Most teams carry their city on the front of the jersey. The Warriors decided, in the early seventies, to carry a whole state instead. That choice, made when the club crossed the bay from San Francisco to Oakland and took the name Golden State, is one of the more unusual moments in NBA branding, and it is the key to understanding vintage Golden State Warriors clothing. This is a franchise that has lived in three cities, worn several very different identities, and come back around to some of its oldest ideas.
For anyone collecting vintage NBA apparel, that history is a gift. Each era has its own look, from sixties script to seventies state maps to a nineties lightning-bolt figure that people still argue about. Here is a walk through those eras, what to look for in the garments, and how to wear blue and gold without looking like you got lost on the way to the arena.
01. Philadelphia roots
The Warriors began in Philadelphia in the mid-forties, as one of the founding clubs of the league that would become the NBA. They won early championships there and later had Wilt Chamberlain, whose hundred-point game in 1962 came while he wore a Philadelphia Warriors uniform. Shortly after that, the team moved west to San Francisco.
Original clothing from the Philadelphia years is extremely scarce, and anything you see with that name is far more likely to be a later throwback. That is not a problem. Retro reissues of old Philadelphia designs, with simple script and plain colour blocks, are often well made and easy to wear. Judge them as garments, not relics. Look at the weight of the fabric and how the lettering is applied, and enjoy the connection to the club's beginnings.
The Philadelphia period also explains why the Warriors have always felt slightly older than their West Coast home suggests. The name came across the country with them, which is one reason it survived every later rebrand.
02. "The City" and the San Francisco sixties
In San Francisco the Warriors leaned into their new home with a design that collectors still love: jerseys that simply read "The City" across the chest, with a cable car on some versions. It is a lovely piece of sixties sports graphics, confident and local, and it has been revisited in modern throwback and alternate uniforms many times.
If you find a "The City" piece, assume it is a reissue unless there is strong evidence otherwise, and check the construction accordingly. Tackle-twill lettering should sit flat with tidy stitching around the edges. Screen-printed versions on tees and sweatshirts should have clean edges, though fine cracking on an older print is normal and often attractive.
Styling a "The City" design is easy because it reads more like a vintage souvenir than a team logo. A soft gold tee with the cable-car graphic looks good under an open denim shirt or a light chore coat, with straight jeans and canvas sneakers.
03. Golden State and the map of California
The move across the bay to Oakland in the early seventies came with the new name, and with it one of the league's more distinctive logos: an outline of California, often with a basketball or a star marking the Bay Area. The colours settled into the bright blue and gold that most people now associate with the team. Rick Barry led Golden State to the 1975 championship in this era, and that title gives seventies merchandise extra appeal.
Seventies Warriors pieces, whether originals or later reproductions, tend to share certain features: rounded collars, ringer trim on tees, shorter body lengths and slightly snug sleeves. The state-outline logo sits beautifully on a ringer or a raglan baseball tee. Fabric is often a thin cotton or a cotton-poly blend that has softened with age.
When buying, hold yellow and gold fabric up to daylight. Older gold shades can look rich indoors and reveal faint stains or uneven fading by the window. Decide whether those marks bother you before you commit, rather than after.
04. Run TMC and the late-eighties look
Around the turn of the nineties, the Warriors had one of the most entertaining trios in the league in Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, known collectively as Run TMC. They never won a title together, but they played fast, scored a lot and left a strong mark on the period's merchandise.
This era overlaps with the golden age of sports sweatshirts and team jackets. Look for heavy crewnecks with large chest graphics, satin and nylon jackets with snap fronts and quilted linings, and replica jerseys with a looser cut than modern versions. The Warriors' logo of this period still used the blue and gold palette, and the bright colours hold up well even when faded.
Fit is the main consideration. Late-eighties and early-nineties sweatshirts often run wide and short, with long sleeves and strong ribbing. Jackets have generous bodies and dropped shoulders that make layering over a hoodie easy. Try the combination you actually plan to wear before you decide.
A team that has moved twice tells its story in maps, bridges and city names before it ever mentions a player.
05. The Thunder era
In the late nineties the Warriors made their most dramatic change. The bright blue and gold gave way to navy and orange, and the logo became a muscular figure holding a lightning bolt, often nicknamed the Thunder guy. It was very much of its time, when teams across the league were chasing a darker, more aggressive look.
Fans were divided then and remain divided now, which is exactly what makes Thunder-era clothing interesting to collectors. It is unmistakably late-nineties and early-two-thousands, it does not resemble anything the team has worn before or since, and it often turns up on bold, oversized pieces: big jerseys, puffy jackets and heavyweight tees.
The bonus is the 2007 playoff run, when the "We Believe" Warriors upset the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks. That team wore a version of the darker identity, and anything connected to that spring has a following of its own. If you like the Thunder look, wear it with confidence and keep the rest of the outfit simple: black or grey denim, a plain hoodie, clean sneakers.
06. The bridge, the dynasty and a Toronto footnote
Around 2010, the Warriors returned to royal blue and gold with a new logo built around a bridge, a nod both to the Bay Area and to the team's classic circular designs. That identity became the face of the Stephen Curry era, a run that brought championships in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022 and changed how basketball itself is played.
Clothing from this period is recent, but early bridge-logo pieces from the first years of the rebrand are already becoming vintage in the practical sense: older cuts, discontinued designs and a bit of wear. If you are drawn to the dynasty years, look for those early pieces rather than the most recent ones.
Toronto readers will remember the other side of that story. In 2019 the Raptors beat the Warriors in the Finals, with the deciding game played at Oracle Arena in Oakland. The team moved back across the bay to San Francisco later that year. A Warriors piece from that season is, for some Raptors fans, an affectionate souvenir of the year Toronto won.
07. What to look for when you buy
Whatever era you are drawn to, the same basic checks apply. These are general clues, and no single detail proves a garment's age, but together they help you judge quality and condition:
- Fabric weight. Older sweatshirts often feel dense and slightly stiff; tees from the seventies and eighties can be noticeably thin and soft.
- Print condition. Light cracking is normal. Peeling or flaking edges suggest the print will continue to lift.
- Tags and stitching. Collectors look at tag design, country of manufacture and hem stitching as clues, but reissues can imitate all of them.
- Gold and yellow areas. Check in daylight for stains and uneven fading.
- Jackets. Test the snaps, look at cuff and collar ribbing, and check the lining for tears.
- Jerseys. Look at how numbers and lettering are attached and whether edges are lifting.
At Throwback Vault we pick team pieces for character and condition first. A Warriors crewneck with a beautifully worn state logo can be more satisfying to wear than a pristine one, as long as its condition is something you are happy to live with.
08. Wearing blue and gold
Royal blue and gold is a bright combination. It reads cheerful and sporty, which is a strength, but it can overwhelm an outfit. The easiest approach is to let one Warriors piece carry the colour and keep everything else neutral. A gold tee with washed black jeans and a grey zip hoodie. A royal blue crewneck with cream trousers and brown suede shoes. A satin jacket over a white tee and mid-blue denim.
Navy and orange from the Thunder years is easier to blend, because navy behaves like a neutral. A navy Warriors jacket works with olive, khaki and grey almost as easily as a plain navy coat would.
Above all, choose the era that genuinely appeals to you. Vintage Golden State Warriors clothing covers enough history that you can pick sixties city pride, seventies sunshine, nineties swagger or modern dynasty polish. Wear the one that feels most like you, and let the faded gold and soft cotton do the rest.
