Top 10 Scorers in Golden State Warriors' History 

Ah the Golden State Warriors- arguably the NBA’s most hated franchise at the moment (though that may change if the Los Angeles Lakers get all three of LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard). Yet, that wasn’t always the story of the Warriors.

For thirty-four years between 1975 and 2009, they were among the most inept franchises in the NBA. They made bad draft choice after bad draft choice while wasting their cap space on ineffective players and making horrible trades (notably trading away NBA legends Kevin Mchale and Robert Parish). That changed when they drafted Stephen Curry, and the rest is history.

Nonetheless, before 1975, the Warriors were among the most successful franchises in the NBA, only behind the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. Originally playing in Philadelphia, the Warriors won two championships between 1946 and 1956, led by the likes of Paul Arizin and Neil Johnston.

In 1959, the franchise drafted a center named Wilt Chamberlain. After a few rollicking years when Wilt dominated but the team struggled, the Warriors were bought by new ownership and moved to San Francisco.

Soon Wilt was traded away for a treasure trove of talent to the new team in Philadelphia: the 76ers. Yet, the Warriors soon got a new star: the equally enigmatic Rick Barry. Despite tensions with the team that temporarily jeopardized his stay in the NBA, Barry would eventually lead the Warriors to a title.

Thus, one can see the exceptional history of the franchise. The team has seen the best inside scorer in NBA history (Chamberlain), the best shooter in NBA history (Curry) and one of the best versatile scorers in the league’s history (Barry). So who are the top 10 leading scorers in Warriors History?

Note: All Stats are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.

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#10 Neil Johnston- 10,023 Points

One of the most underrated players in NBA history, Johnston was one of the superstars of the 1950s. At 6’8, Johnston was a center in the early days of the NBA (before the advent of 7 foot behemoths)- it's funny how the Warriors are back to that point with Draymond Green.

Johnston, well known for his deadly hook shot, won the scoring title in three consecutive seasons from 1952-1955. The Ohio native was also extremely efficient as he ranked 1st in field goal percentage on three different occasions.

Like any traditional center, Johnston’s rebounding numbers were also incredibly impressive as he averaged 11.3 rebounds throughout his stellar career.

While advanced statistics were half a century away in the 1950s, in retrospect, Johnston’s career was just as impressive when looked at through analytical methods. The center finished 1st in win shares for five consecutive seasons as he dominated the NBA.

The NBA only started awarding the MVP after the 1955-56 season- by which point Johnston’s performance had begun to decline. Indeed, Johnston would have likely won the award in the previous three seasons as he helped the Warriors dominate the mid-1950s.

#9 Purvis Short- 11,894 Points

The 1980s in the NBA were all about the Lakers, Celtics and the Sixers as these teams shared eight of the nine titles of the decade (with the Pistons nicking one at the end).

The battles between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are indisputably among the greatest battles in NBA history. Thus, the history of other NBA franchises during that decade has been mostly forgotten.

The Warriors are no exception, especially because they were particularly poor in that decade, never winning more than 50 games while only making the playoffs twice.

However, one player who managed to flourish in this rather horrible era for Warriors basketball was Purvis Short, a high-scoring forward, who became a prolific scorer in the prime of his career.

Short scored more than 20 points per game between 1982 and 1986, the type of performances that propelled him to more than 11,000 points for the Warriors. They weren’t all empty points too, as Short combined with some younger players in the Warriors to help Golden State reach the playoffs in 1987.

Short’s career will remain one of the greatest what-ifs in Warriors' history, as the Warriors’ inability to surround him with great talented personnel prevented Short from flourishing at the highest stages.

#8 Jeff Mullins- 12,547 Points

Before the recent domination of the Warriors, their last great era was in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, which is why three players from that era are present in this list. Jeff Mullins is one of the players who is often ignored in that run, as he was a Klay Thompson-type supporting player to that great Warriors team.

Mullins started off his career playing with the Wilt Chamberlain led Warriors and did not have much of a role. However, after the exit of the Wilt between his first and second seasons with the franchise, Mullins slowly grew into his role as a supporting player for Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond as the Warriors reached the NBA finals in 1967.

It was only after Barry’s departure to the American Basketball Association (ABA), that Mullins became a bona fide star. The shooting guard averaged more than 20 points per game from 1968 to 1972, as he helped keep the Warriors afloat in those years (they reached the conference semi-finals twice).

#7 Nate Thurmond- 13,191 Points

In these days of small ball, it is rare to witness a dominating center who simply cannot be stopped. However in the late 1960s, such centers were in vogue as the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Willis Reed, Lew Alcindor (later to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Russell dominated the NBA. Another such player was Nate Thurmond, a classic center who was vital to the Warriors.

Thurmond’s first season in the NBA came as a backup to the great Wilt Chamberlain (who makes an appearance later in these rankings). However, from the moment that Wilt left San Francisco for Philadelphia Thurmond transformed into an absolute beast.

His strongest suit was his rebounding: he averaged more than 16 rebounds for eight of the nine seasons between 1965 and 1974.

However, that doesn’t mean that Thurmond wasn’t a great scorer (otherwise he wouldn’t be on this list), he regularly put up double-doubles, also averaging more than 20 points for five seasons between 1968 and 1973.

Imagine if he played right now, would he get outplayed by small-ball lineups or would he instead dominate makeshift “centers” like Draymond Green or PJ Tucker. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

#6 Klay Thompson- 15,257 Points

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers

Is there any current NBA player who can do more with less than Klay Thompson? The shooting guard (on average) only needs 0.79 seconds to release a shot after setting up to shoot. That skill is what enables Thompson to average more than 20 points per game despite playing for the incredibly stacked scoring unit which is the Warriors.

The Warrior barely touches the ball yet still manages to have an impact with his spacing, shooting and off-ball movement.

When Thompson was drafted he was seen as a pure three and D player who would mainly shoot three-pointers and play good defense. These predictions turned out to be correct, only understated, as Thompson has transformed into the ‘ultimate’ 3 and D player as he has become one of the best three point shooters in NBA history (along with fellow splash brother Stephen Curry) while playing some of the best defense in the current NBA.

Yet, Thompson has also exceeded those scouting reports as he has also shown an ability to сreate his own shot. All of these positive aspects have made Thompson and invaluable part of the Warriors’ core that has dominated the NBA over the past four seasons. He will indisputably go up in these rankings as his career progresses.

#5 Chris Mullin- 16,235 Points

There are two types of teams that are remembered throughout history: those that win championships or those that are so fun to watch that they win hearts. Chris Mullin was the leader of one of the latter teams: the 1990 Warriors with their Run TMC offense, named after Mullin and his fellow sharp-shooters: Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond.

One of the members of the legendary ‘Dream Team’, Mullin was a great scorer whose performances were often underappreciated by the rest of the NBA. Yet, Mullin was beloved by Warriors fans mainly because of his scoring.

The Warrior could score from anywhere- being a great three-point shooter (way before the current revolution), dead-eye from mid-range and efficient at the rim (despite relatively poor athleticism).

This ability manifested itself in Mullin’s breakout third season in 1987-88 during which he averaged 20.2 points per game. After that point, there was no looking back as Mullin took advantage of Don Nelson’s Run TMC offense- averaging more than 25 points over the next five seasons.

He was also efficient- with a field goal percentage of more than 50% for most of that spell.

#4 Paul Arizin- 16,266 Points

Along with George Mikan and Johnston, Arizin was one of the earliest NBA superstars- one who managed to transform the game with his shooting. After all unlike Mikan and Johnston, Arizin was not a big, he played as a shooting guard or small forward. He had the ability to spot up while also shooting off the dribble.

Arizin only managed nine seasons in the NBA (missing two seasons in his prime due to his participation in the US Marine Corps). However, what a brilliant spell those nine seasons were.

Arizin averaged more than 20 points per game after his rookie year, as he became the first great wing in NBA history, playing for the then Philadelphia Warriors.

In the 1951-52 season, Arizin achieved the seemingly impossible for a wing: he led the league in both scoring and field-goal percentage, a sign of his efficient scoring. One of the true Warrior greats, even if he came before the team’s move to California.

#3 Rick Barry- 16,447 Points

Through the years, Rick Barry’s unusual and unorthodox free-throws have been remembered. The Warrior shot free-throws underhanded and thus managed one of the greatest free-throw percentages in NBA history.

However, what has gotten forgotten is Barry’s brilliance as a pure basketball player. In fact, the maverick was one of the best small forwards in NBA history.

Like so many great players of that bygone era, Barry was ready for the NBA in his first season as he averaged 25.7 points per game in his first season for the Warriors. In the next season, Barry was one of the best players in the NBA as he averaged more than 35 points per game.

That season he helped lead the Warriors to the finals where they were beaten by the 76ers (by then led by a certain Wilt Chamberlain).

After that point, Barry was embroiled in a pay dispute with the franchise and left for the ABA. When he returned in 1972, he was as good as ever- eventually being Finals MVP as the Warriors finally won a championship in San Francisco in the 1974-75 season.

Barry could score from anywhere, inside, outside and of course the free-throw line. Imagine what his NBA numbers would have been if he hadn't spent four years in the ABA.

#2 Wilt Chamberlain- 17,783 Points

If one ignores contextual factors and looks at the pure numbers, Wilt Chamberlain’s spell at the Warriors saw the greatest scoring in NBA history. In the present day, scoring 50 points in a single game is a remarkable achievement, very few players achieve the feat.

Yet throughout his career, Chamberlain made scoring 50 points look like a nightly chore as he managed that feat on 118 occasions.

For comparison, the next player in NBA history is Michael Jordan who only scored more than 50 points, 32 times. In fact, Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points per game in his rookie season for the Warriors, again remarkable regardless of the context.

He even got better over the next two seasons, as he averaged 38.4 points and 50.4 points respectively. The latter season is arguably the most impressive in NBA history (earning him an MVP award), including that famous 100-point performance.

While Chamberlain’s time for the Warriors ended on a sour note (he requested a trade back to Philadelphia after the Warriors moved to San Francisco), his success for the franchise was and remains unparalleled.

#1 Stephen Curry- 23,360 Points

Golden State Warriors v Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA has seen so many legendary players over the years, as evidenced by the litany of players admitted in the Hall of Fame. Yet very few can claim to have fundamentally changed the game of basketball in a way that Stephen Curry has.

The league has seen many great three-point shooters before Curry, Reggie Miller and Ray Allen being amongst them. Yet none of those players were primary ball handlers for their team too, instead they operated as shooting guards.

What Curry did remarkably was to act as the point guard and still shoot limitless threes. No one in NBA history has consistently been better with off the dribble shooting.

Moreover, he expanded the court and the level of the game in a way. Very few players used to take shots which were more than one or two steps behind the three-point line. Curry (and now players of his generation) have started shooting from the edges of the logos from mid-court.

Now NBA teams and players alike look at three-point shooting as an indispensable skill and Curry is mainly responsible for this shift of dynamics.

While revolutionizing the game and changing the NBA forever, Curry has also scored a whole load of points. It may be surprising to see him relatively low on this list but when one considers his injuries and his relatively little time in the league (15 years now), then this position is incredibly impressive.