As the Golden State Warriors prepare for 2026-27, their mission is clear— surround Stephen Curry with enough talent to stand a chance in the Western Conference.
Short of trading for Anthony Davis or Kyrie Irving, the Warriors did all they could to make themselves an attractive landing spot for LeBron James. But at the end of the day, that decision was out of their hands. Now that James has decided, they'll need to fill out the remainder of their roster with veteran talent and hope that their mixture of young depth and experience is enough to get them where they want to go.
But even without James, there's a path to success available for the Warriors. On the recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, NBA Analyst Zach Lowe outlined what he believes the state of the Western Conference to be. As solid as the top-six teams from last season are, there's ample room for movement among the 7-10 seeds.
"I think [the 7-10 seeds] in the West [are] pretty open in the sense that we can pen in, if you want, the same top-six in whatever order from last year... The East has 11 legit good teams, and the West, I think, is a little shallower than that." Zach Lowe via The Zach Lowe Show
Of course Lowe does highlight some severe downside with Golden State's roster as it's constructed. But if you can get in the right spot with Curry on the roster, you're always in a good place.
The Warriors need to make the Play-In at full strength— and they might have some margin for error there
Injuries doomed the Warriors last season. Curry missed multiple months with a lingering knee injury, and the season-ending injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody essentially represented Golden State's death blow.
This season, especially if James is on the roster, they'll need to be careful about managing their veterans. Curry, Al Horford, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, and De'Anthony Melton will likely need to miss close to 20 games each. With a solidified top-six in the Western Conference, that essentially destines them for the Play-In Tournament.
But as Lowe highlights, the teams that could accompany them in that region of the standings all have major questions. There's no real reason to buy into a major leap from either the Phoenix Suns or the Portland Trail Blazers given their lack of needle movement this offseason.
The Los Angeles Clippers, meanwhile, are close to full-on rebuilding mode. Perhaps the Utah Jazz or the Dallas Mavericks could make a real push for the Play-In this season. But the Western Conference is shallower than it was last year, and that might save Golden State from needing to make the late-season push that has exhausted their energies over the past two campaigns.
If they deal with extensive injuries again, the Warriors certainly aren't a lock for even the seventh or eighth seed. But it's hard to envision them falling short of the Play-In Tournament entirely as long as Curry is healthy for the greater portion of 2026-27.
In a shallower Western Conference— and with both the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs having displayed some of their vulnerabilities in last year's playoffs— perhaps that's the ultimate path to playoff success for Golden State.
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