1993–94 Golden State Warriors season

1993–94   Golden State Warriors season
Head coach	Don Nelson
General manager	Don Nelson
Owners	Jim Fitzgerald Dan Finnane
Arena	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
Results
Record	50–32 (.610)
Place	Division: 3rd (Pacific) Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Suns 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	KPIX-TV KICU-TV SportsChannel Pacific
Radio	KNBR
< 1992–93 1994–95 >

The 1993–94 Golden State Warriors season was the 48th season for the Golden State Warriors in the National Basketball Association, and their 31st season in the San Francisco Bay Area. ^[1] Despite finishing with a 34–48 record the previous season, the Warriors received the third overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Penny Hardaway from the University of Memphis, but soon traded him to the Orlando Magic in exchange for power forward, and top draft pick Chris Webber from the University of Michigan; Webber was selected as the first overall pick in the draft by the Magic. ^{[2] [3] [4]} During the off-season, the team signed free agent Avery Johnson. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Without All-Star guard Tim Hardaway and sixth man Šarūnas Marčiulionis, who both missed the entire regular season due to knee injuries, ^{[8] [9] [10]} and with Chris Mullin missing the first 20 games of the season with a finger injury, ^{[11] [12] [13]} the Warriors struggled losing three of their first four games, but soon recovered later holding a 27–20 record at the All-Star break. ^[14] The team improved over the previous season as they posted an 8-game winning streak in April, and finished in third place in the Pacific Division with a solid 50–32 record, earning the sixth seed in the Western Conference, and returning to the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence. ^[15]

Second-year star Latrell Sprewell averaged 21.0 points, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game, led the Warriors with 141 three-point field goals, and was named to the All-NBA First Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, while Webber averaged 17.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.2. blocks per game, and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, and was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. ^{[16] [17] [18]} In addition, Mullin played half of the regular season off the bench, averaging 16.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Billy Owens provided the team with 15.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, and Johnson contributed 10.9 points and 5.3 assists per game. Meanwhile, Victor Alexander averaged 8.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, Chris Gatling provided with 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, Jeff Grayer contributed 6.8 points per game, and second-year guard Keith Jennings contributed 5.7 points and 2.9 assists per game. ^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sprewell was selected for the 1994 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his first ever All-Star appearance. ^{[20] [21] [22]} Meanwhile, Webber was selected for the inaugural NBA Rookie Game, as a member of the Phenoms team; Webber scored 18 points along with 10 rebounds, as the Phenoms defeated the Sensations team, 74–68. ^{[23] [24] [25]}

Sprewell finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting, behind Don MacLean of the Washington Bullets, ^{[26] [27]} and also finished tied in eleventh place in Most Valuable Player voting, ^{[28] [27]} while head coach Don Nelson finished tied in fifth place in Coach of the Year voting. ^{[29] [27]} However, in the Western Conference First Round of the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Warriors were swept by the Phoenix Suns in three straight games; ^{[30] [31] [32]} this would be their final playoff appearance until 2007.

Following the season, Marčiulionis and second-year forward Byron Houston were both traded to the Seattle SuperSonics, ^{[33] [34] [35]} and Johnson re-signed as a free agent with his former team, the San Antonio Spurs. ^[36]

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1993 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	3	Penny Hardaway	PG/SG	United States	Memphis
2	34	Darnell Mee	SG	United States	Western Kentucky

Roster

1993–94 Golden State Warriors roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 52 Victor Alexander 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1969–08–31 Iowa State F 35 Jud Buechler 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–06–19 Arizona C 25 Chris Gatling 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–09–03 Old Dominion F 11 Josh Grant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 223 lb (101 kg) 1967–08–07 Utah G 44 Jeff Grayer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1965–12–17 Iowa State G 10 Tim Hardaway  (IN) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1966–09–01 UTEP F 21 Byron Houston 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1969–11–22 Oklahoma State G 2 Keith Jennings 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1968–11–02 East Tennessee State G 6 Avery Johnson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1965–03–25 Southern G 13 Šarūnas Marčiulionis  (IN) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1964–06–13 Lithuania F 17 Chris Mullin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1963–07–30 St. John's F 30 Billy Owens 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1969–05–01 Syracuse G 15 Latrell Sprewell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–09–08 Alabama C 4 Chris Webber 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1973–03–01 Michigan

Head coach Don Nelson Assistant(s) Gregg Popovich Paul Pressey Donnie Nelson Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (IN) Inactive Injured Roster Updated: February 28, 1994

Roster Notes

• Point guard Tim Hardaway, and shooting guard Šarūnas Marčiulionis were both on the injured reserve list due to knee injuries, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y- Seattle SuperSonics	63	19	.768	—	37–4	26–15	25–5
x- Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	7	36–5	20–21	19–11
x- Golden State Warriors	50	32	.610	13	29–12	21–20	19–11
x- Portland Trail Blazers	47	35	.573	16	30–11	17–24	17–13
Los Angeles Lakers	33	49	.402	30	21–20	12–29	7–23
Sacramento Kings	28	54	.341	35	20–21	8–33	9–21
Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	36	17–24	10–31	9–21

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Seattle SuperSonics	63	19	.768	–
2	y-Houston Rockets	58	24	.707	5
3	x-Phoenix Suns	56	26	.683	7
4	x-San Antonio Spurs	55	27	.671	8
5	x-Utah Jazz	53	29	.646	10
6	x-Golden State Warriors	50	32	.610	13
7	x-Portland Trail Blazers	47	35	.573	16
8	x-Denver Nuggets	42	40	.512	21
9	Los Angeles Lakers	33	49	.402	30
10	Sacramento Kings	28	54	.341	35
11	Los Angeles Clippers	27	55	.329	36
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	20	62	.244	43
13	Dallas Mavericks	13	69	.159	50

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

Main article: 1994 NBA Playoffs

Game log

1994 playoff game log
First round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 29 @ Phoenix L 104–111 Billy Owens (27) Billy Owens (17) Latrell Sprewell (10) America West Arena 19,023 0–1 2 May 1 @ Phoenix L 111–117 Chris Mullin (32) Chris Webber (10) Chris Webber (9) America West Arena 19,023 0–2 3 May 4 Phoenix L 133–140 Chris Mullin (30) Webber, Gatling (8) Chris Webber (13) Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena 15,025 0–3
1994 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Latrell Sprewell	82	82	43.1	.433	.361	.774	4.9	4.7	2.2	.9	21.0
Avery Johnson	82	70	28.4	.492	.000	.704	2.1	5.3	1.4	.1	10.9
Chris Gatling	82	23	15.8	.588	.000	.620	4.8	.5	.5	.8	8.2
Billy Owens	79	72	34.7	.507	.200	.610	8.1	4.1	1.1	.8	15.0
Chris Webber	76	76	32.1	.552	.000	.532	9.1	3.6	1.2	2.2	17.5
Keith Jennings	76	2	14.4	.404	.371	.833	1.2	2.9	.9	.0	5.7
Byron Houston	71	2	12.2	.458	.143	.611	2.7	.5	.5	.4	2.8
Victor Alexander	69	39	19.1	.530	.154	.527	4.5	1.0	.4	.5	8.7
Jeff Grayer	67	4	16.4	.526	.167	.602	2.9	.9	.5	.2	6.8
Chris Mullin	62	39	37.5	.472	.364	.753	5.6	5.1	1.7	.9	16.8
Josh Grant	53	0	7.2	.404	.279	.759	1.7	.5	.3	.2	3.0
Jud Buechler	36	0	6.1	.500	.414	.500	.9	.4	.2	.0	2.9
Andre Spencer †	5	1	12.6	.500		.750	2.4	.6	.2	.4	4.2
Todd Lichti †	5	0	11.6	.357	1.000	.818	2.0	.6	.0	.0	6.2
Dell Demps	2	0	5.5	.333		.000	.0	.5	1.0	.0	2.0
Tod Murphy †	2	0	5.0				.5	.5	.0	.0	.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Chris Mullin	3	3	45.0	.588	.500	.909	4.7	3.7	.0	1.7	25.3
Billy Owens	3	3	42.3	.500	.000	.750	10.0	4.3	1.3	.7	19.7
Latrell Sprewell	3	3	40.7	.433	.348	.667	3.0	7.0	.7	1.0	22.7
Chris Webber	3	3	36.3	.550	.000	.300	8.7	9.0	1.0	3.0	15.7
Byron Houston	3	2	15.3	.750		.600	1.7	1.0	.3	.7	5.0
Chris Gatling	3	1	18.0	.615		.769	5.7	1.3	.7	.3	8.7
Jeff Grayer	3	0	15.3	.550		.667	2.0	.3	.3	.3	8.0
Avery Johnson	3	0	13.7	.529	.000		1.0	3.3	1.3	.3	6.0
Keith Jennings	3	0	13.0	.308	.200	.857	1.7	1.3	.3	.0	5.0
Josh Grant	1	0	1.0				.0	.0	.0	.0	.0

• ^† Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Warriors only.

Player statistics citation: ^[19]

Awards and records

• Chris Webber - Rookie of the Year, Player of the Week (Jan. 9), NBA All-Rookie First Team
• Latrell Sprewell - League Leader (Mins. Played, MPG), All-NBA First Team, NBA All-Defensive Second Team, NBA All-Star

Transactions

Main article: List of 1993–94 NBA season transactions

References

1. 1993-94 Golden State Warriors
2. Brown, Clifton (July 1, 1993). "PRO BASKETBALL; Pick and Troll: Magic Trades No. 1 Choice Webber". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
3. Heisler, Mark (July 1, 1993). "THE NBA DRAFT: Big Deal for Warriors: Webber for Hardaway: Basketball: Golden State Finally Gets Someone with Size. Orlando Gets Memphis State Guard to Complement O'Neal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
4. "1993 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
5. "Warriors Sign Johnson". United Press International. October 25, 1993. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
6. "Warriors Sign Avery Johnson, Cut Goodman". Deseret News. October 26, 1993. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
7. "Team-by-Team Look at the NBA for the 1993-94 Season". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 31, 1993. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
8. "PRO BASKETBALL; Hardaway Out for the Season". The New York Times. Associated Press. October 22, 1993. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
9. "Hardaway Injures Knee, Will Miss Season". Los Angeles Times. October 22, 1993. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
10. "Warriors Lose Marciulionis". The New York Times. Associated Press. September 29, 1993. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
11. "Mullin's Finger Injury Is Warriors' Latest Blow". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 31, 1993. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
12. "Mullin Out Six Weeks". United Press International. October 31, 1993. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
13. "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Mullin Ready to Play". The New York Times. December 17, 1993. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
14. "NBA Games Played on February 10, 1994". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
15. "1993–94 Golden State Warriors Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
16. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Webber Is Top Rookie". The New York Times. May 4, 1994. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
17. "Webber Chosen Rookie of Year Over Hardaway". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 4, 1994. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
18. "NBA & ABA Rookie of the Year Award Winners". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
19. "1993–94 Golden State Warriors Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved June 23, 2021.
20. Taylor, Phil (February 14, 1994). "The NBA". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
21. "1994 NBA All-Star Recap". NBA.com. NBA.com Staff. September 13, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
22. "1994 NBA All-Star Game: East 127, West 118". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
23. "Basketball". Bangor Daily News. February 12–13, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
24. "PRO BASKETBALL: NOTEBOOK; Hardaway and Webber Dominate Rookie Game". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 13, 1994. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
25. "1994 NBA Rising Stars: Phenoms 74, Sensations 68". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
26. Terry, Mike (May 18, 1994). "Bullets' MacLean Wins Most Improved Award". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
27. "1993–94 NBA Awards Voting". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
28. "Olajuwon Is Voted MVP". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. May 25, 1994. p. C3. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
29. "Wilkens Wins Coach of Year". The Washington Post. Associated Press. May 26, 1994. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
30. "PRO BASKETBALL; Suns Sweep Warriors as Barkley Goes Swish!". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 5, 1994. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
31. "Barkley Scores 56 Points as Suns Sweep Warriors". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 5, 1994. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
32. "1994 NBA Western Conference First Round: Warriors vs. Suns". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
33. "Warriors Acquire Pierce for Marciulionis". United Press International. July 18, 1994. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
34. "Marciulionis, Houston Are Traded for Pierce, Rogers". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. July 19, 1994. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
35. "Sonics Trade Pierce, Draft Pick to Warriors for Marciulionis". Deseret News. July 19, 1994. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
36. "Spurs Reportedly Agree to Terms with Person". United Press International. July 23, 1994. Retrieved January 17, 2022.

See also

• 1993-94 NBA season