The origin of the Splash Brothers moniker

Like many of you reading this, I pride myself on knowing pretty much everything there is to know about the Golden State Warriors. But when I read a recent story from The Athletic, I knew it was my duty to re-broadcast a tale that I had never heard before — in spite of its significance to our fan base — the origin of the #Splash Brothers.

As you may or may not know, the “We Believe” movement was created and led by fans initially. You can read the story of that one here, if you haven’t seen it yet. Also, that guy and his wife run one of the better Hawaiian restaurants for those in and around the Alameda area.

But unlike the We Believe stuff, the Splash Brothers label did not originate from the fans. A man by the name of Brian Witt came up with the name while working as a Digital Content Producer with the Warriors organization.

All of the excerpts below are extracted from this article from The Athletic. And since I’m borrowing so heavily from them, I’d be remiss if I didn’t also encourage everyone reading this to sign up for a subscription over there. It’s relatively cheap, and like much in life, it is noticeably better than the free stuff you find (anywhere besides GSoM, of course).

So back to the birth of the Splash Brothers back in 2012.

As part of the organization’s marketing department, it was our directive to come up with creative ways to get our players votes [for the All-Star game]. At the time, the last Warrior to make the All-Star team was Latrell Sprewell back in 1997 [...] So, how do you get non-stars from a fringe playoff team All-Star votes in the West?

God, there was some really bad basketball in that gap. No offense to Speedy Claxton or Mike Dunleavy junior. But with the emergence of the high-powered duo — keep in mind this is prior to Steph Curry going absolutely nuclear. So rather than try and cram in a marginally qualified point guard into a loaded Western backcourt election, why not try two?

At the time, nobody on the team was high profile enough to get adequately recognized as an individual. But perhaps a package deal approach could prove successful. It had to make sense, though.

And then, one day, it clicked...They had a young backcourt duo comprised of two of the silkiest, sweetest-shooting guards the game had ever seen. [...] My mind shifted into Bay Area sports history gear, and I immediately thought of a famous poster I recalled from my childhood. I could see it as clear as day. Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, sitting atop a police car while holding giant wooden bats. At the bottom of the poster, three words: The Bash Brothers.

This was perfect

And then boom. That was pretty much it. Change out a couple of letters, and the Splash Brothers were subsequently born in this tweet on December 21, 2012.

It's a perfect fit. Calling on Bay Area history, and adapting it into a reference to three-pointers, the homerun of the NBA's modern era.

So thank you, Brian Witt. I loved the Splash Bros as a kid too, and it was really cool to see the genesis of a name that is pretty much canonical for this era of Warriors basketball.