With four championships and multiple more playoff appearances, the NBA Draft Lottery hasn't been overly relevant to the Golden State Warriors over the past decade.
The last time the Warriors were involved in the lottery was 2021 where they had their own first-round pick and the rights to that of the Timberwolves. They ultimately selected Jonathan Kuminga (seventh) and Moses Moody (14th), with that coming a year after they fatefully selected James Wiseman second overall in 2020.
2025 NBA Draft Lottery could be scarily relevant to the Warriors
On Monday the NBA confirmed that the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery will take place in Chicago on May 12. That's a date that could set up the future of a number of NBA teams, particularly with a consensus number one overall pick in Cooper Flagg.
A handful of teams are already positioning themselves to try and get their hands on the number one overall pick, including the Brooklyn Nets whose tanking intentions were signified in their decision to only take second-round picks from the Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers for Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith respectively.
Golden State aren't a team looking to position themselves in the lottery, but it's looking more and more inevitable given their recent form. The Warriors have lost 16 of their past 23 games, causing them to fall to a 19-19 record on the season and 11th in the Western Conference.
Right now Golden State are simply battling to make the Play-In Tournament, let alone any further ambitions of a deep playoff run. They also failed to reach the playoffs last season, with a strong close to the regular season abruptly ended in a blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center in the 9 vs. 10 Play-In game.
However, the draft lottery was less relevant to the Warriors last year given they owed their first-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers following a 2019 trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. Their was some interest given that selection was top three protected, but the odds were never in their favor. The 14th pick Golden State gave up eventually landed with the Washington Wizards who took Bub Carrington.
Unless it's involved in a trade between now and the February 6 deadline, Golden State will take their first-round pick to the draft this year. Unfortunately for the Warriors, it's looking like the draft lottery will be scarily relevant and perhaps a pivotal moment in what comes next.