The NBA Champion Golden State Warriors will recognize a member of each of the franchise’s three previous championship teams during their Opening Night ring ceremony tonight, prior to tipping off the 2015-16 campaign against the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena.
In addition to collecting their 2014-15 NBA Championship rings and unveiling the 2014-15 NBA Championship banner, the Warriors will recognize Howie Dallmar Jr., whose late father, Howie, was a member of the inaugural NBA champion Philadelphia Warriors in 1946-47; Walt Davis, who appeared in 80 regular- and postseason games for Philadelphia during its championship run in 1955-56; and Rick Barry, who earned the 1975 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award after helping the Warriors to a four-game sweep of the Washington Bullets, claiming their first title in the team’s West Coast Era.
Dallmar’s three-year career with the Philadelphia Warriors began in the NBA’s inaugural season, then known as the BAA, in 1946-47, when he helped the Warriors capture the inaugural championship with a 4-1 series win over the Chicago Stags in the BAA Finals. Dallmar was one of four Warriors to appear in all 70 games (regular season and playoffs) for the 1946-47 champions, leading the team in assists and finishing third in scoring with an average of 8.8 points per game. Following his playing days, Dallmar embarked upon a 27-year collegiate coaching career that included a 21-year stint as the head coach of his alma mater, Stanford University (1954-75).
Davis appeared in 70 regular-season games and all 10 postseason contests for the 1955-56 Warriors, who won the club’s second NBA championship with a 4-1 series win over the Fort Wayne Pistons in the NBA Finals. The 6’8” forward/center spent over four seasons with the Warriors before finishing his career by helping the St. Louis Hawks win the NBA title in 1957-58. A collegiate All-American in both basketball and track and field at Texas A&M University, Davis won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in the high jump prior to beginning his professional basketball career.
Barry, who earned NBA All-Star honors in each of his eight seasons with the Warriors, led Golden State with 30.6 points and 6.2 assists during the 1974-75 campaign and helped the team to series victories over the Seattle SuperSonics (4-2) and Chicago Bulls (4-3) before dispatching the Bullets in four games to win the NBA title. Selected by the Warriors with the second overall pick of the 1965 NBA Draft, Barry earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1965-66 and was a six-time All-NBA selection. The 1975 NBA Finals MVP, whose No. 24 is one of six jerseys retired by the Warriors, was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Tickets for Opening Night are still available and can be purchased at warriors.com, or by calling 1-888-GSW-HOOP. Warriors.com offers fans a verified marketplace for all Warriors ticket needs, including official resale tickets from Season Ticket Holders that are guaranteed by the Warriors organization. The Warriors ticket marketplace offers a safe and convenient way for fans to access all levels of tickets throughout the regular season and playoffs. The team has sold out 134 consecutive games and has a current Season Ticket Priority Wait List of over 17,000 members.