After four seasons of second-place finishes, changes were needed. Nate Thurmond was traded to Chicago for Clifford Ray, a young defensive center, and Golden State drafted Keith Wilkes , a graceful 6-61/2 forward whose game was as smooth as his nickname "Silk". Cazzie Russell had played out his option and joined the Lakers, leaving Rick Barry as the team's undisputed leader. Coach Al Attles used this to his advantage, installing a team-oriented system that drew on the contributions of as many as 10 players during a game, while emphasizing pressure defense, hustle, and passing. With Barry playing the staring role scoring 30.6 ppg the Warriors captured the Pacific Division title with a 48-34 record. In the playoffs the Warriors would get to the Western Conference Finals by beating the Seattle Supersonics in 6 games. In the Western Finals the Warriors looked like they were about to be done in by a former teammate again trailing Nate Thurmond and the Chicago Bulls 3 games to 2. However the Warriors rallied to win Game in Chicago and too k the series with a hard fought 83-79 Game 7 win in Oakland. In the NBA Finals the Warriors were in tight battles all series facing the Washington Bullets. However, they would win each game taking the series in 4 straight including 1 point wins in Games 2 and 4. Rick Barry would be named the series MVP.