Whether or not this is the “last dance” for the core of this team, the Golden State Warriors are clearly coming to the close of an era. Stephen Curry renewed his contract, sure, but Draymond Green is already talking about being comfortable with ending his career somewhere else, if that’s how the final chapter unfolds for him. These games may not be must-see basketball in the conventional sense. They might be must-see Warriors basketball precisely because the familiar cast won't be here forever. The Warriors have already written their epic lore across the NBA landscape for a decade, with Curry and Green as central players and this is the sunset hour.
But these final moments are special. Up against the odds yet again - steeper now than they’ve been in a long time. Any night might become the last glimpse of a player we will spend the rest of our lives talking about. Of course, the season’s outlook could be brighter, this is an aging roster that has been rebuilt a couple of times (or more) -exactly the sort of roster situation that LeBron James would flee from. Instead, the Warriors are content to play this all the way out. Re-tooled and coming back for another run, here comes Curry and the Warriors - a journey which, ironically enough, starts against a Los Angeles Lakers franchise that LeBron just bailed on.
Instead, this feels like the golden years. Odds of winning it all? Pfft. That’s not really the chase, which is weirdly okay. Maybe even a bit special, because how often do a fan base and player get to spend the full cycle together in such an epic way?
What does it mean to spend the full cycle together? We watched Curry go from a promising young guard to the face of a dynasty. We watched the championships, the near misses, the roster churn, the impossible shots, and the years when no one could stop them. Now we are just watching to see what else this team can give us - and what Curry still has left.
GAME DETAILS
WHO: Golden State Warriors (0-0) at Los Angeles Lakers (0-0)
WHEN: Wednesday, October 21st, 2026; 7pm PST
WATCH: ESPN
Injuries:1 Curry has been cleared to play after rolling his ankle at team practice on Sunday, but Brandin Podziemski will miss the season opener with a balky back.
Roster is set, preseason clarified some priorities
The Warriors didn’t make any major adjustments to their preseason roster, but the games did offer some clues about what this team might become. And that’s the interesting part of this season: with the old guard managing its mileage and the roster still taking shape around them, the Warriors have a lot to figure out before we know what this group is capable of. Let’s take a look at what we do and don’t know.
For one, the roster isn’t set at the top for the first time in a long while. With Curry and Green penned into the starting group with a sharpie, but it’s nothing but pencils from there. The eventual returns of Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are months away, so there’s already an inherent uncertainty to the opening portion of this season.
Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is the biggest unknown with the highest upside. He was solid in the preseason: 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.8 blocks per game, shooting 56.9% from the field and 43.8% from three in around 18 minutes per game. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out Apricot’s play compilation. I re-watched it recently and came away without any better idea of how this will go in the regular season. Some brilliant plays, but enough silly passes to be cause for pausing any early expectations. I have early expectations anyways, but that’s a personal choice.
The Warriors have been down this road before with James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga, two high-upside prospects whose time in Golden State never quite came together as hoped. That history makes Lendeborg particularly interesting: how much freedom will Steve Kerr give a promising rookie to learn on the fly, mistakes and all? The flashes are exciting, but the real test will be whether Lendeborg earns the trust and leash to turn them into something consistent.
Adding to the intrigue, the Warriors are already banged up. Even beyond Butler and Moody, the Warriors will be without Podz this game, and some other important players on a rolling basis.
Though it sounds more like a conservative approach early in the season rather than a catastrophic injury, backs are tricky and one of those pesky injuries that can pop up with a troubling frequency.
For the bigs, Porzingis is heading into the first game of the regular season hovering in that same indeterminate status as he spent all of training camp and preseason in. The frontcourt will be real thin this season. Horford, the beautiful dinosaur that he is, will not play in back-to-back and will also be on a soft minutes limitation - but Kerr was quick to point out that his Cenezoic Era2 players like Curry and Green may well be sitting out frequently as well. Presumably, Porzingis falls into this group too, once available.
“We have fans who buy tickets expecting to see Steph,” Kerr said. “Usually Steph, sometimes other players. People expecting to see vets. And then we have a back-to-back, and we don't play him. I would just come out and tell the fans out there to be mindful (of the schedule) when you're buying the tickets because we've got not just Steph, but we've got multiple vets we are going to try to manage because it's the only way we can do this.”
Honestly? This is fine. Curry and Green joking around on the bench with Jimmy Butler is what the world needs from this team this year. Joviality. A Joy that was once Weaponized™ is now something to be enjoyed on the couch with friends. Moreso, the Warriors know that this marathon won’t be easy or simple, and are old enough to plan around that. Like an early dinner on a Friday night to avoid the crowds: it’s no problem, even if the cool kids will point fingers, as long as you get what you need.
Here’s Kerr again, with more:
“We purposely are holding [Curry] back this year, trying to lessen the load with the knee in mind in particular. So, we're ramping him up more slowly. He's right on schedule. This is exactly how we planned it to this point, but every day means he's doing less.”
If Curry is doing less, then that must mean that there will be more coming from other directions.
The Brandin versus Brandon contest between Podz and Brandon Williams was one of the more interesting outcomes of the preseason. Williams is a quick slasher that thrived in the open courts of the preseason, but has a shaky outside shot (28% from deep over his four-year career) and will certainly get opportunities with Golden State this year. It may not be much of a contest when Podz is healthy, but if the back issues extend into something long-term all options are on the table.
It doesn’t fit into the poetry as easily here, but expect De’Anthony Melton to continually put pressure on the rotation as a preferred backup guard - and perhaps even the starting shooting guard alongside Curry. He struggled a bit in the playoffs but was a stalwart of the team for most of last season; he has a couple of surgically repaired thumbs and a will to win.
The future doesn’t have to arrive all at once. In the wings, the preseason showed some extremely interesting glimpses with the pairing of Lendeborg and Gui Santos. Golden State has been trying to get younger and more athletic for a long time, but in the end, those players need to be able to positively contribute. Much like Curry and Green, there’s something special-feeling in this duo, not Golden yet, but a shimmer of some sort seems to be there based on preseason.
But it all starts tonight. The first of at least 82 games. Nothing to prove, but everything to play for. We don’t know how much longer this version of the Warriors will last, and can only hope that the next one is already beginning to emerge.
Prediction
Golden State wins, and it’s a glorious, messy mix of old and new.
The Warriors are approaching the end of an era, but that doesn't mean this season is just a farewell tour. Appreciate what Curry and Green still have to give while discovering whether the next version of the Warriors is beginning to take shape into something worthy. Not just auditions for spare minutes; this is a test of whether the Warriors have enough dependable contributors to keep the team functional when its veterans inevitably need a night off. Starting with tonight!
What do you think about injuries listed in with the Game Details.
The Cenezoic Era? You know, between the dinosaurs and humans. Because Curry isn’t as old as Horford, but he’s up there. Please don’t say you never learned anything from DNHQ!
Curry is the Reason for the Season.