The Golden State Warriors are the NBA’s most recent dynasty, but with those days quietly drawing to a close, one of the league’s premier franchises has a serious decision to make.
Golden State finished the regular season with a record of 37-45, which placed them 10th in the Western Conference. That means to earn a spot in the playoffs, the Dubs must defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in L.A. on Wednesday night, April 15 in the play-in tournament.
The Warriors must then travel to either Phoenix or Portland and best the loser of Tuesday night’s No. 7 vs. No. 8 game between the Suns and Trail Blazers. Should Golden State win back-to-back road games, its reward will be the 8th seed in the West and a first-round showdown with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Anthony Slater of ESPN broke down the situation facing the four-time title trio of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and head coach Steve Kerr during Tuesday’s edition of “NBA Today,” laying out why the better outcome organizationally is to lose and enter into the draft lottery for the first time since 2021.
“They’re not not trying to get into the playoffs,” Slater said. “Steph’s gonna try to get hot. It’s a showcase stage for them. Draymond said it: they don’t have many of these type of nights left.”
“But I think it is fair to wonder organizationally whether it’s better for them to lose,” Slater continued, noting the Dallas Mavericks loss in the play-in tournament last year, which landed them the No. 1 pick and Cooper Flagg. “If the Warriors lose, they keep their lottery odds — 9.4 percent chance to jump into the top four [picks] this draft.”
Warriors Could Land Next Steph Curry in This Year’s NBA Draft if They Jump Up in Lottery
GettyAJ Dybantsa of the BYU Cougars is a contender to be the top pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
The 2026 draft class is one of the best in years, maybe decades and potentially ever.
In some offseasons, there is not a franchise player to be had regardless of pick position. But this time around, any team in the top five (and potentially a few outside of it) will have an opportunity to nab a performer who could define an organization for years to come.
A 1-in-10 chance at that is a reasonable outcome for the Warriors after the injury-plagued regular season they just had. Meanwhile, winning their way through the play-in tournament will result in just a two percent chance of upsetting the Thunder in Round 1, according to ESPN analytics.
Warriors Have Missed on Last 3 Picks Inside NBA Draft Lottery
GettyFormer Golden State Warriors big man James Wiseman.
Golden State had the No. 2 pick in 2020 and went with big man James Wiseman, who ultimately became a bust. The Warriors selected twice in the lottery the following year, adding Jonathan Kuminga at No. 7 and Moses Moody with the 14th pick.
Kuminga has displayed 20-point-per-game potential as an on-ball scorer, but never really fit with how the Dubs play and ended up traded to the Atlanta Hawks earlier this season after years of a publicly strained relationship with Kerr.
Moody has proven a solid piece for Golden State but never played more than 24 minutes per game or averaged more than 10 points per night until this season, which he will finish watching from the sidelines due to a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.
The Warriors once talked about threading the needle between two timelines, in which they would continue competing for championships like the one they captured in 2022 and build for the future. But with Wiseman and Kuminga now elsewhere, and Moody merely a quality role player, those days and hopes are long gone.
Golden State intends to compete for a title next season, which is the last that Curry is under contract and in which he will turn 39 years old. That should make the summer interesting in the Bay Area with regards to free agency and trade discussions.
But the best chance now for the Warriors to matter next year, and in the seasons beyond, is for the team to enter the lottery, find a little luck and land a potential superstar. Doing so, however, means losing this week, which simply isn’t part of the franchise’s DNA.
Warriors Face Critical Decision Heading Into Do-or-Die Clippers Matchup