1992–93 Golden State Warriors season

The 1992–93 NBA season was the Warriors' 47th season in the National Basketball Association, and 30th in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[1] This season is most memorable when the Warriors drafted Latrell Sprewell from the University of Alabama with the 24th overall pick in the 1992 NBA draft.^[2][3][4][5] During the off-season, the team signed free agent Jeff Grayer.^[6][7] The Warriors were severely bitten by the injury bug all season losing their top players; Chris Mullin missed half the season with a torn ligament in his right thumb, only playing just 46 games,^{[8][9][10][11]} Tim Hardaway missed 16 games with a bruised right knee,^{[12][13][14][15]} Šarūnas Marčiulionis broke his right leg and dislocated his right ankle in a jogging accident before the season, returned to play 30 games, then sat out the rest of the year with Achilles tendonitis;^[16][17][18] and second-year star Billy Owens only played just 37 games due to a knee injury.^[19][20][21]

1992–93 Golden State Warriors season
Head coach	Don Nelson
Arena	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
Results
Record	34–48 (.415)
Place	Division: 6th (Pacific) Conference: 10th (Western)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KPIX-TV KICU-TV SportsChannel Pacific (Steve Albert, Jim Barnett)
Radio	KNBR (Greg Papa)
< 1991–92 1993–94 >

The Warriors struggled after an 18–14 start to the season, losing 15 of their next 17 games, including an 8-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 23–30 record at the All-Star break.^[22] After releasing oft-injured center Alton Lister to free agency in March,^[23][24] the team lost six of their final eight games of the season and finished sixth in the Pacific Division with a 34–48 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs.^[25]

Mullin led the team in scoring averaging 25.9 points per game, while Hardaway averaged 21.6 points, 10.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and Sprewell averaged 15.4 points and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. In addition, Owens provided the team with 16.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while Marčiulionis contributed 17.4 points and 1.7 steals per game, second-year forward Chris Gatling averaged 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game off the bench, and Tyrone Hill provided with 8.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.^[26] Mullin and Hardaway were both selected for the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, but Mullin did not participate due to injury.^{[27][28][29][30]}

Following the season, Hill was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.^{[31][32][33][34]}

Offseason

Draft picks

Main article: 1992 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Latrell Sprewell	SG/SF	United States	Alabama
2	43	Predrag Danilović	SG/SF	Yugoslavia
2	50	Matt Fish	C	United States	North Carolina-Wilmington

Roster

1992–93 Golden State Warriors roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 52 Alexander, Victor 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1969–08–31 Iowa State F 35 Buechler, Jud 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1968–06–19 Arizona F 45 Courtney, Joe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1969–10–17 Southern Miss F 25 Gatling, Chris 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1967–09–03 Old Dominion G 44 Grayer, Jeff 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1965–12–17 Iowa State G 10 Hardaway, Tim 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1966–09–01 UTEP F 3 Higgins, Sean 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1968–12–30 Michigan C 32 Hill, Tyrone 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968–03–19 Xavier F 21 Houston, Byron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1969–11–22 Oklahoma State G 2 Jennings, Keith 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1968–11–02 East Tennessee State G 13 Marčiulionis, Šarūnas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1964–06–13 Lithuania F 17 Mullin, Chris 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1963–07–30 St. John's F 30 Owens, Billy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1969–05–01 Syracuse F 12 Spencer, Andre 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1964–07–20 Northern Arizona G 15 Sprewell, Latrell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1970–09–08 Alabama

Head coach Don Nelson Assistant coach(es) Gregg Popovich Paul Pressey Donnie Nelson Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: April 14, 1993

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Phoenix Suns	62	20	.756	—	35–6	27–14	21–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics	55	27	.671	7	33–8	22–19	22–8
x-Portland Trail Blazers	51	31	.622	11	30–11	21–20	19–11
x-Los Angeles Clippers	41	41	.500	21	27–14	14–27	15–15
x-Los Angeles Lakers	39	43	.476	23	20–21	19–22	13–17
Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	28	19–22	15–26	9–21
Sacramento Kings	25	57	.305	37	16–25	9–32	6–24

#	Western Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Phoenix Suns	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Houston Rockets	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Seattle SuperSonics	55	27	.671	7
4	x-Portland Trail Blazers	51	31	.622	11
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	49	33	.598	13
6	x-Utah Jazz	47	35	.573	15
7	x-Los Angeles Clippers	41	41	.500	21
8	x-Los Angeles Lakers	39	43	.476	23
9	Denver Nuggets	36	46	.439	26
10	Golden State Warriors	34	48	.415	28
11	Sacramento Kings	25	57	.305	37
12	Minnesota Timberwolves	19	63	.232	43
13	Dallas Mavericks	11	71	.134	51

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1992-93 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–2	3–2	2–2	0–5	1–1	2–0	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	1–3	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2
Boston	2–2	–	3–1	1–3	3–1	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	2–0	4–0	1–4	3–2	4–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–1
Charlotte	2–3	1–3	–	2–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	0–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	4–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Chicago	2–2	3–1	3–2	–	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	5–0	2–0	0–2	3–1	4–1	2–0	4–0	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–0
Cleveland	5–0	1–3	3–1	3–2	–	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	2–2	4–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Dallas	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	–	1–5	1–1	0–4	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	0–2	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–4	0–4	0–5	1–3	0–5	1–1
Denver	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1	–	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–3	3–1	1–4	1–3	2–3	2–0
Detroit	3–2	3–1	1–4	1–3	2–3	1–1	1–1	–	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0
Golden State	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–0	1–3	2–0	–	2–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	0–5	4–1	3–1	1–4	3–1	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	1–1	2–2	–	2–0	4–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–0	4–1	1–3	4–1	1–1
Indiana	2–2	2–2	5–0	0–5	0–4	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–0	0–2	–	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	3–2	0–4	1–1	–	3–2	0–2	2–0	4–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	3–2	0–4	1–4	2–2	2–0
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1	3–1	1–1	4–1	1–3	1–1	2–3	–	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–5	3–2	3–2	2–2	1–4	1–3	2–0
Miami	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–2	2–0	2–0	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	2–0	–	2–2	2–0	2–3	0–5	3–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	2–3
Milwaukee	2–3	2–2	1–3	1–4	1–4	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	–	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–3
Minnesota	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1	2–3	1–1	1–3	2–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	–	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–4	1–3	1–3	1–4	0–4	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	3–1	0–4	2–2	0–4	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–0	2–0	3–2	4–0	1–1	–	1–3	3–2	3–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New York	2–2	4–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	5–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	–	2–2	5–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1
Orlando	3–1	2–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–2	2–0	2–3	2–2	–	3–2	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0
Philadelphia	1–3	1–4	0–4	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–1	2–2	2–0	2–3	0–5	2–3	–	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Phoenix	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–1	2–0	4–1	2–2	1–1	2–3	5–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	–	3–2	5–0	3–1	2–3	3–1	2–0
Portland	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	–	5–0	2–2	2–3	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	0–2	1–4	0–4	0–2	2–3	2–3	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	0–5	–	2–2	1–4	2–2	1–1
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–0	4–1	2–0	1–3	1–4	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	–	3–1	3–3	1–1
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	2–0	4–1	3–1	0–2	4–1	4–1	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	3–2	4–1	1–3	–	2–2	2–0
Utah	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	1–3	1–4	2–0	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–3	2–2	2–2	3–3	2–2	–	1–1
Washington	2–2	1–4	0–4	0–4	1–3	1–1	0–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–2	0–2	3–2	3–1	1–1	1–4	1–4	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	—

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
Byron Houston	79	8	16.1	.446	.286	.665	4.0	.9	.6	.5	5.3
Latrell Sprewell	77	69	35.6	.464	.369	.746	3.5	3.8	1.6	.7	15.4
Tyrone Hill	74	66	28.0	.508	.000	.624	10.2	.9	.6	.5	8.6
Victor Alexander	72	59	24.3	.516	.455	.685	5.8	1.3	.5	.7	11.2
Chris Gatling	70	11	17.8	.539	.000	.725	4.6	.6	.6	.8	9.3
Jud Buechler	70	9	18.4	.437	.339	.747	2.8	1.3	.7	.3	6.2
Tim Hardaway	66	66	39.5	.447	.330	.744	4.0	10.6	1.8	.2	21.5
Jeff Grayer	48	12	21.4	.467	.143	.669	3.3	1.5	.6	.2	8.8
Chris Mullin	46	46	41.3	.510	.451	.810	5.0	3.6	1.5	.9	25.9
Billy Owens	37	37	32.5	.501	.091	.639	7.1	3.9	.9	.8	16.5
Šarūnas Marčiulionis	30	8	27.9	.543	.200	.761	3.2	3.5	1.7	.1	17.4
Ed Nealy†	30	4	7.6	.348	.318	.700	1.6	.4	.3	.0	1.5
Sean Higgins	29	4	20.4	.447	.351	.745	2.3	2.3	.4	.2	8.3
Alton Lister	20	9	8.7	.452		.538	2.2	.3	.0	.5	2.3
Paul Pressey	18	0	14.9	.439	.000	.778	1.7	1.7	.6	.3	4.4
Andre Spencer†	17	1	23.9	.456	.000	.759	4.7	1.4	.9	.4	11.0
Keith Jennings	8	0	17.0	.595	.556	.778	1.4	2.9	.5	.0	8.6
Joe Courtney†	7	0	10.0	.391		.800	2.4	.3	.4	.6	3.1
Pat Durham	5	1	15.6	.240		.750	2.8	.8	.2	.2	4.2
Barry Stevens	2	0	3.0	.500			1.0	.0	.0	.0	1.0

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

Awards and records

• Chris Mullin, NBA All-Star Game
• Tim Hardaway, NBA All-Star Game
• Tim Hardaway, All-NBA Third Team
• Latrell Sprewell, NBA All-Rookie Team Second Team

References

1. 1992-93 Golden State Warriors
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3. "Pro Basketball". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. October 9, 1992. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
4. Taylor, Phil (February 21, 1994). "Latrell Sprewell". Sports Illustrated Vault. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
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7. Cremer, Randy (August 1, 1992). "Warriors Add Free Agent Grayer, Release Higgins". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
8. Aldridge, David (February 6, 1993). "Enfeebled Warriors Trampled by Bullets". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
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20. Aldridge, David (February 6, 1993). "Enfeebled Warriors Trampled by Bullets". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
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