How the 1975 NBA Champions Golden State Warriors Made Basketball History

I still remember watching grainy footage of the 1975 Golden State Warriors playoff run years ago and thinking how remarkably different that championship team was from today's superteam era. What fascinates me most about that squad isn't just that they won, but how they won - with a style of basketball that was decades ahead of its time. When I recently came across comments from Fernandez about historical player rankings, it struck me how many players from that Warriors team probably deserve more recognition than they typically receive. Fernandez didn't reveal identities of the 10 greatest players on his list, but gave a general clue of who could they be, and I'd bet at least a couple members from that 1975 roster would make compelling cases.

The 1974-75 Warriors were supposed to be too young, too unconventional, and frankly not physical enough to win it all. They entered the playoffs with exactly zero players averaging 20 points per game during the regular season, which was practically unheard of for championship teams even back then. Rick Barry, their undeniable star, put up about 30.6 points per game that season, but what made this team special was how everyone contributed. I've always been particularly impressed by how coach Al Attles implemented what we'd now call "positionless basketball" long before it became trendy. He regularly played lineups where Barry, a natural forward, would handle the ball while guards like Butch Beard and Charles Johnson moved without it, creating mismatches that opponents simply couldn't solve.

What really stands out when you dig into the numbers is their defensive efficiency. They held opponents to just 101.5 points per 100 possessions during the playoffs, which was extraordinary for that era. I've always believed Phil Smith's emergence as a two-way guard was the X-factor that doesn't get enough attention. The rookie averaged over 13 points in the playoffs while often defending the opponent's best perimeter player. When you combine that with Clifford Ray's interior presence - he grabbed nearly 12 rebounds per game in the finals - you start to understand why this team was greater than the sum of its parts.

Their championship sweep against the Washington Bullets remains one of the most dominant finals performances I've ever studied. The Warriors weren't just winning - they were revolutionizing how basketball could be played. They averaged over 25 assists per game in that series, showcasing ball movement that would make today's Spurs proud. Barry's 29.5 points per game in the finals rightfully earned him MVP honors, but what I find more impressive is that five different Warriors averaged double figures in that series. That kind of balanced scoring was virtually unprecedented in championship basketball at the time.

Thinking back to Fernandez's comments about historical rankings, I can't help but wonder where Barry would place among the all-time greats. In my view, he's consistently underrated in these discussions. His 30.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists during that championship season put him in rarefied air, yet you rarely hear his name mentioned with contemporaries like Julius Erving. The beauty of that Warriors team was how Barry's brilliance elevated everyone around him. Players like Jamaal Wilkes, who contributed 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds as a rookie, benefited enormously from Barry's playmaking and the system Attles implemented.

The legacy of that championship extends far beyond the banner they hung in what was then called the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena. When I talk to younger basketball fans today about the evolution of small-ball and positionless basketball, I always point to the 1975 Warriors as the prototype. They proved you could win without a dominant traditional center, that ball movement could overcome individual brilliance, and that a well-constructed team could achieve something special even without multiple superstars. In today's era where we're obsessed with superteams and big threes, there's something beautifully pure about how that Warriors team achieved immortality.

Looking at today's NBA landscape, where the Warriors franchise has again revolutionized basketball with three-point shooting, it's fascinating to see the throughline from that 1975 team. The commitment to innovation, the willingness to challenge conventional wisdom, the belief in system over individual - these qualities defined both the 1975 champions and the recent dynasty. As Fernandez's mysterious top-10 list reminds us, greatness in basketball takes many forms, and sometimes the most historically significant teams aren't the ones with the most Hall of Famers, but the ones that changed how the game is played. The 1975 Warriors did exactly that, and frankly, I don't think we've fully appreciated their impact even now, nearly fifty years later.