| 1975–76 Golden State Warriors season | |
|---|---|
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Al Attles |
| General manager | Dick Vertlieb |
| Owner(s) | Franklin Mieuli |
| Arena | Oakland Coliseum Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 59–23 (.720) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Pacific) Conference: 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Conference finals (lost to Suns 3–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KTVU |
| Radio | KNBR |
The 1975–76 Golden State Warriors season was the 31st season of NBA basketball in Oakland, California Coming off their NBA Championship, the Warriors finished with a then-franchise-best 59–23 record.[1] The Warriors would however lose in the Western Conference finals to the upstart Phoenix Suns, four games to three. The Warriors’ franchise-best regular-season record would be surpassed when the team won the 2014–15 championship, but in between the Warriors would play thirty-eight seasons without even reaching the conference finals, the fourth-longest such drought in NBA history.
Offseason
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Joe Bryant | F | La Salle | |
| 2 | 20 | Gus Williams | G | USC | |
| 3 | 40 | Otis Johnson | F | Stetson | |
| 3 | 51 | Robert Hawkins | G | Illinois State | |
| 4 | 69 | Billy Taylor | F | La Salle | |
| 5 | 87 | Larry Pounds | Washington | ||
| 6 | 105 | Tony Styles | San Francisco | ||
| 7 | 123 | Stan Boyer | F | Wyoming | |
| 8 | 141 | Mike Rozenski | St. Mary's (CA) | ||
| 9 | 157 | Scott Trobbe | Stanford | ||
| 10 | 171 | Maurice Harper | St. Mary's (CA) |
Roster
| 1975–76 Golden State Warriors roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Division | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Golden State Warriors | 59 | 23 | .720 | – | 36–5 | 23–18 | 17–9 |
| x-Seattle SuperSonics | 43 | 39 | .524 | 16 | 31–10 | 12–29 | 12–14 |
| x-Phoenix Suns | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 | 27–14 | 15–26 | 15–11 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 40 | 42 | .488 | 19 | 31–11 | 9–31 | 10–16 |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 37 | 45 | .451 | 22 | 25–15 | 12–30 | 11–15 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Golden State Warriors | 59 | 23 | .720 | – |
| 2 | x-Seattle SuperSonics | 43 | 39 | .524 | 16 |
| 3 | x-Phoenix Suns | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 4 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 21 |
| 5 | x-Detroit Pistons | 36 | 46 | .439 | 23 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Lakers | 40 | 42 | .488 | 19 |
| 7 | Portland Trail Blazers | 37 | 45 | .451 | 22 |
| 8 | Kansas City Kings | 31 | 51 | .378 | 28 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 24 | 58 | .293 | 35 |
Record vs. opponents
| 1975–76 NBA Records | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | ATL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | KCK | LAL | MIL | NOJ | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA | WAS |
| Atlanta | — | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–5 |
| Boston | 3–2 | — | 4–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 4–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 |
| Buffalo | 3–2 | 3–4 | — | 3–1 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 4–3 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–3 |
| Chicago | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 0–4 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 1–6 | 3–2 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 0–4 |
| Cleveland | 5–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 4–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–2 |
| Detroit | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 4–3 | 2–2 | — | 0–5 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–2 |
| Golden State | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 5–0 | — | 2–2 | 4–1 | 5–2 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 4–2 | 4–3 | 3–1 |
| Houston | 5–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 |
| Kansas City | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 6–1 | 3–1 | 2–5 | 1–4 | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 2–5 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 2–3 | 1–3 |
| Los Angeles | 3–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–5 | 3–1 | 3–2 | — | 2–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 3–3 | 1–3 |
| Milwaukee | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 0–4 | 4–3 | 0–5 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 3–2 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 |
| New Orleans | 4–2 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–3 |
| New York | 2–3 | 2–5 | 3–4 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–2 | — | 5–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 |
| Philadelphia | 3–2 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–5 | — | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 |
| Phoenix | 4–0 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 4–0 | 2–3 | 4–2 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 5–2 | 4–3 | 0–4 |
| Portland | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–4 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 1–3 | 5–0 | 4–3 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–5 | — | 3–3 | 2–2 |
| Seattle | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 3–3 | — | 1–3 |
| Washington | 5–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | — |
Playoffs
In the playoffs, the Warriors returned to the Western Conference finals by beating the Detroit Pistons in 6 games. In the Western Finals, the Warriors faced the Phoenix Suns. The Warriors had a 2 games to 1 lead. Game 4 went in overtime and the Warriors were unable to grab a 3–1 series lead. The Suns would rally to win the game 133–129. The Warriors would bounce back to take Game 5, but the Suns would win Games 6 & 7 to stun the defending Champions.[1]
Awards and honors
- Rick Barry, All-NBA First Team
- Rick Barry, NBA All-Star Game
- Phil Smith, All-NBA Second Team
- Phil Smith, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- Gus Williams, NBA All-Rookie Team First Team