The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history.
Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego.
To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the first of 15 players who wore the No. 9 jersey for the Warriors.
That player would be Golden State big man alum Connie Dierking. After ending his college career at Cincinnati, Dierking was picked up with the sixth overall selection of the 1958 NBA draft by the (then) Syracuse Nationals (now, Philadelphia 76ers).
The Brooklyn, New York native would play parts of the first 4 seasons of his pro career with the Nats/Sixers, ending when he was dealt to the (then) San Francisco (now, Golden State) Warriors in 1965. His stay with the team would span just 30 games before he'd be dealt again, this time to the (then) Cincinnati Royals (now, Sacramento Kings).
During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Dierking wore only jersey Nos. 18 and 9 and put up 8.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game.
This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors jersey history - No. 9 - Connie Dierking (1965)
