Why are the Golden State Warriors called The Dubs?
It’s one of only three NBA franchises to have kept its original name from the start and the team is playing in the 2022 Finals against another, the Boston Celtics.
The Golden State Warriors have made it into the NBA Finals 2022 and with success comes adulation. Then there are hero-specific plaudits, something the team brings with the likes of three-point master, Stephen Curry, his ‘splash brother’, Klay Thompson, the talented but much-maligned Draymond Green, and, of course, Kevin Durant, now slumming it in Brooklyn. It wasn’t always like this for the Warriors, though, but they have been able to keep that name.
Warriors from Philadelphia to San Francisco
The team was founded in Philadelphia in 1946 and so took the name Warriors to follow the city, and there was success in the relatively early days. One of the very best was Wilt Chamberlain who played in the years around 1960 both in Philly and then as the change was made to take the franchise to the west coast. Initially the San Francisco Warriors when the move happened in 1962, and then a decade later the current name was born, aligning nicely with the state of California that it represents in the NBA.
Did you know? The Warriors, along with the Utah Jazz, the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, are the only teams representing a state rather than just a city. They’re the only one to use the state’s nickname though!
Why are the Warriors called The Dubs?
If you know the answer to this question then you’ve clearly arrived at this article by mistake. For the rest of you, you are about to have that ‘oh, yeah, that’s so obvious’ moment when I reveal the reason for the name. Trust me, I remember when I found out.
So, although the Golden State Warriors are sometimes just referred to as GSW, the nickname of The Dubs started being used in the 1990s. And the explanation is as easy as why some people end up with shorter and shorter nicknames. The ‘W’ for Warriors was just diluted to the sound of the first syllable, ‘dub’ and it caught on.
What’s Dub Nation referring to?
From the point you have a team called The Dubs, you then have a fan base looking for an identity and community. The supporters therefore took on Dub Nation to describe themselves. And it’s been a real winner when it comes to marketing and, more recently, social media interactions by the Golden State Warriors.
So, there you have it. A fairly simple route to the commonly used nickname of the team that proudly wears the Golden Gate Bridge logo on all their gear.