1966–67 San Francisco Warriors season

The 1966–67 San Francisco Warriors season was the 21st for the Warriors in the NBA, fifth in the San Francisco Bay Area and one of the most successful in franchise history. On the heels of a 35–45 record and fourth-place finish the previous season, new head coach Bill Sharman quickly put his imprint on the team in training camp. True to his Boston Celtics roots, he placed an emphasis on physical condition and the fast break, which allowed his team to get a jump on the rest of the league. Led by All-Stars Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond, the Warriors shot out to a 12-6 start that put it at the top of the division for the rest of the season. Included was a seven-game win streak, the longest since their move from Philadelphia four years earlier. The Warriors went on to capture the Western Division title with a 44–37 mark, third best in the league. Barry led all players with a 35.7-points-per-game average, while Thurmond (21.3) ranked second in rebounds.

On Jan. 10, the Warriors hosted the NBA All-Star Game for the first time since their move from Philadelphia. In front of a sellout crowd of 13,972 fans and national television audience, the West squad upset the East by a 135-120 score at the Cow Palace. Barry captured Most Valuable Player honors with 38 points, the second most in league history.

Fatigue and assorted health issues slowed the Warriors down the stretch, but they were able to regroup in time for the playoffs. In the first two rounds, they swept the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers in three games then dispatched the St. Louis Hawks in six. In the NBA Finals, the Warriors fell to the heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers in six games, but not before Barry averaged 40.3 points to set the league record for a championship series.1966–67 San Francisco Warriors

Offseason Prior to the regular season, the Warriors sent backcourt leader Guy Rodgers to the expansion Chicago Bulls in return for veteran guards Jim King and Jeff Mullins plus cash.1966–67 San Francisco Warriors Not only did the fresh, young legs of King and Mullins made for the up-tempo offense, but they also provided much-needed depth in the backcourt. Meanwhile, the absence of Rodgers put the ball in the hands of Barry at the offensive end most often.

For Rodgers, the transaction marked the conclusion of an eight-year tenure with the club. In addition to the Bulls, he played for the Cincinnati Royals, and the Milwaukee Bucks.Guy Rodgers Stats at Basketball–Reference King played with the Warriors for three seasons before he was dealt to the Cincinnati Royals early in the 1969-79 campaign.Jim King Stats at Basketball Reference Mullins became a core piece for the team for ten seasons before his retirement after the 1975-1976 season.Jeff Mullins Stats at Basketball–Reference

Earlier in the offseason, the Warriors signed center Bill McGill, who was placed on waivers before the season opener. They also purchased swingman Bob Warlick from the Detroit Pistons.Bob Warlick Stats at Basketball-Reference

Draft picks

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

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

x – clinched playoff spot

Game log 1966–67 game log # Date Opponent Score High points Record 1 October 15 @ Boston 113–121 Rick Barry (41) 0–1 2 October 18 @ Chicago 116–119 Rick Barry (32) 0–2 3 October 20 N Chicago 121–111 Rick Barry (43) 1–2 4 October 21 Detroit 119–136 Rick Barry (37) 2–2 5 October 23 N Detroit 110–119 Rick Barry (36) 2–3 6 October 28 @ Baltimore 105–104 Rick Barry (28) 3–3 7 October 29 @ Cincinnati 127–115 Rick Barry (57) 4–3 8 November 1 @ Chicago 137–121 Rick Barry (29) 5–3 9 November 3 @ New York 108–123 Rick Barry (32) 5–4 10 November 4 @ Philadelphia 129–134 Rick Barry (46) 5–5 11 November 5 @ St. Louis 120–122 Rick Barry (31) 5–6 12 November 6 Baltimore 117–120 Rick Barry (43) 6–6 13 November 9 Baltimore 122–128 Rick Barry (47) 7–6 14 November 11 Los Angeles 93–132 Rick Barry (27) 8–6 15 November 13 Detroit 96–135 Rick Barry (45) 9–6 16 November 14 Detroit 104–115 Rick Barry (44) 10–6 17 November 19 @ Los Angeles 144–109 Rick Barry (45) 11–6 18 November 21 N St. Louis 117–134 Rick Barry (42) 12–6 19 November 22 N Baltimore 117–125 Nate Thurmond (29) 12–7 20 November 23 N Baltimore 120–110 Rick Barry (40) 13–7 21 November 24 @ Philadelphia 123–140 Rick Barry (36) 13–8 22 November 26 Chicago 129–131 Rick Barry (37) 14–8 23 November 29 N Chicago 108–101 Rick Barry (40) 15–8 24 December 3 St. Louis 111–123 Rick Barry (45) 16–8 25 December 6 @ New York 126–116 Rick Barry (47) 17–8 26 December 7 @ Baltimore 106–116 Nate Thurmond (30) 17–9 27 December 8 N St. Louis 106–124 Rick Barry (50) 18–9 28 December 9 @ Los Angeles 119–118 Rick Barry (49) 19–9 29 December 10 Cincinnati 120–123 (OT) Rick Barry (36) 20–9 30 December 13 Cincinnati 126–112 Rick Barry (33) 20–10 31 December 17 Boston 118–110 Rick Barry (33) 20–11 32 December 20 Los Angeles 107–130 Nate Thurmond (23) 21–11 33 December 22 Philadelphia 116–114 Rick Barry (30) 21–12 34 December 25 @ Cincinnati 124–112 Rick Barry (50) 22–12 35 December 26 N St. Louis 120–111 Rick Barry (32) 22–13 36 December 28 @ Baltimore 138–115 Paul Neumann (30) 23–13 37 December 30 N Cincinnati 107–102 Paul Neumann (26) 24–13 38 January 3 Boston 126–121 (OT) Rick Barry (31) 24–14 39 January 5 N Los Angeles 122–91 Nate Thurmond (24) 25–14 40 January 6 St. Louis 118–129 Nate Thurmond (30) 26–14 41 January 7 Boston 108–110 Nate Thurmond (34) 27–14 42 January 11 @ Los Angeles 126–141 Rick Barry (32) 27–15 43 January 12 New York 123–127 Rick Barry (41) 28–15 44 January 13 N New York 117–119 Jeff Mullins (28) 28–16 45 January 14 @ Detroit 136–121 Rick Barry (50) 29–16 46 January 15 @ St. Louis 112–114 Rick Barry (48) 29–17 47 January 18 N Chicago 107–111 Nate Thurmond (27) 29–18 48 January 19 N New York 123–102 Tom Meschery (28) 30–18 49 January 20 St. Louis 115–142 Rick Barry (27) 31–18 50 January 24 Baltimore 125–146 Rick Barry (35) 32–18 51 January 27 Baltimore 116–143 Rick Barry (39) 33–18 52 January 29 @ Cincinnati 118–121 Rick Barry (37) 33–19 53 January 30 N Boston 108–121 Rick Barry (32) 33–20 54 January 31 N Detroit 108–106 Nate Thurmond (23) 34–20 55 February 2 N Philadelphia 137–120 Rick Barry (49) 35–20 56 February 3 @ Los Angeles 80–129 Rick Barry (17) 35–21 57 February 4 N Philadelphia 127–140 Fred Hetzel (34) 35–22 58 February 5 @ Chicago 142–141 (OT) Rick Barry (48) 36–22 59 February 7 N Philadelphia 123–126 Rick Barry (41) 36–23 60 February 10 @ Boston 136–137 (2OT) Rick Barry (43) 36–24 61 February 11 @ New York 122–125 (OT) Rick Barry (36) 36–25 62 February 12 @ Detroit 127–134 Rick Barry (49) 36–26 63 February 14 N Boston 128–122 Rick Barry (50) 37–26 64 February 16 N Chicago 125–124 Rick Barry (52) 38–26 65 February 18 N Boston 130–124 Rick Barry (29) 39–26 66 February 21 N Los Angeles 136–133 Rick Barry (34) 40–26 67 February 24 Cincinnati 137–122 Rick Barry (46) 40–27 68 February 25 Cincinnati 129–116 Rick Barry (35) 40–28 69 February 28 @ New York 123–127 Rick Barry (36) 40–29 70 March 1 @ Boston 125–137 Rick Barry (33) 40–30 71 March 2 @ Philadelphia 128–136 Rick Barry (37) 40–31 72 March 4 N New York 111–102 Rick Barry (34) 41–31 73 March 5 New York 115–103 Jim King (25) 41–32 74 March 10 St. Louis 111–105 Rick Barry (38) 41–33 75 March 11 Los Angeles 125–120 Rick Barry (29) 41–34 76 March 13 Detroit 109–135 Rick Barry (29) 42–34 77 March 14 Philadelphia 139–110 Rick Barry (23) 42–35 78 March 16 Philadelphia 131–145 Jeff Mullins (31) 43–35 79 March 17 @ Chicago 117–120 Rick Barry (26) 43–36 80 March 18 @ Cincinnati 112–127 Rick Barry (22) 43–37 81 March 19 @ Detroit 135–127 Rick Barry (39) 44–37

Playoffs

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

References

1966–67 San Francisco Warriors season

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