The Golden State Warriors, of course, need Stephen Curry to be at the top of his game this season.
We saw what happened when he was forced to miss an extended stint toward the end of last year's campaign. If he's not playing at a superstar level, this team is dead in the water. The same goes for if Jimmy Butler can't return to at least a semblance of his former self by season's end.
But that alone can't be the backbone of this team. With pieces like Kristaps Porzingis and Yaxel Lendeborg in the fold, Golden State has a chance to work their way into the NBA's top defenses again, and the addition of Frank Vogel as an assistant coach will be a major boon to that effort.
The Warriors' playoff dreams obviously rest primarily on Curry's shoulders. But the rest of the roster can take a portion of that burden on themselves if they're able to put together a consistent defensive front over the course of the season.
The Warriors need their defense to be the backbone of the roster in 2026-27
When Butler arrived in Golden State, the team found sudden regular season success, in part, because of the extra offensive punch Butler provided alongside Curry. But that team also had one of the best defenses in the NBA over the back half of the campaign. Between Butler's arrival and the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the Warriors had the best defensive rating in the entire NBA. Combining Butler's on-ball skill set with the rest of the roster's balanced approach worked wonders even without a true rim-protecting center.
It's not reasonable to expect Butler to take on that same sort of defensive role when he returns this season. But there's room to argue that the infrastructure around him is better.
Porzingis, when he's healthy, is still a major rim-protecting threat. Lendeborg appears to be the sort of two-way piece the Warriors need, and his range and athleticism in the frontcourt should be a major factor. De'Anthony Melton appears set to start next to Curry in the backcourt, and he should be able to be more active this season on the defensive end as he continues to return to full health.
Let's not forget about Draymond Green, either. As much ire as he drew last season with his decline on the offensive end, he's still one of the smartest defensive players in the league.
Vogel, meanwhile, has a reputation as a coach with a highly polished defensive system—one that he believes Porzingis particularly can thrive within. Whether the Warriors have the true perimeter defenders to consistently put on the pressure that Vogel's scheme requires is a question that will be answered over the course of the season. But he's a floor-raising addition to Steve Kerr's staff, and Golden State certainly has the talent to make things work.
Any hope that the Warriors have of making the playoffs realistically falls in earning one of the top two Play-In seeds and working their way into a first-round berth from there. It will require them to survive injuries and inconsistencies over the course of the season. But just as defense travels on the road, it's also more likely to sustain itself over the duration of a campaign than pure offensive production.
Even in the first half of last season, the Warriors were only the 19th-best defense in the NBA. If Golden State can work their way back into, say, the top 7-10 in the league, that may very well be enough to help them survive the gauntlet that awaits them in 2026-27.
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