# 1974–75 Golden State Warriors season

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. 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. This was the Warriors’ third championship, and first since they were in Philadelphia in 1956.
In the playoffs, the Warriors got to the Western Conference Finals by beating the Seattle SuperSonics in six games. 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. 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. Rick Barry was named the series MVP.
The Warriors wouldn't 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 and Boston Celtics in 2017, 2018 and 2022, respectively.

## Offseason
### Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 11 | Jamaal Wilkes | 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 |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Pacific Divisionvte | 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 |
| # | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte | Western Conferencevte |
| # | 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 |

### Record vs. opponents

1974–75 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | KCO | LAL | MIL | NOJ | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–5 |
| Boston | 4–0 | – | 5–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 7–2 | 5–3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Buffalo | 3–1 | 4–5 | – | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 5–3 | 6–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| Chicago | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | – | 2–2 | 4–5 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–5 | 3–1 | 3–5 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 |
| Cleveland | 4–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 6–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–5 |
| Detroit | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 5–4 | 2–2 | – | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–6 | 3–1 | 3–6 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Golden State | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 5–3 | 4–3 | 1–3 |
| Houston | 5–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | – | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–5 |
| Kansas City-Omaha | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–4 | 2–2 | 6–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | – | 3–1 | 6–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Los Angeles | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | – | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 4–4 | 2–5 | 2–6 | 1–3 |
| Milwaukee | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 3–1 | 6–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–6 | 0–4 | – | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 |
| New Orleans | 5–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–6 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–7 |
| New York | 4–0 | 2–7 | 3–5 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 4–5 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Philadelphia | 2–2 | 3–5 | 3–6 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 5–4 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Phoenix | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 1–6 | 4–3 | 1–3 |
| Portland | 3–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 6–1 | – | 2–6 | 1–3 |
| Seattle | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 6–2 | – | 1–3 |
| Washington | 5–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 7–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — |

## Playoffs

1975 playoff game log :
Conference Semi-finals: 4–2 (home: 2–1; road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 14
Seattle
W 123–96
Rick Barry (39)
Clifford Ray (13)
Rick Barry (11)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,279
1–0
2
April 16
Seattle
L 99–100
Rick Barry (29)
Ray, Dickey (10)
Barry, Beard (6)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787
1–1
3
April 17
@ Seattle
W 105–96
Rick Barry (33)
George Johnson (13)
Rick Barry (7)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082
2–1
4
April 19
@ Seattle
L 94–111
Jamaal Wilkes (22)
Wilkes, Ray (9)
three players tied (3)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082
2–2
5
April 22
Seattle
W 124–100
Jamaal Wilkes (24)
Ray, G. Johnson (13)
Rick Barry (10)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787
3–2
6
April 24
@ Seattle
W 105–96
Rick Barry (31)
George Johnson (15)
Charles Johnson (6)
Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082
4–2 :
Conference Finals: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 27
Chicago
W 107–89
Rick Barry (38)
George Johnson (11)
Butch Beard (9)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787
1–0
2
April 30
@ Chicago
L 89–90
Rick Barry (26)
Clifford Ray (7)
Rick Barry (8)
Chicago Stadium 18,533
1–1
3
May 4
@ Chicago
L 101–108
Butch Beard (28)
Rick Barry (7)
Rick Barry (9)
Chicago Stadium 19,128
1–2
4
May 6
Chicago
W 111–106
Rick Barry (36)
Clifford Ray (18)
Rick Barry (9)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787
2–2
5
May 8
Chicago
L 79–89
Rick Barry (20)
Clifford Ray (12)
Rick Barry (4)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 12,787
2–3
6
May 11
@ Chicago
W 86–72
Rick Barry (36)
Bill Bridges (11)
three players tied (3)
Chicago Stadium 19,594
3–3
7
May 14
Chicago
W 83–79
Jamaal Wilkes (23)
Clifford Ray (12)
Rick Barry (4)
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena
4–3 :
NBA Finals: 4–0 (home: 2–0; road: 2–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
May 18
@ Washington
W 101–95
Rick Barry (24)
Clifford Ray (16)
Rick Barry (5)
Capital Centre 19,035
1–0
2
May 20
Washington
W 92–91
Rick Barry (36)
Rick Barry (9)
three players tied (4)
Cow Palace 13,225
2–0
3
May 23
Washington
W 109–101
Rick Barry (38)
Jamaal Wilkes (10)
Rick Barry (6)
Cow Palace 13,225
3–0
4
May 25
@ Washington
W 96–95
Rick Barry (20)
Clifford Ray (11)
Rick Barry (5)
Capital Centre 19,035
4–0 :
1975 schedule :

## Awards and honors

* Rick Barry, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award
* 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