Since 2012-2013 the Golden State Warriors franchise has seen plenty of success, which has resulted in four championships. Yet from 2000-2001 to 2011-2012 there was not much winning and fortunately former owner Chris Cohan decided to sell the team to Joe Lacob and Peter Guber in 2010 for $450 million. The Inscriber Magazine will now look at the 10 best player seasons since the 2000-2001.
Also, the caveat is that said player will have to play in at least 70 games in that particular season, which means the 2020-2021 season of Stephen Curry is excluded even though he averaged 32 points per game and the 2011-2012 season of David Lee in which he nearly averaged 20 and 10.
10. Klay Thompson 2014-2015: 21.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.1 steals, .8 blocks, 46.3 field goal percentage, 43.9 three-point percentage, and 87.9 free throw percentage
Arguably this was the season that Klay had his most iconic moment. His 37 point third quarter against the Sacramento Kings. He finished that night with a then career-high of 52 points. Interestingly enough he finished 10th in MVP voting, made the All-Star team, and was a third team All-NBA selection.
9. Monta Ellis 2007-2008: 20.2 points, 5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 steals, 53.1 field goal percentage, and 76.7 free throw perentage
Coming off winning the Most Improved Player Award, Ellis continued to impress. His mid-range game was lethal and for his size he rebounded well. He scored a then career-high 39 points against the New Jersey Nets, grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds against the Orlando Magic, dished out a season-high nine assists twice once against the Lakers and the other against the Celtics, and tied a then career-high of six steals against the Suns.
8. Antawn Jamison 2000-2001: 24.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.4 steals, 44.2 field goal percentage, and 71.5 free throw percentage
In back-to-back games Jamison matched his career-high of 51 points, with the most memorable one being an overtime victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers. He also grabbed 14 and 13 in those two games, and against the lakers also dished out five assists. Against the Atlanta Hawks he grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds, dished out a career-high seven assists twice with one coming against the Los Angeles Clippers and once against the Spurs, and set a then career-high that he matched twice of five steals against the Vancouver Grizzlies and Kings.
7. Jason Richardson 2005-2006: 23.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals, 44.6 field goal percentage, 38.4 three point percentage, and 67.3 free throw percentage
One of the saddest days for Warriors fans was when Richardson got traded to the Bobcats.
Richardson was one of the best dunkers in-game dunkers in NBA history. Also, he won two Slam-Dunk contests. In 2005-2006 he scored a career-high 44 points against the Miami Heat, pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds twice once against the Milwaukee Bucks and the other against the Phoenix Suns, tied a career-high with eight assists against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, and twice recorded a season-high of five steals against the Boston Celtics.
6. David Lee 2012-2013 18.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, .8 steals, 51.9 field goal percentage, 79.7 free throw percentage
Lee quickly became a fan favorite after being acquired from the New York Knicks. One of the things he was best known for was telling Blake Griffin to “stop flopping.” He scored a season high 31 points against the Denver Nuggets, more impressive was the 22 rebounds he grabbed against the San Antonio Spurs along with 25 points, and against the Charlotte Bobcats he dished out a career-high 11 assists and in that game he also had 23 points and 11 rebounds.
Funnily enough, the best game of Lee’s career came while he was still with the Knicks and it came against the Warriors. When he scored a career-high 37 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists.
In the 2012-2013 season, Lee made the All-Star team, finished 12th in MVP voting, and was a third-team All-NBA selection.
5. Monta Ellis 2010-2011 25.5 points, 5.3 assists, 4 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 45.1 field goal percentage, and 78.9 free throw percentage.
With little depth, Ellis played plenty of minutes in 2010-2011 and scoring wise it was as career year for him. He tied a then career-high with 46 points against the Rockets, dished out a season-high 13 assists against the Wizards while also scoring 37 and grabbing seven rebounds, tied a career-high of 12 rebounds against the Suns, and tied his career-high of seven steals twice once against the Utah Jazz and the other against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
One of the best plays for Ellis in a Warriors uniform did not come in either of the seasons mentioned yet still feels worth mentioning his dunk over Leandro Barbosa. Jim Barnett had the best reaction “he saw a guy that was a little smaller, my word.”
4. Baron Davis, 2007-2008: 20.5 points, 8.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals, 43.9 field goal percentage, 30.4 three point percentage, and 74.5 free throw percentage.
When the “We Believe” team was broken up and Davis signed with the Clippers as a free agent it was definitely difficult for Warriors fans. Yet in his three plus seasons in Oakland it was awesome.
Unfortunately for Davis he also struggled to remain healthy in his limited time with Golden State. Yet in the 2007-2008 season he played all 82 games in 2007-2008 he arguably put up his best numbers. He equaled a career-high of 40 points against the Chicago Bulls, set a then career-high of 19 asssists against the Memphis Grizzlies, set a career-high of 12 rebounds against the Nets, and twice tied a career-high with seven steals once against the Seattle Super Sonics, and the other against the Indiana Pacers.
3. Draymond Green 2015-2016: 14 points per game, 9.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.4 blocks, 49 field goal percentage, 38.8 three point percentage, and 69.6 free throw percentage.
This particular easily was a career year for Green even though he came in second for Defensive Player of the Year. The 14 points per game is still a career-high, along with the 9.5 rebounds, and his second best in regard to assists per game. He scored a season-high 29 points against the Nuggets and in that game also grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds, dished out 14 assists, and finished with four steals.
In another triple-double for Green, he finished with a season-high 16 assists against the Houston Rockets. Recorded a season-high six steals twice, once against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the other against the Celtics. Season-high of five blocks happened twice as well with one coming against the Washington Wizards and the other against the Celtics. During the 2015-2016 he recorded 13 triple-doubles.
Green finished seventh in MVP voting, made the All-Star team, was selected to the Second-Team All-NBA Team, and was First-Team All Defense.
2. Kevin Durant 2018-2019: 26 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists, .7 steals, 1.1 blocks, 52.1 field goal percentage, 35.3 three point percentage, 88.5 free throw percentage
Durant won two rings in a Warriors uniform. He did deal with injuries in his short time with the franchise though, with the most noteworthy his torn achilles in the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
He scored a season-high of 51 against the Raptors, pulled down 15 rebounds against the New Orleans Pelicans while also scoring 30, four times equaled a season high of 11 asssits, which came against the Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, and Lakers, and tied a career-high of seven blocks against the Kings.
Also, he finished eighth in MVP voting, made the All-Star team, and was Second-Team All-NBA.
1. Stephen Curry 2015-2016: 30.1 points, 6.7 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 50.4 field goal percentage, 45.4 three point percentage, and 90.8 free throw percentage
Not surprising that Curry’s unanimous MVP award season is the best season for a Warriors player since 2000-2001. Still unfortunately injuries were a common theme for many of the names on this list.
Fortunately for Curry he remained relatively healthy and missed only three games in 2015-2016. He scored a season-high of 53 points against the Pelicans, he also dished out nine assists, had a season-high of 15 assists against the Timberwolves, grabbed a career-high of 14 rebounds against the Kings, and twice had a season-high of five steals once against the Wizards and the other against the Grizzlies.
He of course was an All-Star and made First-Team All-NBA.