When you finish with the worst record in the league, early preseason power rankings usually spell bad news. However, the Golden State Warriors are in a unique situation.
After the Los Angeles Lakers winning the 2020 NBA title on Sunday, ESPN released their first wave of “way too early” power rankings for the 2021 season. The power rankings were comprised by “a group of more than 40 reporters, insiders and editors” from ESPN.
The defending champion Lakers topped the list with their Los Angeles counterpart at No. 2. Following the Clippers, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks placed at No. 3 before a pair of rising Western Conference teams rounded out the top five.
After a sizzling run in the Orlando Bubble, the Denver Nuggets came in at No. 4 with Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks at No. 5.
The fifth team to represent the Western Conference in ESPN’s power rankings came from the Bay Area. According to Nick Freidell of ESPN, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green could try to prove Golden State’s run isn’t over in 2021.
Via ESPN:
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green want to prove this group’s run isn’t over yet. They’ll be motivated to show the rest of the league they can still play at the highest level. The reality, however, is that this is a completely different Warriors group than before. How will Andrew Wiggins fit in? How does the talent and leadership void left by Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston get filled? What will they do with the No. 2 overall pick? The Warriors still have top-level talent, but they need to fill a lot of gaps before title talk resumes.
View ESPN’s complete power rankings here.
Although they finished with a league-worst 15-50 record in 2019-20, Golden State’s core of Curry, Thompson and Green each missed significant time. With the trio of All-Stars expected to return in 2021, the Warriors will seek to reopen their championship window as soon as next season.
Alongside their impending No. 2 overall draft pick, Andrew Wiggins and Eric Paschall will play essential roles around Curry, Thompson and Green in 2021. Outside of the players mentioned above, the Warriors have several question marks when it comes to filling out the roster. On top of their draft picks, the Warriors will have the mid-level exception and a $17.2 million trade exception to play with over the offseason.
If Bob Myers and Steve Kerr can recruit a high-impact player to come to the Bay Area in the free agency period or the trade market, the Warriors could find themselves higher in the next batch of NBA power rankings.
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