# 1966–67 San Francisco Warriors season

The 1966–67 NBA season was the Warriors' 21st in the NBA, fifth in the San Francisco Bay Area and among the most wildly successful in franchise history. They entered the season on the heels of a 35–45 record that barely failed to make the postseason cut. Led by All-Stars Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond, they surprised the basketball world with a Western Division title on the strength of a 44–37 record. They advanced to the NBA Finals, losing to the heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers in six games.

## Offseason

In the 1966 offseason, the Warriors made three transactions, the first being made on June 7, when the team signed center Bill McGill. The veteran would not be on the team's final roster. On September 1, the Warriors purchased swingman Bob Warlick from the Detroit Pistons. Warlick would spend two seasons with the team, averaging 8 points per game during his tenure.
On September 7, the Warriors pulled off one of the most fruitful in their history, sending guard Guy Rodgers to the expansion Chicago Bulls in return for guards Jim King and Jeff Mullins plus cash. The trade marked the end of Rodgers' eight-year tenure with the Warriors. After the trade, he would play for the Bulls, the Cincinnati Royals, and the Milwaukee Bucks. King would play with the Warriors for three complete seasons before being traded in the beginning of the season to the Cincinnati Royals. Mullins would stay with the team for ten seasons, retiring in 1976.

### Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 3 | Clyde Lee | C/F | United States | Vanderbilt |
| 2 | 13 | Joe Ellis | F | United States | San Francisco |
| 3 | 23 | Stephen Chubin | G | United States | Rhode Island |
| 4 | 33 | Stephen Vacendak | G | United States | Duke |
| 5 | 43 | Tom Kerwin | F | United States | Centenary |
| 6 | 53 | Jim Pitts | | United States | Northwestern |
| 7 | 62 | Lon Hughey | | United States | Fresno State |
| 8 | 71 | Ken Washington | G | United States | UCLA |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Western Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Neutral | Div |
| x-San Francisco Warriors | 44 | 37 | .543 | – | 18–10 | 11–19 | 15–8 | 24–12 |
| x-St. Louis Hawks | 39 | 42 | .481 | 5 | 18–11 | 12–21 | 9–10 | 21–15 |
| x-Los Angeles Lakers | 36 | 45 | .444 | 8 | 21–18 | 12–20 | 3–7 | 14–22 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 33 | 48 | .407 | 11 | 17–19 | 9–17 | 7–12 | 17–19 |
| Detroit Pistons | 30 | 51 | .370 | 14 | 12–18 | 9–19 | 9–14 | 14–22 |
    x – clinched playoff spot

### Record vs. opponents

1966–67 NBA records :
| Team | BAL | BOS | CHI | CIN | DET | LAL | NYK | PHI | SFW | STL |
| Baltimore | — | 1–8 | 3–6 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 2–7 | 2–7 | 1–8 | 2–7 | 4–5 |
| Boston | 8–1 | — | 8–1 | 8–1 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 9–0 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 5–4 |
| Chicago | 6–3 | 1–8 | — | 5–4 | 4–5 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 1–8 | 3–6 | 4–5 |
| Cincinnati | 6–3 | 1–8 | 4–5 | — | 7–2 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 1–8 | 5–4 | 6–3 |
| Detroit | 7–2 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 2–7 | — | 5–4 | 4–5 | 0–9 | 2–7 | 2–7 |
| Los Angeles | 7–2 | 4–5 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 4–5 | — | 4–5 | 1–8 | 3–6 | 4–5 |
| New York | 7–2 | 0–9 | 6–3 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 5–4 | — | 1–8 | 5–4 | 4–5 |
| Philadelphia | 8–1 | 4–5 | 8–1 | 8–1 | 9–0 | 8–1 | 8–1 | — | 7–2 | 8–1 |
| San Francisco | 7–2 | 3–6 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 2–7 | — | 5–4 |
| St. Louis | 5–4 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 7–2 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 1–8 | 4–5 | — |

### Game log
## Playoffs

1967 playoff game log :
Division Semifinals: 3–0 (home: 2–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
March 21
Los Angeles
W 124–108
Jim King (22)
Nate Thurmond (20)
King, Barry (6)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 11,106
1–0
2
March 23
@ Los Angeles
W 113–102
Rick Barry (26)
Nate Thurmond (24)
Nate Thurmond (7)
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 11,335
2–0
3
March 26
Los Angeles
W 122–115
Rick Barry (37)
Nate Thurmond (21)
Rick Barry (7)
Cow Palace 5,845
3–0 :
Division Finals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
March 30
St. Louis
W 117–115
Rick Barry (38)
Nate Thurmond (14)
Jeff Mullins (7)
Cow Palace 7,813
1–0
2
April 1
St. Louis
W 143–136
Rick Barry (47)
Nate Thurmond (17)
Rick Barry (6)
Cow Palace 12,337
2–0
3
April 5
@ St. Louis
L 109–115
Rick Barry (31)
Nate Thurmond (21)
Jeff Mullins (6)
Kiel Auditorium 8,042
2–1
4
April 8
@ St. Louis
L 104–109
Jeff Mullins (40)
Nate Thurmond (21)
Jeff Mullins (4)
Kiel Auditorium 10,016
2–2
5
April 10
St. Louis
W 123–102
Rick Barry (25)
Nate Thurmond (27)
Fred Hetzel (6)
Cow Palace 10,311
3–2
6
April 12
@ St. Louis
W 112–107
Rick Barry (41)
Nate Thurmond (21)
Rick Barry (5)
Kiel Auditorium 8,004
4–2 :
NBA Finals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 14
@ Philadelphia
L 135–141 (OT)
Rick Barry (37)
Nate Thurmond (31)
Rick Barry (7)
Philadelphia Convention Hall 9,283
0–1
2
April 16
@ Philadelphia
W 95–126
Rick Barry (30)
Nate Thurmond (29)
Jim King (6)
Philadelphia Convention Hall 9,426
0–2
3
April 18
Philadelphia
W 130–124
Rick Barry (55)
Nate Thurmond (25)
Jim King (6)
Cow Palace 14,773
1–2
4
April 20
Philadelphia
L 108–122
Rick Barry (43)
Nate Thurmond (25)
Nate Thurmond (5)
Cow Palace 15,117
1–3
5
April 23
@ Philadelphia
W 117–109
Rick Barry (36)
Nate Thurmond (28)
Al Attles (6)
Philadelphia Convention Hall 10,229
2–3
6
April 24
Philadelphia
L 122–125
Rick Barry (44)
Nate Thurmond (22)
Jim King (7)
Cow Palace 15,612
2–4 :
1967 schedule :

## Awards and records

* Rick Barry, NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award
* Rick Barry, NBA All-Star Game
* Nate Thurmond, NBA All-Star Game
* Rick Barry, NBA Scoring Champion
* Rick Barry, All-NBA First Team