was the first under new team owner Chris Cohan , who had bought out Fitzgerald and Finnane. The Warriors selected power forward prospect Joe Smith as their first overall draft pick in 1995 and hired Rick Adelman as

10350-402: The Warriors seemed like a team on the rise; but the young Warriors did not have enough in the competitive Western Conference to make the playoffs. After the 2002–03 season , St. Jean's earlier mistakes of committing money to players like Danny Fortson , Adonal Foyle and Erick Dampier were painfully felt by Warriors' fans when the team was unable to re-sign Arenas despite his desire to stay in

10488-557: The Warriors to "run and gun" their way to the playoffs with a more athletic and talented team. On March 4, 2007, the Warriors suffered a 106–107 loss in Washington, the Wizards handing them their 6th straight loss when former Warrior Arenas hit a technical free throw with less than one second remaining after Nelson had protested a controversial call with the Warriors ahead by a slim margin. The loss dropped them to 26–35. March 4 marked

10626-611: The Warriors to the NBA Finals in the 1966–67 season , losing (four games to two) to Chamberlain's new team that had replaced the Warriors in Philadelphia, the 76ers . Angered by management's failure to pay him certain incentive bonuses he felt were due him, Barry sat out the 1967–68 season and signed with the Oakland Oaks of the rival American Basketball Association for the following year, but after four seasons in

10764-470: The Warriors were officially eliminated from playoff contention in a 114–109 overtime loss to the Hornets , extending their playoff drought to 12 seasons. Entering the 2006–07 season , the Warriors held the active record (12) for the most consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance (see Active NBA non-playoff appearance streaks ). During the 2006 off-season, Golden State announced that it had bought out

10902-565: The Western Conference Finals. Due to the loss of key players such as Barry, Wilkes and Thurmond to trades and retirements, the Warriors struggled to put a competitive team on the court from 1978 to 1987 after being one of the NBA's dominant teams in the 1960s and most of the 1970s. Through the NBA draft, however, they acquired some players such as high-scoring forward Purvis Short (1978), former Purdue center Joe Barry Carroll (1980) and center Robert Parish (1976), who

11040-479: The Western Division crown that season, but lost the 1964 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics , four games to one. In the 1964–65 season, the Warriors traded Chamberlain to the Philadelphia 76ers for Connie Dierking , Lee Shaffer , Paul Neumann and $ 150,000 and won only 17 games. In 1965, they drafted Rick Barry in the first round who went on to become NBA Rookie of the Year that season and then led

11178-440: The biggest upset in NBA history, Golden State not only defeated the heavily favored Washington Bullets but humiliated them in a four-game sweep. That team was coached by former Warrior Al Attles , and led on the court by Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes . Barry was named Finals MVP. At 59–23, the Warriors had the league's best record during the 1975–76 season . They were upset, however, by the 42–40 Phoenix Suns in seven games in

11316-477: The blame for the Warriors' struggles early in Cohan's turbulent tenure as owner in addition to Cohan himself. St. Jean brought in players such as Terry Cummings, John Starks and Mookie Blaylock who were well past their primes. Twardzik drafted several flops, such as Todd Fuller (while Kobe Bryant was still available as well as Steve Nash and Jermaine O'Neal ) and Steve Logan (who never played an NBA game). In

11454-472: The final ABA All-Star Game in 1976. The game was held in Denver, and the owners of the ABA teams wanted to ensure that the event would be entertaining for the sellout crowd of 15,021 people. The ABA and NBA had begun to discuss a possible merger, and the ABA owners wanted to establish the viability and success of their league. The Dunk Contest operated as a means of unique halftime entertainment that displayed

11592-531: The first licensed female horse racing jockey , was signed to appear in an ABA game (albeit for a few seconds). The early color of their franchise began to wane during the 1970–71 season, when they signed another Wildcat star in All-American Dan Issel . They also dropped the chartreuse green uniforms in favor of a blue and white scheme similar to that of the Wildcats. Another abnormality to

11730-525: The first time since 1992. The Warriors also achieved a milestone by completing their first ever 6–1 road trip in franchise history, including a 97–95 win over the defending champion Heat in Miami. On April 9, 2013, with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves , the Warriors clinched the playoffs for the second time in 19 years and the first time since the 2006–07 "We Believe" Warriors. This time,

11868-403: The following draft, the team selected Adonal Foyle while Tracy McGrady was still available. St. Jean did, however, draft future two-time NBA slam dunk champion off-guard Jason Richardson (from Michigan State ), a Warriors' star scorer through the 2006–07 season. For a few years, with rising stars Richardson, small forward Antawn Jamison and point guard Gilbert Arenas leading the team,

12006-491: The former star for the University of Kentucky and the Boston Celtics . Kentucky's Dan Issel and Cincy Powell played in the ABA All-Star Game. Issel was named Co-Rookie of the Year, along with Charlie Scott of the Virginia Squires . The Colonels finished the regular season with a record of 44–40 and in second place in the Eastern Division. Their average home attendance for the season was 7,375. Beginning with this season

12144-457: The four teams absorbed by the NBA were allowed to choose players from this draft. One of the more significant long-term contributions of the ABA to professional basketball was to tap into markets in the southeast that had been collegiate basketball hotbeds (including North Carolina , Virginia , and Kentucky). The NBA was focused on the urban areas of the Northeast, Midwest and West Coast. At

12282-527: The fourth quarter, but they lost Game 4 at home, their first loss in Oakland in well over a month and the Jazz closed them out in Game 5 in Salt Lake City . In the 2007–08 season, the Warriors faced early difficulties in their attempt to return to the playoffs. Richardson was traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for rookie Brandan Wright . To make things even worse, Jackson was suspended for seven games over

12420-628: The league in minutes played with 3,531. The Colonels finished in second place in the Eastern Division with a record of 56 wins and 28 losses. Their average home attendance was 7,113. The Colonels beat the Virginia Squires 4 games to 1 in the Eastern Division Semifinals and beat the Carolina Cougars 4 games to 3 in the Eastern Division finals. The Colonels then lost a very close ABA Championship Series to

12558-492: The league with 3,666 minutes in play, a field goal percentage of 59.8% and an average of 17.8 rebounds per game. Gilmore and Issel were both on the All-ABA First Team. Kentucky finished the season with the best record ever posted in ABA play, with 68 wins and 16 losses, a winning percentage of .810. This secured the Colonels' first ever first-place finish in the Eastern Division. The Colonels' average home attendance

12696-501: The league's entire history. Yet, in the playoffs, they were upset by the New York Nets in the first round. Kentucky recovered and made another championship run during the 1972–73 playoffs , but lost a physical series to the Indiana Pacers in 7 games, 4 games to 3. After the season, the franchise was nearly moved out-of-state to Cincinnati , but was purchased by John Y. Brown, Jr. , a future Kentucky governor who owned Kentucky Fried Chicken for years. Brown helped increase interest in

12834-538: The league's runner up. The Colonels' draft picks included Artis Gilmore , John Roche and Mike Gale , who all signed with Kentucky, and Fred Brown and Larry Steele , who signed with the Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers of the NBA, respectively. The Colonels then sold Roche to the New York Nets. Gilmore, like Issel, signed a contract for 10 years and $ 1.5 million. Joe Mullaney

12972-574: The local battle cry was "We Belong". The team finished the season with a record of 47–35, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and defeated the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs by winning four out of six games. They lost in the second round to the San Antonio Spurs , four games to two. This was the first playoff experience for all of the starters of this group except for Andrew Bogut. Other highlights of

13110-457: The merger, with each getting a buyout: the Colonels received a one-time buyout that owner John Y. Brown, Jr. used to purchase the NBA's Buffalo Braves , while the Spirits owners negotiated a cut of the other ABA teams' television revenues in perpetuity. This deal netted the ownership group of the Spirits over $ 300M over nearly four decades due to a large increase in television revenues. In 2014,

13248-445: The necessary funds to allow the team to "keep a strong core around him". The team made a series of other moves, trading Dorell Wright, obtaining point guard Jarrett Jack, and signing forward Carl Landry . Despite early-season injuries to Brandon Rush and Andrew Bogut, and despite starting two rookies (Barnes and Ezeli), the 2012–13 Warriors had one of their best starts in decades. The team earned 20 wins in less than 30 games played for

13386-653: The new head coach. They sent Tim Hardaway and Chris Gatling to the Miami Heat for Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles midway through the 1995–96 season , and ended up with a 36–46 record, three wins short of making the playoffs. While their home court, the Oakland Coliseum Arena, was being extensively renovated, the 1996–97 Warriors played their home games in the San Jose Arena and struggled to

13524-487: The older league: the New York Nets , Denver Nuggets , Indiana Pacers , and San Antonio Spurs . As part of the merger agreement, the four teams were not permitted to participate in the 1976 NBA draft . The merger was particularly hard on the Nets; the New York Knicks were firmly established in their arena, Madison Square Garden , and would not permit the Nets to share dates there. For drawing audience away from

13662-434: The regular season, they made a serious run at the 1971 ABA championship . They fell just short, however, and lost to the Utah Stars in seven games. They proved to be even better in 1971, with the signing of Artis Gilmore . Gilmore's signing would help make the Colonels a legitimate powerhouse for years to come. The Colonels won 68 games in his rookie campaign under coach Joe Mullaney ; their record turned out to be best in

13800-549: The remaining two years of coach Montgomery's contract and hired previous Golden State and former Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson to take over for him. During training camp, small forward Matt Barnes established himself in the rotation. On January 17, 2007, the Warriors traded the disappointing Murphy and Dunleavy with promising young power forward Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod to the Indiana Pacers for forward Al Harrington , forward/guard Stephen Jackson , guard Šarūnas Jasikevičius and forward Josh Powell . This trade allowed

13938-465: The roster. In April 1969 the Colonels were bought by a group of Louisville investors that included H. Wendell Cherry , Bill DeWitt, J. David Grissom , Stuart P. Jay, David A. Jones , John Y. Brown, Jr. and Mike Storen . Storen had previously been the president and general manager of the Indiana Pacers. The group then hired former University of Kentucky star Alex Groza as the team's business manager. Darel Carrier and Louie Dampier again appeared in

14076-446: The season included Stephen Curry's 272 three-point baskets (an NBA single-season record for the player nicknamed "baby-faced assassin") and the naming of forward David Lee to the 2013 NBA All-Star Game as a reserve, ending the team's 16-year drought without an All Star selection. Curry and Klay Thompson, dubbed the " Splash Brothers " by team employee Brian Witt for their backcourt shooting prowess, combined for 483 three-pointers during

14214-404: The season with 261 threes, set an individual record for most three-pointers in a span of two seasons with 533, surpassing the previous mark of 478 set by former Seattle SuperSonics legend Ray Allen in 2004–05 and 2005–06. Together, Thompson and Curry combined for 484 threes on the year, besting by one the NBA record they had set the year before. Jackson was fired as coach on May 6, 2014, despite

14352-448: The season with a record of 51–31. The team won more than 50 games for only the fourth time in franchise history, finished 20 games over .500 for the first time in 22 years, and tied the 1991–92 squad for the franchise's all-time mark of 24 wins on the road. Even without Bogut, the Warriors battled the third-seed Los Angeles Clippers to a seventh and deciding game in the first round of the playoffs before their 2013–14 season came to an end. It

14490-493: The season, easily besting the prior record of 435 set by the Orlando Magic's Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott in 1995–96. During the 2013 off-season, Golden State signed former Denver Nuggets swingman and future NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala to a four-year, $ 48 million deal. To make room under the salary cap, the Warriors traded Richard Jefferson , Andris Biedriņš and Brandon Rush (along with multiple draft picks) to

14628-468: The series back to California at 3–2. In Game 6, the Warriors engineered a third-quarter 18–0 run to eliminate the Mavericks and become the NBA's first No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in a seven-game series (and the first NBA No. 8 seed to beat the top seed since 1999 when the New York Knicks eliminated the Miami Heat). It was an upset in name only, given the fact that the Warriors had swept

14766-594: The stars of the New York Knicks championship teams, moved from his job as vice president and GM of the ABA's New York Nets in 1975 to become the last commissioner of the ABA and facilitate the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. One of the primary contributions of the ABA to modern NBA was the introduction of the Spencer Haywood Hardship Rule , which would later become the framework for the current NBA draft eligibility system that allows players to declare for

14904-443: The style and excitement that the ABA players brought to the game. The dunk contest was held at halftime of the All-Star game and the contestants were Artis Gilmore , George Gervin , David Thompson , Larry Kenon , and Julius Erving . The winner of the contest received $ 1,000 and a stereo system. Julius Erving went on to win the competition by completing the now famous free throw line dunk. The Slam Dunk Contest would make its way to

15042-630: 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

15180-557: 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 . In 1959, the team signed draft pick Wilt Chamberlain . Known as "Wilt the Stilt", he led the team in scoring six times, quickly began shattering NBA scoring records and changed

15318-554: The team reassigned assistant coach Brian Scalabrine to the team's NBA Development League Affiliate in Santa Cruz because of what head coach Mark Jackson called a "difference in philosophies" and what unnamed league sources cited by Yahoo! Sports called "an increasingly dysfunctional atmosphere" on the Warriors' coaching staff. Less than two weeks later, assistant coach Darren Erman was fired for secretly recording conversations between coaches, staff and players. The Warriors ended

15456-420: The team to respectability by hiring former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach George Karl as head coach in 1986 after selecting St. John's small forward Chris Mullin in the 1985 NBA draft . After a subpar stretch in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team had a brief resurgence under coach Karl, culminating in a 1987 Western Conference Semifinal match against Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers that

15594-606: The team won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018 . They lost the 2019 Finals to the Toronto Raptors and Durant left that off-season. After missing the playoffs the following two seasons, the Warriors returned to the playoffs and defeated the Boston Celtics in the 2022 Finals . The Warriors' dynasty has seen the team win four titles in eight seasons, as well as reach five consecutive Finals from 2015 to 2019 (and six Finals in an eight-year span). Nicknamed

15732-399: The team's losing record, the Warriors were hard to beat when they had a healthy lineup and a strong bench. With leadership and improvement in their young players, they were sometimes able to defeat powerhouse teams such as the Boston Celtics, 99–89. The Warriors chose future superstar point guard Stephen Curry of Davidson College as the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft . During

15870-407: The team, and looked to improve its on-court performance by hiring popular ABA coach Babe McCarthy . But after they were swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Nets, Brown gave McCarthy his walking papers. For the 1974–75 season, Brown hired Hubie Brown (no relation), a former NBA assistant coach, to give them that championship. Unlike the past year, the Colonels would not be denied. After

16008-407: The team. Jones was dealt mid-season for young Maurice Lucas . Hubie managed to make the team competitive, but they lost in the postseason to the Denver Nuggets in 7 games. Kentucky was one of the league's strongest teams both on and off the court. It boasted a talented roster and had one of its best fan bases. However, during merger talks with the NBA, the older league's Chicago Bulls objected to

16146-551: The third Warriors head coach to notch at least 50 wins in a season, joining Nelson and Attles, who both hit the mark twice. On May 14, 2014, the Golden State Warriors signed Steve Kerr to a reported five-year, $ 25 million deal to become the team's new head coach. It was the first head-coach job for Kerr, 48, a five-time NBA champion guard who set an all-time career record for accuracy in three-point shooting (.454). Kerr had served as president and general manager for

16284-463: The time, it showed no interest in placing a team south of Washington, D.C., other than the Atlanta metropolitan area where the NBA's Hawks franchise relocated from St. Louis in 1968. NBA great George Mikan was the first commissioner of the ABA, where he introduced both the 3-point line and the league's trademark red, white, and blue basketball. Mikan resigned in 1969. Dave DeBusschere , one of

16422-410: 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, however, as they drafted Rick Barry four months after the trade. Barry, along with Jamaal Wilkes , powered the Warriors to their third championship in 1975 , widely considered one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. The team struggled in

16560-452: The turning point for the Warriors. The Warriors closed out the regular season (42–40) at 16–5 in their last 21 games. "We believe" became the Warriors' slogan for the last two months of the season and the playoffs. Led by a healthy Baron Davis, an ever-improving Jason Richardson and young future star off-guard Monta Ellis as well as center Biedriņš, the Warriors immediately dashed the highly favored top-seed Dallas Mavericks' expectations of

16698-558: The two leagues. On October 8, 1971, the Colonels hosted the Milwaukee Bucks and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at Freedom Hall in front of over 18,000 fans. Dan Issel scored 34 points and Artis Gilmore posted 18 points, 16 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. However, Abdul-Jabbar had 30 points, 20 rebounds and 3 blocked shots and the Bucks edged the Colonels, 99–93. The very next night the Colonels hosted the New York Knicks in Freedom Hall. The Knicks won, 112–100, before 12,238 fans. The Colonels had

16836-454: The vehicle against the terms of his contract, depriving the Warriors of their top player. They traded disenchanted forward Al Harrington to the New York Knicks for guard Jamal Crawford , and were undone by injuries and the minimal experience of their young players such as Anthony Morrow and Brandan Wright. Coach Nelson often had to make adjustments to the starting lineups since many of the original starters missed games due to injuries. Despite

16974-424: The way for other players to enter the ABA before they had completed their collegiate careers such as George McGinnis and Julius Erving. Today, the "one-and-done" rule in the NBA can be traced back to the ABA's decision to allow players to leave college early and pursue a professional career before they had completed their collegiate careers. The ABA pioneered the advent of the now popular NBA slam dunk contest at

17112-427: Was 8,811. Kentucky's remarkable season came to a surprising end when the Colonels lost in the Eastern Division semifinals to the New York Nets, 4 games to 2. Prior to the season the Colonels traded Cincy Powell to the Utah Stars for a draft pick and cash, and bought Rick Mount from the Indiana Pacers for $ 250,000. Wendell Ladner joined the Colonels' roster for the season. In preseason play, on September 23, 1972,

17250-498: Was a season of many thrilling moments; the Warriors played in 17 regular-season games decided by two points or fewer, six games decided by winning shots in the final three seconds, and seven comeback wins in which the Warriors had been behind by 15 points or more. Curry also made his first appearance in the All-Star Game in 2014. Curry and Klay Thompson continued to set league records in three-point shooting. Curry, who finished

17388-463: Was chosen to succeed St. Jean with the title of executive vice president of basketball operations. Mullin hoped to build a winning team around Jason Richardson, Mike Dunleavy Jr and Troy Murphy , and drafted 7-foot center Andris Biedriņš from Latvia (11th overall). At the 2005 trading deadline, he bolstered to the team with the acquisition of point guard Baron Davis , bringing to the team its first superstar since Mullin himself. The Warriors enjoyed

17526-413: Was given a 10-year contract worth $ 1.4 million. The Colonels also traded a draft pick to the New York Nets for Walt Simon . Mike Pratt joined the Colonels' roster for the season. The Colonels began the regular season with a 10–5 record, resulting in coach Gene Rhodes being fired. Rhodes was briefly replaced by Alex Groza, who won both games he coached. Groza was quickly replaced as coach by Frank Ramsey ,

17664-456: Was later named Chairman of the Board of the team; the board itself was made up of ten women. Legendary former University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp was named as Vice President of the Board. Mike Storen left the team; he later surfaced with the ABA's Memphis franchise. Former head coach Gene Rhodes became general manager of the team. Head coach Joe Mullaney departed to become head coach of

17802-455: Was named as the first coach of the Colonels. The Colonels draft picks were used on UK standout Louie Dampier , who signed with the Colonels; Western Kentucky University standout Clem Haskins , who signed with the NBA's Chicago Bulls ; Bob Verga , who signed with Dallas, and Randy Mahaffey , who signed with the Colonels. The team also signed Darel Carrier (WKU) and Jim "Goose" Ligon (from Kokomo, Indiana ). The Colonels' 1967–68 roster

17940-529: Was named coach of the Colonels. On September 22, 1971, the Colonels played in the second ever ABA vs. NBA preseason exhibition game. 13,821 fans watched the Colonels defeat the Baltimore Bullets 111–85 in Freedom Hall . It was the ABA's first win against the NBA, as the ABA's Dallas Chaparrals had lost to the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks 106–103 the night before in the first ever matchup between

18078-545: Was replaced by Gene Rhodes . In November, Stew Johnson was traded to the New Jersey Americans for Jim Caldwell. Darel Carrier, Randy Mahaffey and Louie Dampier played in the ABA All Star game but the team finished with a record of 36 wins and 42 losses, tying New Jersey for fourth place in the Eastern Division. For the season the Colonels averaged 3,225 fans per game. The Colonels and Americans scheduled

18216-696: Was rounded out with Kendall Rhine ( Rice University ), Stew Johnson ( Murray State ), Rubin Russell, Bill Bradley (Tennessee Tech), Cotton Nash (UK), Bobby Rascoe (WKU), Howard Bayne ( Tennessee ), Orbie Bowling (Tennessee) and Tommy Woods. The Colonels played their home games at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center (Freedom Hall) and at the Louisville Convention Center (now Louisville Gardens). The team only won 5 of their first 17 games, leading to Givens being fired as coach. He

18354-472: Was seen as particularly vulnerable to a challenge; its major league, the National Basketball Association , was the youngest of the Big Four major leagues, having only played 21 seasons to that point, and was still fending off contemporary challenging leagues (it had been less than five years since the American Basketball League (ABL) shut down). According to one of the owners of the Indiana Pacers , its goal

18492-470: Was the Colonels' venue for their first three seasons before moving to Freedom Hall for the remaining seasons, beginning with the 1970–71 schedule. The Kentucky Colonels were only one of two ABA teams, along with the Indiana Pacers , to play for the entire duration of the league without relocating, changing its team name, or folding. The Colonels were also the only major league franchise in Kentucky since

18630-439: Was the longest for the franchise since the 1975 championship year, and fell just one win short of the team record of 11 consecutive wins. To strengthen their underperforming bench, the Warriors made a three-team trade on January 15, sending Douglas to the Miami Heat and picking up guards Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks from the Boston Celtics. A day before the trade deadline, the Warriors traded Kent Bazemore and Brooks to

18768-418: Was to force a merger with the more established league. Potential investors were told that they could get an ABA team for half of what it cost to get an NBA expansion team at the time. When the merger occurred, ABA officials said their investment would more than double. The ABA distinguished itself from its older counterpart with a more wide-open, flashy style of offensive play, as well as differences in rules —

18906-469: Was traded in mid-March 2012, along with Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh , to the Milwaukee Bucks for center Andrew Bogut (out injured for the season) and former Warrior small forward Stephen Jackson, who without playing a game for the Warriors was quickly traded to the San Antonio Spurs for Richard Jefferson and a conditional first-round pick on March 15. These moves saw the rise of Stephen Curry and David Lee to team co-captains, and saw Thompson move into

19044-565: Was traded to the Boston Celtics in 1980 along with the draft pick that would become Kevin McHale for the pick used to draft Carroll. In 1983, the Warriors matched the New York Knicks' offer for free-agent Bernard King , but, unable to pay his high salary, quickly traded him to the Knicks for guard Micheal Ray Richardson , whom they soon shipped to New Jersey in exchange for former Georgetown Hoya point guard Eric "Sleepy" Floyd , and journeyman forward Mickey Johnson . Floyd once scored 29 points for

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