The Golden State Warriors, winners of four NBA championships in the previous 10 seasons, came into Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans with an 11-3 record, putting them in first place in the Western Conference.
Yet plenty of people aren’t sure if they have become true championship contenders once again.
Kendrick Perkins, the ESPN personality, said prior to the Warriors’ Emirates NBA Cup group play game on Friday that the Warriors are legitimate championship contenders and even compared their outstanding play to how rapper Kendrick Lamar’s album GNX has performed on the charts.
.@KendrickPerkins and Bob Myers believe that Steph Curry can contend for a title this season with Golden State 👀
“The Warriors been poppin’ in the West like Kendrick Lamar’s new album.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/faMtkfSzZ1
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) November 23, 2024
The Warriors last won it all in 2022, but they lost in the second round of the playoffs the following year, and last year, they didn’t even reach the playoffs.
They lost Klay Thompson, one of the main pillars of their dynasty, in free agency this summer, and much of their supporting cast around the legendary Stephen Curry looks a little different this season.
But they now sport a deep roster, and they came into Friday ranked fifth in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating, and only the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics are averaging more points per game than them.
One question about whether they can maintain what they’ve been doing is who will be their consistent second star.
Will it be Andrew Wiggins, who was an All-Star starter in the 2021-22 season, or could it be Buddy Hield, the sharpshooter they brought in this offseason to essentially replace Thompson?
Hield is averaging 16.5 points in 24.5 minutes a game while shooting a career-high 45.1 percent from 3-point range so far this year.
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