Nate Thurmond is the No. 1 rebounder in Golden State Warriors history.
The Golden State Warriors have made the playoffs 37 times in franchise history and won seven championships. Here’s a closer look at their top five all-time rebounds leaders.
1. Nate Thurmond, 12,771 Rebounds
Thurmond finished third in the 1964 Rookie of the Year race. He made seven All-Star teams during his tenure with the Warriors and came in second in MVP voting for the 1966-67 season. In total, he finished inside the top 10 in MVP voting five times. Throughout 11 seasons with the franchise, he averaged 16.9 rebounds.
2. Wilt Chamberlain, 10,768 Rebounds
Chamberlain made 13 All-Star teams, was a seven-time scoring champion, the MVP four times and made two All-Defensive teams. Amazingly, he averaged at least 18.2 rebounds per game in every season of his career. He rarely came off the floor, averaging 45.8 minutes throughout his 14-year career. In 429 career games with the Warriors, he averaged 25.1 rebounds.
3. Larry Smith, 6,440 Rebounds
Smith spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Warriors, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1980-81. That same season, he averaged a career-high 12.1 rebounds. In five of his first seven seasons, he averaged 10.9 rebounds or more. He wasn’t much of a scorer, but was efficient shooting 53.9% from the field while scoring 8.5 points per game over his nine-year tenure. In 617 career games with the Warriors, he averaged 10.4 rebounds.
4. Clyde Lee, 6,416 Rebounds
Lee made his one and only All-Star team during the 1967-68 season after averaging 11.9 points and 13.9 rebounds. That began a streak in which he averaged 11.3 rebounds or more in five of his eight seasons with the Warriors, playing in at least 78 games in four of those campaigns. While he also had brief stints with the 76ers and Hawks, Lee averaged a career-high 11 rebounds over 583 career games with the Warriors.
5. Paul Arizin, 6,129 Rebounds
Arizin is a 10-time All-Star who won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1950-51. He ranked in the top 10 in MVP voting four times and was a four-time All-NBA selection. He led the league in minutes per game twice and averaged 38.4 minutes for his career. He averaged double-digit rebounds once, but played his entire 10-year career with the Warriors. His career totals could have been even more impressive, but he sat out two seasons while serving in the military.
