The 1995–96 NBA season was the Warriors' 50th season in the National Basketball Association, and 34th in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Warriors won the Draft Lottery, and selected Joe Smith from the University of Maryland with the first overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft. During the offseason, the team acquired B.J. Armstrong from the Toronto Raptors and signed free agent Jerome Kersey. With Armstrong in the lineup at point guard, Tim Hardaway played off the bench for most of the first half of the season. Midway through the season, he was traded along with Chris Gatling to the Miami Heat for Kevin Willis and Bimbo Coles.

Under new head coach Rick Adelman, the Warriors posted a 10–win improvement, finishing sixth in the Pacific Division with a 36–46 record, missing the playoffs by three games. Smith averaged 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while being selected to the All-Rookie First Team. Following the season, Willis signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets, and Kersey signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

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