Ranking the Golden State Warriors' Retired Numbers

After roughly parting ways with the Warriors three years ago, Chris Mullin may not have expected to see his jersey retired by the franchise.

However, the Hall of Fame guard/forward returned to California to see his No. 17 jersey hoisted into the rafters of Oracle Arena on Mar. 19.

With Monday's ceremony, Mullin became the sixth Golden State player to have his number retired. Here's a look—ranked in order of their performance and accomplishments—of Mullin and the other five athletes.

6. Al Attles (1960-71) Jersey No. 16

PPG: 8.9

RPG: 3.5

APG: 3.5

College: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Al Attles may not have attended a prestigious athletics school, but he made his name known in the NBA nonetheless.

Drafted as the 36th overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft, Attles played all 11 seasons with the Warriors. Although he wasn't known as a major scorer, the guard created plays and dished out assists to teammates such as Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry.

In 1964, Attles was a role players on the Warriors squad that made the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics four games to one.

Following his time on the court, Attles became one of the first African-American coaches in NBA history when he succeeded George Lee as the Warriors head coach. Attles led his former team to the 1975 NBA Championship, becoming the second—after Bill Russel—African-American coach to win an NBA title.

Over Attles' 14 seasons as head coach, the Warriors visited the playoffs six times.

Attles' jersey was retired on Feb. 10, 1977.

5. Tom Meschery (1961-67) Jersey No. 14

PPG: 12.7

RPG: 8.6

APG: 1.7

College: Saint Mary's (CA)

Although Russian by ethnicity, Tom Meschery was born in China to parents who had emigrated as a result of the October Revolution. After WWII, the family traveled to America and settled in California.

Meschery found his niche in basketball throughout high school and college, and he was drafted No. 7 overall by the Warriors in 1961.

The 6'6" power forward offered consistent play for the Warriors alongside Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain.

In 1962, Meschery led the NBA in personal fouls. The following season, he and Chamberlain played in the 1963 NBA All-Star Game.

After playing six seasons for the Warriors, Meschery joined the Seattle SuperSonics for the final four years of his career.

Meschery became known outside of basketball, as well. After he retired from the game, the Russian published three books of poetry, including one that holds a poem dedicated to friend and former teammate Chamberlain.

Meschery's jersey was retired on Oct. 14, 1967.

4. Nate Thurmond (1963-74) Jersey No. 42

PPG:15

RPG: 15

APG: 2.7

College: Bowling Green State University

Standing at 6'11", Nate Thurmond made a name for himself in the NBA as an outstanding rebounder and shot-blocker.

NBA.com describes Thurmond's style of play as "rugged" and "in-your-face," a player that "frequently intimidated even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain."

Although Thurmond was offered a scholarship by Ohio State University, he turned down the opportunity in order to play as a starter at Bowling Green. He excelled at the smaller University, and he was drafted No. 3 overall by Golden State in the 1963 NBA Draft.

Thurmond found himself playing either starting forward or as Chamberlain's backup at center, and he easily transitioned between positions as needed. In 1964 he earned a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Team.

Although Thurmond started out producing modest numbers behind Chamberlain, he developed under great mentorship. When Chamberlain was traded to Philadelphia in 1965, Thurmond got his chance:

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Thurmond developed into a consistent star. He played in three straight All-Star Games between 1965 and 1967 and averaged at least 18 rebounds each season, including a monstrous 21.3 in 1966-67.

Thurmond's offensive skills began to take shape as well. He poured in 18.7 ppg in 1966-67 and then 20.5 ppg in 1967-68, beginning a string of five consecutive seasons above 20 points per game. Early in the 1965 season, Thurmond hauled down 42 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons, the best single-game rebounding effort of his career and the seventh-best performance in NBA history.

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Thurmond played 11 seasons with the Warriors before being traded to Chicago for Clifford Ray prior to the 1974-75 season. While playing for the Bulls, Thurmond made NBA history on Oct. 18 when he tallied 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots—the first quadruple-double.

Thurmond's jersey was retired on Dec. 18, 1977.

3. Chris Mullin (1985-97, 2000-01) Jersey No. 17

PPG: 18.2

RPG: 4.1

APG: 3.5

College: Saint John's University

Chris Mullin grew up in New York, and he regularly traveled to the Bronx and Harlem, knowing that he would find the best competition in these primarily African-American neighborhoods. He studied the techniques of basketball legends that came before him, and he wore the No. 17 jersey in honor of John Havlicek.

Before he even played in the NBA, Mullin made himself known in the basketball world. In 1984, Mullin played for the U.S.A. Men's Olympic Basketball team—his teammates included basketball greats Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing.

Golden State drafted Mullin with the No. 7 overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft.

For the first three seasons, Mullin was "primarily a spot-up shooting guard playing in the backcourt alongside Eric 'Sleepy' Floyd."

1988 began a new era for Mullin, however. Over a five-year period, the 6'6" forward averaged 25+ PPG, made playoff appearances each year and found himself on the 1992 Olympic Dream Team roster alongside Jordan, Ewing, Magic Johnson, David Robinson and Charles Barkley.

Mullin played the first 12 years of his NBA career with the Warriors. He joined the Indiana Pacers for three years (1997-2000) before returning to Golden State for his final season.

On April 22, 2004, Mullin was named the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Warriors. However, on May 11, 2009, the team announced that Mullin's expiring contract would not be renewed, and the former Warrior was replaced by Larry Riley.

Mullin's jersey was retired on March 19, 2012.

2. Rick Barry (1965-78) Jersey No. 24

PPG: 23.2

RPG: 6.5

APG: 5.1

College: Miami

Rick Barry was drafted by the Warriors with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1965 NBA Draft.

Now considered one of the greatest small forwards of all time, Barry was known for his "precise outside shot, uncanny court vision, knowledge and execution of team defense principles, tenacious and ofttimes demanding will to win, and unorthodox but accurate underhanded free throw shooting."

Barry proved himself from Day 1. In 1965, he won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after averaging 25.7 PPG and 10.6 RPG. The following year, he played in the NBA All-Star Game and took home MVP honors.

Barry played eight seasons with Golden State before finishing out his career with the Houston Rockets. From 1968-72, however, Barry took a hiatus from the NBA.

Allegedly frustrated to not receive any incentive pay from then-owner Franklin Mieuli, Barry left to play with the American Basketball Association. While with the ABA, the 6'7" forward spent time with Oakland Oaks, Washington Caps, Virginia Squires and New York Nets.

Barry returned to the Warriors, and he especially impressed Golden State fans during the 1974-75 season. During that year, he averaged 30.6 points per game, led the league in free-throw percentage (.904) and steals per game (2.9) and ranked sixth in assists per game (6.2).

In 1996, Barry was named to the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

Barry's jersey was retired on March 18, 1988.

1. Wilt Chamberlain (1959-65) Jersey No. 13

PPG: 30.1

RPG: 22.9

APG: 4.4

College: Kansas

There's no doubt about it: Wilt Chamberlain is the greatest player to ever don a Warriors jersey.

At 7'1", Chamberlain played for several teams, including the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the L.A. Lakers.

"Wilt the Stilt" is undoubtedly best known for his 100-point game. The only player in NBA history to ever accomplish this feat, Chamberlain tallied the triple digits for the Philadelphia Warriors on Mar. 2, 1962.

The game took place at Hershey Sports Arena in Pennsylvania, and the Warriors beat the New York Knicks in a 169-147 final score. That season, he averaged 50 PPG.

Chamberlain boasted the Warriors name from 1959-1965.

His rookie year, the gentle giant became the NBA's highest paid player, raking in a $30,000 contract. In only his fourth game, Chamberlain met and played against the legendary Bill Russel, and the storied rivalry began.

Chamberlain averaged 37.6 points and 27 rebounds his first season and received NBA MVP and Rookie of the Year awards. Taking the league by storm, the rookie broke eight NBA records.

During his second year, he became the first player to break the 3,000-point barrier and the first—and only—player to break the 2,000-rebound barrier for a single season, pulling down 2,149 boards.

Out of 14 seasons played, Chamberlain's third year proved the most impressive year. During the 1961-62 season, the center tallied an incredible 4,029 points and 2,052 rebounds.

Chamberlain's jersey was retired by Golden State on Dec. 29, 1999.