Golden State Warriors fans thought they were in for another disappointing end to the season, but then the Jimmy Butler trade happened. It was as if the team turned into a contender overnight. Hype exploded in the Bay, so much so that Draymond Green declared on TNT that the Warriors would win the 2025 title.
Golden State lost its final regular-season game, ending its chances of an automatic playoff berth without going through the Play-In Tournament. The Warriors beat the Grizzlies in the Play-In to secure the No. 7 seed, setting up a first-round matchup with the Rockets. Golden State's experience got the best of Houston, with the Warriors winning the series, 4-3.
Things looked good for Golden State entering its second-round matchup against Minnesota, but that feeling didn't last long. Steph Curry strained his hamstring in the second quarter of Game 1. The Warriors still won, 99-88, but that was their last win of the 2024-25 season.
They lost four consecutive games without Curry, as the Timberwolves advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year. There was a chance Curry could've returned for Game 6, but that didn't matter because the Warriors didn't give him that opportunity.
Draymond's prediction aged like milk.
Steph Curry's injury too much for Warriors to overcome
Joe Lacob said after the Game 5 season-ending loss that if Steph didn't get hurt, he was "pretty positive" that the Warriors would've beaten the Timberwolves. It's hard to stay alive when your best player, who happens to be the best shooter of all time, gets hurt.
Draymond and Golden State know what it takes to win a title, part of which requires luck. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on the Warriors' side, as Curry's injury happened at the worst possible time.
Maybe they would've moved on to the WCF with a healthy Curry. Maybe the unthinkable would've happened, and the Jimmy Butler trade would've immediately paid off with another championship months after acquiring him. Maybe doesn't matter, though.
It's hard to transform your team with a midseason trade, but the Warriors were on the right track. However, their ultimate wish didn't come true. Draymond had no way of knowing that Curry would get hurt in the first game of the second round of the playoffs, but that's why making that bold of a prediction can easily come back to haunt you.
The chemistry that Butler and his new teammates built over the last few months will pay off next season. A full season of Butler, Curry, and Draymond should be fun. The series loss to the Timberwolves will sting for a while, but the Warriors will do what they can to redeem themselves in 2025-26.