Golden State Warriors
Preseason Odds: Championship +550
Current champions the Golden State Warriors will be hopeful of another season of glory in 2022-23, and this is reflected in the NBA betting odds, which puts them at favorites pre-season.
They’ll be once again looking to their 3-point master Steph Curry to lead them to victory, together with shooting guard Klay Thompson. The Warriors also drafted promising small forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. this past off-season. Legendary Head Coach Steve Kerr will hope that the youngster, alongside other hot prospect James Wiseman, will complement the core superstars on his Warriors team this upcoming season.
It would be difficult to bet against the Warriors to be in the running for another championship run. However, there are only a few things that could get in the way. The West is deep, and you always have to watch out for injuries, and both Curry and Klay have had more than their fair share of bad injuries in the past. Overall though, the Warriors have to be seen as the top contender for the NBA title next year.
An excellent year for the Warriors saw them go 53-29 in the regular season. They went on to win the NBA Championship, seeing off the Memphis Grizzlies in the semis and beating the Boston Celtics in the finals. The scores were tied at two apiece after the first four games, but the Warriors were able to step up a gear for the final two ties to end the series as 4-2 winners.
Superstar Steph Curry put in a number of sensational performances last season, averaging 25.5 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds over 64 games in 2021-22 on his way to his fourth championship win. This form saw him selected to play in his eighth All-Star game, as well as receiving his first Finals MVP award.
The Golden State Warriors were founded in 1946, as the Philadelphia Warriors. They later moved from Philadelphia to San Francisco in 1962, and changed their name to the Golden State Warriors in 1971. The Warriors play in the Western conference in the Pacific division. Their home arena is the Chase Center in San Francisco. Their team colors are royal blue and yellow.
The Warriors have had many record-setting moments in their history. One of the earliest historical moments was the first official NBA title in 1947, defeating the Chicago Stags 4-1 in the series. The next time that the Warriors would taste championship gold would be in the 1955-1956 season, when they beat the Fort Wayne Pistons.
On March 2, 1962, in a Warrior "home" game played on a neutral floor in Hershey, PA, a man by the name of Wilt Chamberlain would change the game forever. In that game Chamberlain would score 100 points in one game against the New York Knicks — a record that still stands as one of the greatest feats by a single player in professional sports.
When the Warriors moved to the west coast their success did not fade. In the 1974-1975 season the Warriors won the NBA championship against the Washington Bullets, sweeping a series they were expected to lose.
In the 2009 NBA draft the Warriors would change their franchise forever, drafting Steph Curry at 7th overall. This player would be the center-piece of the Warrior’s success then and now. In the 2011 NBA draft the Warriors would add to their fire-power by drafting Klay Thompson.
Klay and Curry would become known as the “Splash Brothers” because of all the three-pointers they made season after season. The 2014-2015 season saw Curry and Klay set a new NBA record as they made a combined 525 three-pointers — the most by any duo in NBA history. The Warriors would move onto the 2015-2016 season by starting the season 24-0, the NBA record for the best start to a season.
The Warriors’ biggest rivals are the Cleveland Cavaliers — a rivalry that only further intensified during their run of four straight finals meetings between 2015-18.
The Warriors have achieved 7 NBA Championships, 7 Conference Championships, and 12 Divisional Championships.
