The Golden State Warriors have enjoyed plenty of quality free agent signings over the years, even before they controversially lured perhaps the best player in the world to one of the best teams in history a few short years ago. With moves spread out over more than half a century, these are the ten best free agency signings in Warriors history.

10. Dorell Wright (2010)

Dorell Wright may not have been a superstar, but he kickstarted the Warriors' era of sharpshooting before a couple of guys called Steph Curry and Klay Thompson hit their straps. He certainly didn't have quite the prowess of the guys who followed him, but he took plenty of shots and hit them at a reasonable clip, and in his first season with the team averaged 16.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He'd only play one more season in Golden State and didn't perform like he did in the first, but nonetheless he set the scene for what was to come over the next decade.

9. Corey Maggette (2008)

Corey Maggette's stint in Golden State isn't necessarily the most fondly remembered by all Warriors fans, and certainly didn't go quite as well as hoped when they signed him, but he still offered up a couple of relatively productive seasons for the franchise. After eight seasons with the Clippers, the last of which he averaged 22.1 points in, Maggette signed with the Warriors on a five-year deal worth $50 million. He would only go on to play with them for two of those seasons, and though he didn't provide quite as much as they'd hoped, he was still a solid player, averaging just under 20 points per game over those two years.

8. Rod Higgins (1986)

Rod Higgins was quite literally all over the place to start his career, playing for no less than four teams within the one season at one point. But in 1986, he found his home in Golden State, where he would stay for the next six seasons – the longest stint at one team of his career by some margin. Higgins was no superstar, but he was a reliable soldier for the Warriors during his tenure, maxing out at 15.5 points per game in 1987-88, a year in which he also shot 52.6% from the field and a huge 48.7% from long range.

7. Terry Teagle (1984)

The best period of Terry Teagle's career came after he signed as a free agent with the Warriors in 1984. He'd go on to play six seasons with the team, and while he came off the bench in the majority of games with the team, he was a key player. He consistently averaged between 11 and 16 points, and though the team wasn't particularly successful during his time there, he played an important role as they bounced back to relevance with a couple of series wins against a Jazz team with a couple of talented youngsters by the name of John Stockton and Karl Malone in the late '80s.

6. David Lee (2010)

David Lee might have been the subject of some criticism in his time, but he was a really good player for them for the first four seasons of his tenure, and though no longer producing at the same level by 2015, still played a role in the first championship of their dynasty. Lee consistently averaged close to a 20-point triple-double with the Warriors, and in 2013 was rewarded for his efforts with an All-Star appearance – the second of his career – and was voted in the All-NBA Third Team the same year.

5. Sarunas Marciulionas (1989)

Sarunas Marciulionas will forever be remembered as the first NBA player from the Soviet Union, and the peak of his career came during his time with Golden State. He was initially drafted by the Warriors in 1987, but the pick was voided as he was older than the rules allowed for European players. He would eventually make his way there in 1989 though, and would go on to play four impressive seasons with the team. His best years were his third and fourth, when he averaged 18.9 and 17.4 points per game to go with around three boards and three dimes.

4. Neil Johnston (1951)

Harking all the way back to the '50s now, when Neil Johnston's atypical path into the league allowed the Warriors to pounce on a player who would become one of their best ever free agency signings. Having formerly played baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, Johnston switched to basketball in 1951 and signed with the Warriors. His first season was nothing to write home about – he averaged just 6.0 points in a little over 15 minutes per game – but that all changed in his second. He improved out of sight to average 22.3 points and 13.9 rebounds during the 1952-53 season, and would go on to average at least that number of points for the next four seasons, too. He led the scoring in the league three seasons in succession, joining a club which to this day consists of just six other players, including names such as Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant and Wilt Chamberlain.

3. Andre Iguodala (2013)

Iggy, as he is affectionately known, signed with the Warriors nearly a decade into his career, and what a move it was for both parties. His numbers certainly don't jump off the page and fall a long way behind some of the names which came before him on this list, but numbers don't tell the full story in his case. In six seasons in Golden State, Iguodala never averaged double-figures in points, nor more than 4.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists, but he was the ultimate glue guy and an elite defender to boot. He played a pivotal role in their three championships in four years, even famously winning the Finals MVP over Steph Curry in 2015. After a short stint in Miami he would also, of course, return to the Warriors to play a role – albeit a minor one – in their fourth championship of the era in 2022. This dynastic team would still have been pretty damn good without Iggy, but there is no doubting at all that he made an incredibly good team even better.

2. Rick Barry (1972)

More than 40 years before Iguodala's signing, the Warriors brought Rick Barry back to the team for his second stint there. He was initially drafted by the team in 1965 and dominated from the outset, averaging an incredible 35.6 points to go with 9.2 boards and 3.6 assists, but after that season he defected to the ABA in what was a big loss for the Warriors. Fortunately, four years later he returned through free agency and would go on to play six more brilliant seasons with the team. He was an All-Star in every one of those years, and in 1975 led the organization to its second championship, also winning the Finals MVP along the way. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006, Barry was one of the greatest players to ever represent the Warriors, played a key role in a championship, and for a long time was clearly the best free agency signing they'd ever had. Until, that is, 2016.

1. Kevin Durant (2016)

For every other team in the league and for every fan not for Golden State, this was an unmitigated disaster. For the Warriors, however, the signing of Kevin Durant meant that the success they would ultimately enjoy over the next couple of seasons was virtually inevitable. After winning the championship in 2015, they famously lost to LeBron James' Cavaliers in 2016 after leading the series 3-1 in a season in which they won 73 games. Despite that disappointment, this was already one of the best teams assembled in league history – then they went and signed perhaps the most unstoppable offensive force to ever play the game. Durant ultimately played three seasons with the team, averaging over 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in his time there and helping them to consecutive titles in his first two seasons with the team – winning the Finals MVP in both of those seasons. The next year they famously went down in the NBA Finals to the Toronto Raptors and his exit ensued, but regardless, the impact he had during his two seasons there means he is unequivocally the best free agency signing in Warriors history.