Seeing as the Golden State Warriors will be playing for another Larry O’Brien trophy starting June 2nd, I thought it would be nice to get away from the articles that “experts” write to predict how this series will go, and instead look at some of the fun facts involving the teams, well, involved. In this article, we will be looking at NBA players you may not have known suited up for the Warriors at some point in their careers.
John Starks
As a casual NBA fan, I had always heard about how the Knicks had some great teams in the 90s, but they just couldn’t close out a win deep into the playoffs. Still, a deep playoff run by the Knicks seems unfathomable judging by the teams they’ve put out on the floor in the last years. A huge part of those successful 90s Knicks teams was John Starks, a gritty point guard who had finesse and a shot that could hang with the best of them.
Starks was signed by the Warriors as an undrafted free agent in 1988, a couple of years before he’d find stardom with the Knicks. Years later, he’d find his way back to Golden State, this time during the 1999-2000 season. He would only play there for a couple of seasons, but he was still able to manage 14.3 points per game.
Gilbert Arenas
Way before Arenas became Agent Zero for the Washington Wizard, he was coming out of college and playing for the team that drafted him, the Golden State Warriors. In his first season with GSW Arenas would average 10.9 PPG, but in his second year, he really exploded. He would put up 18.3 PPG and establish himself as one of the best young scorers in the league. Arenas would only last two years with the Warriors and would go on to agree to a contract with the Washington Wizards.
Nate Robinson
Nate Robinson is most notably remembered for being one of the shortest players to have such incredible jumping ability. Seriously, have you seen some of his dunks? They’re something you would normally see somebody who’s 6″4 do. Robinson only lines up at 5″9; impressive. Robinson is most remembered for his stint in New York with the Knicks, but in 2011 Robinson would sign with the Golden State Warriors and fill in for an injured Steph Curry.
He would average only 11.2 PPG and then move on to the Chicago Bulls the following season.
Jamal Crawford
Jamal Crawford was the most lethal NBA 6-man to ever grace an NBA court. Seriously, this dude was serious, I mean he dropped 51 points at the age of 40. Crazy! What’s even crazier is that throughout his 19-year NBA career, he played for 9 teams, one of them being Golden State during the 2008-09 season. Crawford would put up great numbers for the Warriors, as he averaged 19.7 PPG. He would only stay for one season and then move on to the Atlanta Hawks.
Richard Jefferson
Richard Jefferson is now a popular television analyst, but did you know he laced them up for the Warriors during the latter part of his career. Jefferson would play for Golden State during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, having some of the worst statistical seasons of his career. In 2012-13, he averaged a mere 3.1 PPG, and had a horrific playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs, one many Warriors fans still can’t live down.