The Golden State Warriors won an NBA championship in 2022. This was the fourth title for Golden State in this dynasty era.
Since defeating the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals, the Warriors have won just one playoff series. Falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Semifinals, Golden State followed that by missing the playoffs entirely last season.
Trending in the wrong direction, the Warriors have very low expectations from the national media. Many outlets have Golden State missing the playoffs again.
Via Bleacher Report: “The prediction is that they finish barely above .500, but give the Warriors a wide variance because of No. 30.”
Speaking on 95.7 The Game’s Willard and Dibs show, Warriors guard and 2022 NBA champion Gary Payton pushed back against predictions like this.
“They said in ’22 we were on a downfall,” Payton said. “’Warriors are done.’ I’m sure they’re saying it even more now… I think we’re going to shock a lot of people. I think we’ll do some damage in the West.”
While Payton has a point, this feels different than the 2022 season. While Golden State undoubtedly outperformed expectations that year, they also got an All-Star season from Andrew Wiggins, the long awaited injury return of Klay Thompson, and the best season of Jordan Poole’s career.
