Certainly, a lot of fans know who Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is. After all, he is a two-time MVP and one of the most popular point guards in the NBA today.
However, before Curry, the Warriors had been home to a slew of great playmakers that made a mark in the NBA.
For this piece, we will rank the best point guards in Warriors franchise history. The number one floor general is a pretty obvious choice for Dubs fans, but he is certainly not alone in the team's greatest list.
4. Tim Hardaway
The Warriors drafted Hardaway with the 14th overall pick in the 1989 draft out of Texas-El Paso. He had a solid rookie season with the Dubs, putting up averages of 14.7 points and 8.7 assists.
Hardaway took off in his second season, recording 22.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 9.7 assists en route to making his first All-Star team. That was the first of three All-Star appearances Hardaway had with the Warriors.
Before missing the entire 1993-94 season because of injury, Hardaway was a consistent performer and even almost averaged a double-double.
The Dubs wound up trading Hardaway to the Miami Heat in February of 1996. He finished his Warriors career with averages of 19.8 points and 9.3 assists, all while becoming the team's all-time leader in assists per game.
3. World B. Free
Lloyd Bernard Free began his career with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1975. He joined the Warriors before the start of the 1980 season.
The San Diego Clippers traded Free to the Warriors after acquiring him from the Sixers. He averaged 24.1 points and 5.6 assists in his first season with the Dubs, but the team won just 39 games and missed the playoffs.
Free ended up playing just 162 games with the team, but his stats and impact can't be questioned. He finished his Warriors career with averages of 23.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
Free ranks fifth on the Dubs' all-time points per game list.
2. Baron Davis
Davis arrived to The Bay Area in February of 2005 via a trade with the New Orleans Hornets. He put up 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds to close out the 2004-05 season.
The 2006-07 season was probably the most fun Warriors fans have had watching basketball in a long, long time before Curry and Klay Thompson arrived. Golden State went 42-20 in the regular season and matched up against the No. 1 seed Dallas Mavericks, who also had the MVP in Dirk Nowitzki.
The “We Believe Warriors” took down the Mavs in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. Anytime any member of that squad comes to a Dubs home game, they always get a standing ovation from the crowd.
Davis finished his Dubs career with averages of 20.1 points and 8.1 assists. His monster poster dunk over Andrei Kirilenko in the second round of the 2007 playoffs against the Utah Jazz is still talked about in The Bay Area to this day.
1. Stephen Curry
When the Warriors drafted Curry with the seventh overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft out of Davidson, no one saw the kind of success he has had coming.
Curry dealt with ankle injuries to begin his career with the Warriors, and some pundits were ready to write him off.
However, Steph worked hard on his craft — harder than anyone has ever worked on shooting the basketball — and he's now the greatest shooter of all-time and the best point guard in Dubs franchise history.
Steph has career averages of 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists with Golden State. Whenever the NBA starts back up again, he will eventually pass Ray Allen for most 3-pointers in league history.
Curry has won two regular-season MVPs and three championships with the Warriors. He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, get his No. 30 jersey retired by the Dubs and probably get a statue somewhere outside of the Chase Center when it is all said and done.
Follow Us
Subscribe