The Golden State Warriors are off to a roaring start to the season. They are 4-1, including a 3-0 road record, and the only loss was by four points to the Phoenix Suns. No team has as many road victories, and their +8.8 net rating is top five in the league.
If the Warriors and their fans were looking for a sign that this team was ready to contend for another title, this was it. They look fresh, they look happy, and they are playing at an extremely high level.
Let’s take some time to highlight those players who have had the best starts thus far, elevating their stock and pushing toward new heights (or returning to them). We’ll also highlight the one key player who is not having a good start to the year and discuss what turning it around looks like for him.
Stock Soaring: Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry is having a legendary start to the season, the kind of “I’m still here!” domination that means a title is still within this group’s grasp. The most points per game any player has ever averaged in their age 35 season or later is 30.3 (LeBron James in 2021-22) and if you take out LeBron it drops down to Alex English’s 26.5 points per game in his age 35 season back in 1988-89. Curry is currently averaging 31 points per game.
His 5.6 3-pointers per game would be a career-high, as would his 45.9 percent from 3-point range; those will obviously both come back to earth, but Curry could be geared up for an all-time season, perhaps even an MVP one. He leads the league in Box Plus-Minus, has seven more 3-pointers than anyone else in the league, and looks unstoppable. That’s quite the start to the season for the Baby-Faced Assassin, shimmying right in the face of Father Time.