When Philadelphia was awarded a charter NBA franchise in 1946, the owners decided to name the team after an old Philadelphia basketball team, the Warriors, who played as members of the American Basketball League in 1925.
The team became the San Francisco Warriors after they relocated to the West Coast in 1962, and changed its name to the Golden State Warriors—symbolizing a team belonging to all of California, the Golden State -- upon settling into a new home in Oakland in 1971.