[2][3][4][5] During the off-season, the team signed free agent Jeff Grayer.
[6][7] The Warriors lost several of their important players to injury during the regular season; Chris Mullin missed half the season with a torn ligament in his right thumb, only playing in just 46 games,[8][9][10][11] Tim Hardaway missed 16 games with a bruised right knee,[12][13][14][15] sixth man Šarūnas Marčiulionis broke his right leg and dislocated his right ankle in a jogging accident before the season, returned to play 30 games, then sat out the rest of the year with Achilles tendonitis;[16][17][18] and second-year star Billy Owens only played just 37 games due to a knee injury.
[19][20][21] The Warriors struggled after an 18–14 start to the season, losing 15 of their next 17 games, including an 8-game losing streak between January and February, and held a 23–30 record at the All-Star break.
[22] After releasing oft-injured center Alton Lister to free agency in March,[23][24] the team lost six of their final eight games of the season, and finished in sixth place in the Pacific Division with a 34–48 record, failing to qualify for the playoffs.
[25] Mullin led the team in scoring averaging 25.9 points per game, while Hardaway averaged 21.6 points, 10.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and Sprewell averaged 15.4 points and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.