Improved Warriors Dress for Success

Eric Musselman was tired of fining players for breaking his travel dress code, so he devised a plan to fix the problem.

Before the Golden State Warriors left for Los Angeles to play the Lakers last week, the first-year coach required every player to wear a uniform top. He even showed up in a vintage jersey -- that of Julius Erving from the Hall of Fame forward’s days with the ABA’s Virginia Squires, the team Musselman’s late father used to coach.

The Warriors got a kick out of it. And they got a win out of it.

Antawn Jamison wore a throwback Randall Cunningham jersey, and Jason Richardson traveled as Joe Montana with the Kansas City Chiefs. Assistant coach Hank Egan dressed as Warrior holdout guard Steve Logan, sporting a fake gold chain, sunglasses and his hat on backward.

In Los Angeles, the Warriors bounced back from a demoralizing loss to Sacramento to beat the Lakers, 114-110, on Jan. 22, then returned home to defeat the New Jersey Nets.

As the youngest head coach in the NBA, with one of the league’s youngest rosters, the 38-year-old Musselman hasn’t hesitated to overhaul just about everything with the Warriors in a mission to turn the struggling franchise around.

He has brought in Bob Knight and asked former Warriors to speak. Chris Mullin, a special assistant with the team, is a regular observer at practice, and Musselman likes it that way.

“With everything that you try that’s new, there’s a risk,” he said. “We’re willing to take the risk, and we realize some guys buy in more than others.”

His tactics seem to be working.

The Warriors entered Friday’s game at Utah with 20 wins, one shy of their victory total from last season. Their 20-24 record marked the organization’s best start since the 1993-94 season, the last time Golden State reached the playoffs.

Musselman’s team has exceeded even his expectations in the unforgiving Western Conference. But he’s not one to start talking playoffs. It’s way too early. The All-Star break is still a week away.

The Warriors wanted a total change when they hired Musselman last summer despite the fact that his NBA experience was limited to assistant positions and scouting. Golden State chose him over interim coach Brian Winters, who stepped in for the fired Dave Cowens.

Musselman immediately went to work. He assigned every player a new locker space, issued a different dress code and implemented stricter rules. He upgraded the video system and purchased state-of-the art technology for studying other teams. He even improved the lighting in the training facility and made the locker room brighter.

The walls above the practice courts used to be bare. Now they feature paintings of uniforms worn by Wilt Chamberlain, when he was with the San Francisco Warriors, and Rick Barry.

Most noticeable is the huge bright yellow square painted with blue lettering reading “1974 1975 NBA World Champions” -- a constant reminder that this franchise has been on top before.

“You hope that the little things add up,” Musselman said. “You never know if they have anything at all to do with it, if they have a small impact. Really what it all boils down to is the players.”

But it’s Musselman who finds ways to motivate them.

He taped a carrot to each locker before the Warriors played Minnesota on Jan. 17. A victory meant a day off, thus the dangling carrot. Golden State won, 107-98. He placed mousetraps by each locker in a game at Denver to keep his players on their toes.

“The guy never loses faith in this team,” said the 26-year-old Jamison, a veteran on this roster. “He’s done a tremendous job. So far it’s been phenomenal, but there are still a lot of games. Guys respect him. Guys believe in what he’s trying to accomplish.”

Musselman leaves inspirational sayings for players when he thinks they need a boost. He reads them himself, too.

The son of former NBA coach Bill Musselman is in charge of a team that hasn’t made the playoffs or posted a winning record since 1994. He’s the Warriors’ eighth coach since 1994 -- working in a city where the Raiders reached the Super Bowl and have won three straight division titles, and the A’s won the AL West to make their third straight trip to the baseball playoffs.

Musselman is a journeyman who won 270 games in seven seasons coaching in the CBA. He was a general manager and head coach at 24 for the Florida Beach Dogs. His first NBA experience came with the Timberwolves as an assistant under his father in the 1990-91 season. He also spent two seasons as an assistant with both Orlando and Atlanta.

Musselman and his father are the first father-and-son head coaches in NBA history. His dad died in 2000 of bone cancer at age 59.

“As I look at my philosophy, the core of it all is from my father, because I spent my whole life with him,” Musselman said. “The things he really preached were you need to be an ultra competitor, you have to have a great will to win, and you have to outwork people.”

He learned plenty from other coaches, too.

Chuck Daly taught him to ignore outside influences and understand basketball as a business. From Lon Kruger, it was the idea of approaching every day the same way, win or lose. Pat Williams advised him to read and be resourceful, and Doc Rivers spoke of communicating with players.

Musselman seems to have that one down.

At 5 feet 8, he disappears in the huddle. Only 5-5 guard Earl Boykins is smaller.

Richardson, fined $2,500 for wearing a jersey top on a trip earlier this season, was thrilled when Musselman later required him to wear one.

“It was fun,” he said, smiling. “That’s all I wear. He can really relate to his guys.”