The 1971-72 Golden State Warriors season was a significant year for the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Under the guidance of head coach Al Attles, the Warriors finished the regular season with a record of 51-31, securing second place in the Pacific Division. This marked a substantial improvement from their previous season, reflecting a stronger, more competitive team.
The team’s success was largely driven by the performances of Rick Barry and Nate Thurmond. Barry, a forward known for his scoring prowess, averaged 22.3 points per game, while Thurmond, a dominant center, contributed 21.4 points and 16.1 rebounds per game. This dynamic duo was instrumental in both offensive and defensive plays, making the Warriors a formidable opponent during the season.
In the postseason, the Warriors advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals. They faced the Milwaukee Bucks, the defending NBA champions. Despite the Warriors’ strong season performance, they were unable to overcome the Bucks, losing the series in five games. The playoff exit highlighted areas for improvement, particularly in terms of depth and consistency against top-tier teams.
Overall, the 1971-72 season was a pivotal one for the Golden State Warriors, demonstrating their potential and setting the stage for future successes. The team’s performance laid a foundation that would eventually lead to more consistent playoff appearances and growth as a competitive force in the league.
- Regular Season Record: 51-31
- Playoff Result: Western Conference Semifinals: 1-4
Golden State Warriors Roster and Stats for 1971-72 Season
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% | GP | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3P% |
| Jeff Mullins | 80 | 21.5 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 14.8 | 4.8 | 5.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Nate Thurmond | 78 | 21.4 | 16.1 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 25.4 | 17.8 | 5.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Cazzie Russell | 79 | 21.4 | 5.4 | 3.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 14.2 | 4.4 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Jim Barnett | 80 | 12.4 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 21.6 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Ron Williams | 80 | 9.7 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 6.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Joe Ellis | 78 | 8.4 | 5.0 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 10.8 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Clyde Lee | 78 | 8.1 | 14.5 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 4.8 | 12.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bob Portman | 61 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Nick Jones | 65 | 3.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Bill Turner | 62 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Odis Allison | 36 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |||||||
| Vic Bartolome | 38 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |||||||
Golden State Warriors in the 1972 NBA Playoffs
Playoffs Second Round vs. Milwaukee Bucks
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 28, 1972 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | W 117-106 | |
| Mar 30, 1972 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 118-93 | |
| Apr 01, 1972 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | L 122-94 | |
| Apr 04, 1972 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | L 106-99 | |
| Apr 06, 1972 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 108-100 |
Golden State Warriors 1971-72 Regular Season Game Log
Here is the game log for the 1971-72 season for the Golden State Warriors.
| Date | Opponent | Result | High Scorer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 15, 1971 | @ Boston Celtics | W 97-75 | |
| Oct 16, 1971 | @ Baltimore Bullets | L 108-93 | |
| Oct 19, 1971 | @ New York Knicks | L 93-84 | |
| Oct 20, 1971 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | W 115-98 | |
| Oct 23, 1971 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 115-109 | |
| Oct 26, 1971 | vs. Buffalo Braves | L 91-89 | |
| Oct 29, 1971 | @ Chicago Bulls | W 99-83 | |
| Oct 30, 1971 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 116-112 | |
| Oct 31, 1971 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | W 109-105 | |
| Nov 02, 1971 | vs. Baltimore Bullets | W 106-91 | |
| Nov 04, 1971 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | W 98-96 | |
| Nov 06, 1971 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | L 105-89 | |
| Nov 07, 1971 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | W 109-102 | |
| Nov 09, 1971 | vs. Houston Rockets | W 115-99 | |
| Nov 11, 1971 | @ New York Knicks | W 112-103 | |
| Nov 12, 1971 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 106-104 | |
| Nov 13, 1971 | @ Cincinnati Royals | L 110-101 | |
| Nov 16, 1971 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 122-101 | |
| Nov 18, 1971 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | W 115-105 | |
| Nov 20, 1971 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | W 107-100 | |
| Nov 21, 1971 | vs. Houston Rockets | L 115-96 | |
| Nov 25, 1971 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | L 112-111 | |
| Nov 26, 1971 | @ Chicago Bulls | L 121-89 | |
| Nov 27, 1971 | @ Buffalo Braves | W 110-91 | |
| Nov 30, 1971 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | W 106-103 | |
| Dec 03, 1971 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 115-107 | |
| Dec 04, 1971 | vs. Phoenix Suns | L 128-92 | |
| Dec 05, 1971 | @ Phoenix Suns | L 120-87 | |
| Dec 07, 1971 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 116-113 | |
| Dec 09, 1971 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | L 124-111 | |
| Dec 10, 1971 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | L 105-94 | |
| Dec 16, 1971 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 113-93 | |
| Dec 17, 1971 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | L 129-99 | |
| Dec 18, 1971 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 129-102 | |
| Dec 21, 1971 | vs. New York Knicks | L 113-87 | |
| Dec 25, 1971 | @ New York Knicks | L 114-89 | |
| Dec 27, 1971 | @ Boston Celtics | L 99-97 | |
| Dec 29, 1971 | @ Cincinnati Royals | W 107-102 | |
| Dec 30, 1971 | @ Detroit Pistons | W 128-122 | |
| Jan 04, 1972 | vs. Buffalo Braves | W 112-86 | |
| Jan 06, 1972 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | W 119-115 | |
| Jan 08, 1972 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 128-106 | |
| Jan 09, 1972 | @ Houston Rockets | W 113-112 | |
| Jan 11, 1972 | vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | W 101-92 | |
| Jan 14, 1972 | vs. New York Knicks | W 115-111 | |
| Jan 15, 1972 | vs. Baltimore Bullets | W 105-95 | |
| Jan 21, 1972 | @ Atlanta Hawks | W 113-111 | |
| Jan 22, 1972 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | W 113-106 | |
| Jan 24, 1972 | @ Chicago Bulls | L 110-105 | |
| Jan 25, 1972 | @ Cleveland Cavaliers | W 117-111 | |
| Jan 27, 1972 | vs. Chicago Bulls | W 108-107 | |
| Jan 28, 1972 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | W 105-102 | |
| Jan 29, 1972 | vs. Phoenix Suns | W 111-100 | |
| Feb 01, 1972 | vs. Milwaukee Bucks | L 108-97 | |
| Feb 03, 1972 | vs. Atlanta Hawks | W 132-115 | |
| Feb 04, 1972 | @ Phoenix Suns | L 113-105 | |
| Feb 05, 1972 | vs. Los Angeles Lakers | L 108-96 | |
| Feb 08, 1972 | vs. Baltimore Bullets | W 111-107 | |
| Feb 10, 1972 | vs. Philadelphia 76ers | W 121-112 | |
| Feb 12, 1972 | @ Milwaukee Bucks | L 123-100 | |
| Feb 13, 1972 | @ Chicago Bulls | W 107-88 | |
| Feb 15, 1972 | @ Buffalo Braves | W 103-100 | |
| Feb 18, 1972 | @ Seattle SuperSonics | L 110-108 | |
| Feb 19, 1972 | vs. Boston Celtics | W 115-111 | |
| Feb 22, 1972 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | W 120-104 | |
| Feb 24, 1972 | vs. Detroit Pistons | W 116-106 | |
| Feb 26, 1972 | vs. Chicago Bulls | L 107-106 | |
| Feb 27, 1972 | @ Houston Rockets | W 117-104 | |
| Feb 29, 1972 | vs. Cincinnati Royals | W 128-120 | |
| Mar 03, 1972 | vs. Houston Rockets | W 108-107 | |
| Mar 04, 1972 | vs. Seattle SuperSonics | W 114-96 | |
| Mar 07, 1972 | vs. Cleveland Cavaliers | W 119-112 | |
| Mar 10, 1972 | @ Houston Rockets | W 119-116 | |
| Mar 12, 1972 | @ Cincinnati Royals | L 117-106 | |
| Mar 14, 1972 | @ Boston Celtics | L 124-110 | |
| Mar 16, 1972 | vs. Portland Trail Blazers | W 107-94 | |
| Mar 17, 1972 | @ Portland Trail Blazers | L 114-109 | |
| Mar 18, 1972 | vs. Phoenix Suns | W 134-116 | |
| Mar 19, 1972 | @ Los Angeles Lakers | L 162-99 | |
| Mar 22, 1972 | @ Baltimore Bullets | W 121-101 | |
| Mar 24, 1972 | @ Atlanta Hawks | L 118-102 | |
| Mar 26, 1972 | @ Philadelphia 76ers | W 116-115 |