Golden State Warriors: Ranking the 30 best Warriors ever

5. Nate Thurmond

Stats: 757 GP, 17.4 PPG, 16.9 RPG, 2.9 BPG, 42.5 FG%

Nate Thurmond was flat-out dominant. He was selected with the third pick of the 1963 NBA Draft, making his presence felt straight from the jump. It quickly became clear that Thurmond was going to have a profound impact on the game.

Thurmond was known for his ability to grab rebounds and block shots at a high rate. In the 11 seasons he played for the Warriors, Thurmond never had a single season in which he averaged under 10 rebounds. For back-to-back seasons, Thurmond grabbed 20+ rebounds a game. He did all of this while also averaging at least 15 points in every season except his rookie year.

His defensive skills are even better than the statistics show. This is because the NBA didn’t keep track of blocked shots until the 1973-74 season. By then, Thurmond was already 32 years old and in his 11th season. Still, he averaged nearly three blocks a game. This means it is likely that in his prime Thurmond was hovering around 4-5 blocks each night.

Thurmond finished his career as a seven-time All-Star, five-time All-Defensive member, and an NBA Hall-of-Famer.