page_title: History of the Golden State Warriors
section_title: 1974–1976: Championship contention
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Golden State Warriors / 1971–2019: Oakland / 1974–1976: Championship contention
caption_attribution_description: English: Professional basketball player Rick Barry
context_page_description: The history of the Golden State Warriors began in Philadelphia in 1946. In 1962, the franchise was relocated to San Francisco, California and became known as the San Francisco Warriors until 1971, when its name was changed to the current Golden State Warriors. Along with their inaugural championship win in the 1946–47 season, the Warriors have won five others in the team's history, including another in Philadelphia after the 1955–56 season, and four more as Golden State after the 1974–75, 2014–15, 2016–17, and 2017–18 seasons.
context_section_description: The 1974–75 team was coached by former Warrior Al Attles, and was led on the court by Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes. Wilkes was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, while Barry had a great all-around season averaging 30.6 points per game, leading the league in both free throw percentage and steals per game, and finishing sixth in the league in assists per game. In what many consider the biggest upset in the history of the NBA, the Warriors defeated the heavily favored Washington Bullets in a four-game sweep. So little was felt of the team's chances in the playoffs, even by their home fans, that the Coliseum Arena scheduled other events during the dates of the NBA playoffs. As a result, the Warriors did not play their championship series playoff games in Oakland; rather, they played at the Cow Palace in Daly City. Barry averaged 29.5 points per game during the Finals and was named the NBA 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 the Western Conference Finals.
caption: Rick Barry shown in 1976, was named the NBA Finals MVP in 1975.
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