Why ESPN experts predict 2025-26 Warriors are bound for NBA play-in tournament originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 2025-26 NBA season is right around the corner, and, as has been the case for over a decade, the Warriors have high expectations for the upcoming campaign.

Over free agency, Golden State lost veteran center and NBA champion Kevon Looney but has remained at an impasse in contract negotiations with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

As a result, the Warriors remain the lone franchise that has yet to make an offseason move. 

The question still begs: Where does Golden State stand in a loaded Western Conference? 

ESPN experts predicted where star Steph Curry and Co. will finish the 2025-26 season, and Dub Nation might disagree. 

“The West is so crowded with contenders that a couple of them will inevitably be bumped into this bracket, forced to play an extra game or two with their playoff hopes on the line,” ESPN staff wrote.

 “That’s particularly dangerous for older teams like the Warriors and Mavericks, who will likely spend the final month of the season in a full-out standings sprint and won’t get the extra week of pre-playoff rest the top teams receive.

“However, two teams still make it out of the play-in. The seventh-seeded Warriors beat the second-seeded Rockets in the first round last April. If Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green are healthy, the West’s top two seeds won’t be ecstatic to see the Warriors emerging from the seventh or eighth slot this spring.” 

ESPN predicts the Warriors (48-34) will finish the 2025-26 season with the same record as last season, 48-34, as the Western Conference’s No. 7 seed, placing them back in the NBA play-in tournament.

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