The Forgotten 71: Unearthing McCoy McLemore’s Brief but Pivotal Warriors Legacy

In the vast, star-studded tapestry of Golden State Warriors history, where numbers like 30, 13, and 23 are woven into championship banners, others exist in the faintest of threads. The number 71 is one such thread, a digit so rarely seen on an NBA hardwood it feels almost mythical. Only three players in franchise history have worn it, a trio of brief tenants in a numerical oddity. The second of these tenants, forward McCoy McLemore, occupied the jersey for just two seasons in the mid-1960s. His story is not one of statistical dominance or lasting fame, but rather a crucial, overlooked piece of connective tissue in the Warriors’ perpetual cycle of reinvention—a reminder that every era, even the forgotten ones, is built on the contributions of players whose legacies are etched not in records, but in the quiet transition from one chapter to the next.

The San Francisco Draft Pick: A Bridge Between Eras

To understand McCoy McLemore’s place in Warriors lore, one must first set the scene. The franchise, founded in 1946 as a charter member of the Basketball Association of America (BAA), was in a state of flux. Having moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco in 1962, the team was navigating its new West Coast identity. Stars like Wilt Chamberlain were gone, and the organization was building around the formidable duo of Nate Thurmond and Rick Barry. Into this landscape stepped McLemore, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Drake University, selected by the San Francisco Warriors with the 25th overall pick in the 1964 NBA Draft.

His arrival coincided with a pivotal moment. The Warriors were assembling the core that would, just one season after McLemore departed, reach the 1967 NBA Finals. While not a headline maker, McLemore’s role was that of a depth piece and a developmental prospect. He was part of the new blood brought in to support Thurmond’s emerging dominance and complement the soon-to-arrive scoring explosion of Rick Barry. His two seasons in San Francisco, therefore, represent the incubation period for a contender—the often-unheralded work of filling out a roster with young, athletic talent.

McCoy McLemore’s On-Court Contribution: By the Numbers

McCoy McLemore’s tenure with the Warriors was brief, spanning 125 total games. His statistical footprint is modest, yet it reveals a player finding his way in a league that was rapidly evolving. He averaged 3.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game over his two seasons. But raw averages don’t tell the full story of a role player’s utility.

• Rookie Season (1964-65): Appeared in 59 games, averaging 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per contest. His best scoring output was a 13-point game against the Detroit Pistons.
• Sophomore Season (1965-66): Saw increased opportunity, playing in 66 games and averaging 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game. He posted a career-high 14 rebounds in a game against the Baltimore Bullets, showcasing his capability on the glass.
• Playing Style: McLemore was an athletic forward for his time, utilizing his size and hustle to contribute defensively and on the boards—a prototype for the modern “energy” forward off the bench.

His value wasn’t in volume scoring but in providing minutes of reliability. In an era with shorter benches, players like McLemore were essential for navigating the grueling 80-game schedule, offering defensive resistance and fresh legs. He was a footnote in the box score, but a necessary component of the team’s day-to-day ecosystem.

The Expansion Draft Exit: A Symbol of Changing Fortunes

The end of McLemore’s Warriors career is as telling as its beginning. Following the 1966 season, the NBA expanded, adding the Chicago Bulls to the league. The expansion draft mechanism is designed to help new teams build a roster, and it often plucks useful role players from established clubs. The Warriors, protecting their core of Thurmond, Barry, and other key contributors, left McCoy McLemore exposed. The Chicago Bulls selected him, drawing his San Francisco Warriors chapter to a close.

This moment is rich with historical irony. McLemore’s departure was a direct result of the Warriors’ rising stock; they had too much valuable talent to protect everyone. His selection by the Bulls was a testament to his perceived potential as a reliable professional. Furthermore, his exit cleared a path for further evolution on the Warriors’ roster. His story encapsulates the transactional, often unforgiving nature of professional sports, where a player can be both valuable and expendable in the same breath. The No. 71 jersey was passed on, a number waiting for its next temporary occupant.

Legacy and the Weight of a Rare Number

So, what is the legacy of a player like McCoy McLemore for a franchise as historically rich as the Golden State Warriors? It is a legacy of foundation. Championship teams are not built by stars alone; they are constructed with the mortar of draft picks, role players, and temporary contributors who hold the line during a build. McLemore’s two years in San Francisco were precisely that. He was part of the bridge between the early San Francisco years and the Finals appearance of 1967.

The No. 71 jersey itself stands as a monument to the obscure. In a franchise with over 600 players across more than 75 years, the fact that only three have ever worn this number speaks to its unique place. It is a number of transition, worn by players in fleeting moments of their careers. For McLemore, it was the uniform of his professional dawn. He would go on to play several more seasons with Chicago, Milwaukee, and the Lakers, but he began as Warrior #71.

In today’s analytics-driven NBA, every minute of every player is scrutinized. The McCoy McLemores of the world—the players who contribute to winning cultures without filling the stat sheet—are now celebrated as “high-impact, low-usage” players. In that sense, McLemore was ahead of his time, fulfilling a role that modern champions still desperately need.

Conclusion: An Essential Thread in the Fabric

The history of a sports franchise is too often told solely through the lens of its legends. But the true texture of that history is found in its full breadth, in the stories of every player who checked into a game. McCoy McLemore’s stint with the San Francisco Warriors was short, his statistics humble, and his jersey number bizarrely high. Yet, his presence coincided with the ascent of a Finals-caliber team. He was a draft pick who provided depth, an asset valuable enough to be claimed in an expansion draft, and a professional who played the game for multiple seasons.

As the Warriors continue to add to their storied legacy, the echoes of players like McLemore remain. They are the proof that every era is built on a collective effort, a combination of the iconic and the incidental. The No. 71 jersey, therefore, is more than a curiosity; it is a wearable piece of history, a symbol of the countless journeys that have passed through the franchise. And for two seasons in the mid-1960s, it belonged to McCoy McLemore, a Houston native who helped, in his own quiet way, build the bridge to the Warriors’ future.

Source: Based on news from Yahoo Sports.