LOS ANGELES — The Warriors begin the 2025-26 season in Los Angeles with the same, identical goal that every other Golden State iteration has: to win a championship. Although the ultimate goal remains unchanged, the possibilities that exist between Tuesday’s regular-season opener and a hypothetical fifth title of the Steph Curry and Steve Kerr era are almost limitless.
With the season beginning, here are five predictions for the Warriors’ season between now and then.
### The Warriors Lead the League in 3-Point Attempts, Break Celtics’ Record
The Warriors, who revolutionized the basketball world with high-volume 3-point shooting, are not currently represented in the top three for most long bombs attempted in a season. Last year’s Celtics used coach Joe Mazzula’s penchant for 3s to attempt a mind-boggling 48.3 triples a night, three more than the 2019 and 2020 James Harden-led Rockets.
The Warriors have led the league in volume only twice—once in 2015-16 and again in 2022-23, when they averaged 43.2 attempts per game, good for fourth all-time. That will change this season.
With Al Horford’s sharp shooting now at center for most games, and an older roster that is not exactly stocked with players who get to the rim, all of the ingredients are there for the Warriors to let it fly at a historic rate. If the preseason is anything to go by, this is not a far-fetched prediction. Even with Curry and the vets playing only around 20 minutes a night, the Warriors launched 45.3 three-pointers a game.
### Jonathan Kuminga Will Remain a Warrior for the Entire Season
Kuminga may have ended his summer-long negotiation with a new $46.5 million contract, but there is an expectation that he is a top candidate to be traded once eligible on January 15. The forward, with tantalizing offensive potential and a desire to be a featured scorer, will not be that—at least consistently—on a team that stars Curry and Jimmy Butler.
But instead of being sent to a place with more available shots, wouldn’t it be something if Golden State kept Kuminga through the trade deadline?
He has, stunningly, become a willing and effective passer to start Year 5 in the Warriors system, averaging an even 4 assists per game in the preseason. Kuminga has run the floor hard, defended with effort, and (mostly) been a factor on the boards.
“Being involved on both sides, and if it’s on defense and it’s ‘Go guard the best player,’ or if it’s ‘We need you to score’ or ‘We need you to guard certain people,’” Kuminga said at his first preseason press conference. “I feel like that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Is it really that much of a stretch to believe that the Warriors, while gunning for playoff seeding, would rather keep Kuminga for the stretch run rather than trade him for players who may or may not fit with the team?
### Steph Curry Makes a Run at MVP
Predicting a great Steph Curry season seems as mundane as rush hour traffic on the 101. But even coming off a second-team All-NBA season last year, calling for Curry to be a top-three MVP finisher would be completely unprecedented at his age (37) and height (6-foot-2).
So here’s the argument for Curry contending for the MVP 10 years after his historic 2015-16 season.
He is still an elite offensive engine, averaging 24.5 points per game last season as the team’s driving force. The Warriors’ offense fell off a cliff against Minnesota once he was lost for the series after Game 1.
He’s still in elite physical shape. “He works at it all year round, and he’s one of the best conditioned athletes I’ve ever seen,” Kerr said.
And even if he only plays 65-70 games, that is still enough to make an impression on the voters. Because Golden State will be playing meaningful games in March and April, that will give Curry a chance to have big games in moments that matter as the Warriors battle for playoff seeding.
Add in the fact that there will be nights when Butler, Green, and Horford may not play, leaving the spotlight to rest solely on Curry.
He finished ninth in MVP voting last season, but he’ll be named one of three finalists for the award this season.
### Warriors Avoid the Play-In Tournament
The Warriors have been victims of the dreaded play-in tournament for the past two seasons, the first blamed on a core that had run its course, the second owed to a mad post-Butler dash followed by befuddling losses in the final week.
A full season of Butler and the continued excellence of the returning veterans should be enough for the Warriors to earn the fifth seed. That would leave them safe from the play-in tournament but without home-court advantage in the first round.
While ESPN’s statistical model made waves by calling for a 58-win season, common sense says otherwise.
Curry will turn 38, and both Butler and Green will finish the season at 36 while Horford turns 40 in early June. Expecting those four future Hall of Famers to remain healthy enough for the Warriors to push 60 victories is nonsense.
### Warriors Threaten Record for Most Starting Lineup Combinations
Golden State may skip the play-in, but day-to-day roster continuity will not be the primary reason why that’s for sure. The Warriors used a whopping 37 starting lineups last season, and all of the pieces are in place for them to smash that figure in 2025-26.
Kerr has repeatedly said he expects to keep Horford and the vets on a metaphorical pitch count this season.
A consistent starting lineup? Please.
“Some teams, some years, you spend five minutes on the rotation because you see it, clear as day, and move on to the next subject,” Kerr said Monday. “We just talked for an hour today as a coaching staff about all of the different possible five-man combinations.”
The starting five will likely be more concept than reality once the winter months hit, and Kerr is performing a juggling act of minutes and rotations, especially in back-to-back sets.
So yes, that Kuminga-led group that featured Quinten Post, Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, and Green in the first five in Los Angeles during the preseason could be a real starting lineup at some point.
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The 2025-26 Warriors season promises to be an intriguing blend of experience, experimentation, and high expectations as the team pursues yet another championship run.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/10/21/warriors-steph-curry-mvp-season-predictions/
