Best Draft Pick In Golden State Warriors History

With the Golden State Warriors, the conversation about the greatest draft pick in franchise history is among the toughest to determine, as it spans three distinct eras of the team. 

Wilt Chamberlain was a territorial pick by the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959. Since the franchise relocated to San Francisco and eventually became the Golden State Warriors, his name deserves to be included in the conversation. In his first season, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds, winning MVP, Rookie of the Year, and All-Star Game MVP, the only player in NBA history to accomplish such a feat. He also averaged 50.4 points per game in a single season, and 27.2 rebounds, records that will almost certainly never be broken. However, Chamberlain only played six seasons with the Warriors. 

Another player with a legitimate case for the Warriors' best draft pick is Rick Barry, selected second overall by the San Francisco Warriors in the 1965 NBA Draft. Barry won Rookie of the Year, led the league in scoring in his second season with 35.6 points per game, and delivered the franchise its first Golden State championship in 1975, earning Finals MVP in the process. A Hall of Famer, an eight-time All-Star, and as pure a scorer as the game has seen.

Despite all of Chamberlain and Barry’s amazing accomplishments, the title of the Warriors’ best draft pick goes to Stephen Curry. Selected seventh overall in the 2009 NBA Draft out of Davidson College after five teams had passed (the Minnesota Timberwolves had picks 5 and 6, taking Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, two point guards), Curry entered the league as a small, skinny, shoot first point guard who despite being the best scorers in the NCAA for two straight seasons, had teams turned off due to his size and durability. 

The son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry, Stephen apparently inherited his dad’s shooting gene and took it to a new level. At Davidson, he set the NCAA single-season record for three-pointers. In his sophomore season, he almost single-handedly dragged the mid-major program to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in a run that introduced him to the casual basketball world.

Curry’s first NBA season saw him lose out on the Rookie of the Year award to Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans, but he still had an impressive year, averaging 17.5 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.5 rebounds.  Not bad for a presumed undersized guard. 

Over the following sixteen seasons, all Curry has done is change the game, turning the Warriors into a run-and-gun offensive juggernaut. A threat to hit a shot from anywhere on the court, Curry became the poster boy for how the game of basketball is now played at every level. Players no longer want to “Be Like Mike”; they now look to launch long-range shots regardless of their size.  

Four NBA Championships, an NBA Finals MVP, two MVP awards (including the first unanimous vote in NBA history), twelve All-Star appearances, eleven All-NBA honors, and half of one of the league’s All-Nickname Team (Splash Brothers), Curry has defied the odds. Owner of the all-time NBA three-point record, Curry was the focal point behind the Warriors' turn from Western Conference basement dwellers into a championship dynasty. 

Chamberlain has his name all over the NBA record books. Barry delivered the Warriors their first NBA championship, but given what Curry has done not only to change the franchise's fortunes, but perhaps more importantly, the game itself, it’s hard to argue that he is not only the best draft pick in Warriors history, but perhaps the best player as well.