Ranking the 16 worst Warriors starters of the Stephen Curry era

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Stephen Curry #30 interviews Eric Paschall #7 of the Golden State Warriors after their win against the Orlando Magic at the Chase Center on January 18, 2020 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 18: Stephen Curry #30 interviews Eric Paschall #7 of the Golden State Warriors after their win against the Orlando Magic at the Chase Center on January 18, 2020 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
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Golden State Warriors
Ekpe Udoh (20) and Brandon Rush (4), Golden State Warriors. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Worst Starter No. 9 – Brandon Rush

You would think that starting 25 games for the greatest team in NBA regular season history (going by record) would be enough to propel you off of this list, but the reality is that Brandon Rush wasn’t up to the level of the other players starting that season.

The former first-round pick out of Kansas played for the Warriors, left, and came back just in time for their rise to dominance and won the 2015 title as a bit player. His role increased significantly the following season, and the 30-year-old wing played 72 games and started 25 of them.

Rush shot 49.4 percent on his 3-pointers during those 25 games, and the Warriors outscored opponents by about one point per 100 possessions when he was on the court. On a team en route to setting the regular season wins mark a simple “+1” is a low output, though.

A low-usage role player, Rush was incredibly low-usage on this stacked team. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but he certainly wasn’t doing much to drive their success beside knocking down wide-open shots. Again, that’s fine – it’s not enough to get you off this list, especially since Rush played just one more season and then was out of the league.