The Golden State Warriors enter this season with about as little external hype as they’ve had in years. Gary Payton II has a simple message for anyone counting them out: you got problems.
Payton Draws Comparisons to 2021-22 Warriors
According to Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area, Payton spoke to reporters at Chase Center on Sunday and drew a direct parallel to the Warriors’ 2021-22 championship run. “It’s funny,” Payton said. “It kind of gives, in a sense, a ’22 feeling. We’re not expected to do anything, but we still got a pretty good veteran core, and we got some talented young guys. The goal this year, the motto for me, is stay healthy and have fun.”
The parallels do run deeper than vibes alone. That championship team was coming off a 39-win season that missed the playoffs. This year’s group finished with 37 wins and no playoff appearance of its own. Just as Klay Thompson was rehabbing an Achilles injury heading into that title run, Jimmy Butler is now working his way back from injury as Stephen Curry’s co-star. Golden State also has to navigate Moses Moody’s recovery on top of it.
On the youth front, the hope is that Brandin Podziemski can take a similar leap in his fourth year that Jordan Poole once made in his third. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is expected to be more ready to contribute right away than prior Golden State prospects like Jonathan Kuminga, James Wiseman or Moody were as rookies. Guard Brandon Williams may end up being the player who most reminds fans of Poole stylistically, given his ability to break down defenders off the dribble and attack the rim.
Payton’s Own Career Resurgence
Payton, who turns 34 in December, played a career-high 73 games last season, his most since appearing in 71 during Golden State’s championship run. The roster around him has shifted considerably since then. Role players like Damion Lee, Kevon Looney, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Nemanja Bjelica and Otto Porter Jr. have given way to a group now built around veterans like De’Anthony Melton, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Georges Niang.
“Down the line, young guys are gonna win some games for us and give our vet guys some time to rest and chill,” Payton said. “And when it’s time, when it matters, I think you know we’re always going to show up. We got 30, we got Dray. When we get Jimmy and we get Moses back, you never know. We just got to play the right ball until the right time and see what happens.”
A Taste of What’s Possible for the Warriors
Golden State’s play-in win over the Los Angeles Clippers last season didn’t lead anywhere further, with the team falling to the Phoenix Suns two days later. But that single game offered a glimpse of what this roster is capable of when everything clicks. Curry scored 35 points, including 27 in the second half, while Draymond Green locked down Kawhi Leonard defensively down the stretch. Porzingis added 20 points and a highlight dunk, Horford hit four threes in the fourth quarter, and both Podziemski and Gui Santos chipped in significant scoring off the bench.
Whether Golden State can sustain that level over a full season remains to be seen. For now, Payton and the rest of the roster seem content letting the outside world underestimate them. “It really doesn’t matter. If we get there, we got Wardell, we got Dray, we get a healthy Jimmy back and we got Al and KP,” Payton said. “You got problems if we’re all healthy when the time comes. It doesn’t matter if we’re eighth or we’re first, you got problems.”
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