Claim: The Golden State Warriors were known as the San Francisco Warriors in 1962.

The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland , California . The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association -LRB- NBA -RRB- as a member of the league 's Western Conference Pacific Division . The team was established in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors based in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , a founding member of the Basketball Association of America -LRB- BAA -RRB- . In 1962 , the franchise relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and was renamed the San Francisco Warriors . In 1971 , the team changed its geographic moniker to Golden State , California 's state nickname . Since 1971 , the team 's home court has been the Oracle Arena in Oakland . The team is nicknamed the `` Dubs . ''   The Warriors have reached nine NBA Finals , winning four NBA championships in 1947 , 1956 , 1975 and most recently in 2015 when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers . Golden State 's four NBA championships are the fifth most in history behind only the Boston Celtics -LRB- 17 -RRB- , Los Angeles Lakers -LRB- 16 -RRB- , Chicago Bulls -LRB- 6 -RRB- and San Antonio Spurs -LRB- 5 -RRB- . Wilt Chamberlain and Stephen Curry have both been named the NBA 's Most Valuable Player while playing for the Warriors , for a total of three MVP awards . Golden State holds the NBA record for best regular season with 73 -- 9 and most combined wins in a season -LRB- regular season and postseason -RRB- with 88 wins .