Golden State Warriors Preview -- NBA Team Previews 2022-23

Golden State Warriors Preview -- NBA Team Previews 2022-23

This article is part of our NBA Team Previews series.

2022-23 Golden State Warriors Team Preview

Coming off a title, the Warriors actually ended up losing a handful of role players this offseason. Gone are Nemanja Bjelica, Chris Chiozza, Damion Lee, Gary Payton, Otto Porter and Juan Toscano Anderson. Andre Iguodala has yet to make a decision regarding his playing future; he'll be back in Golden State if he suits up. To make up for the losses, the Warriors signed Donte DiVincenzo and JaMychal Green. Kevon Looney was also re-signed.

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2021-22 Record: 53-29; Won NBA title

2022-23 NBA Win Total Odds: 51.5 wins (DraftKings)

2022-23 NBA Title Odds: +600 (DraftKings)

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Check out our 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball Rankings, which includes fantasy basketball projections for every player.

Golden State Warriors Fantasy Basketball Preview

Stephen Curry

Curry added to his already-Hall-of-Fame resume last season, claiming the 2022 Finals MVP award - his first. That said, Curry's regular season was a bit up and down. He still finished seventh in per-game fantasy production, but December and January were tough months for managers leaning on Curry. In those 27 games, he shot just 39.4 percent from the field. Curry made up for it with a scorching hot February and March (49.8 percent), but the full-season result was still just 43.7 percent shooting from the field - the lowest mark of his career and a significant drop-off from the 48.2 percent mark he hit in 2020-21. The veteran guard also took fewer shots, with Klay Thompson returning to the fold after two years on the sidelines. Decreased efficiency and volume led to Curry's points per game dropping from 32.0 to 25.5, which is what caused him to rank outside of the top five in per-game fantasy production for the first time since 2011-12. It's understandable if fantasy managers have concerns about Curry heading into his age-34 season, especially coming off his worst shooting year from the field and three. However, he demonstrated in the playoffs that he's still one of the league's best players. In the vast majority of fantasy drafts, he'll be selected in the top five, where he's finished most of his career.

Find out where Steph Curry ranks in our latest fantasy basketball rankings.

Draymond Green

Aside from playing just 46 games due primarily to a back injury, Green composed a quality 2021-22 campaign. His assists (7.3), steals (1.3) and free-throw percentage (65.9%) dipped compared to the previous season, but he also made improvements in field-goal percentage (52.5%), blocks (1.1), points (7.5) and rebounds (7.3). The overall result was Green ranking 56th in per-game fantasy production. That's on par with his recent seasons, as he's ranked between 37-76 across the past four years. His shot diet changed a bit, which positively affected his field-goal percentage. He took a career-high 31 percent of his shots from floater range and a career-low 17 percent of his shots from three. The change makes sense, as Green has struggled to consistently connect on his attempts from beyond the arc (28.3 percent over the past six years), and he's valuable as a pick-and-roll option who is also adept at kicking to open shooters or tossing up a floater after catching the ball in the paint. Nothing should change this season. Green will continue to be the hub of Golden State's offense and a constant threat for low-end triple-doubles with defensive stats tossed in.

Andrew Wiggins

Wiggins has etched consistent production in his two seasons with the Warriors, claiming a starting role as the team's third scoring option behind Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. While he hasn't quite lived up to his first-overall draft pick billing, Wiggins has pieced together a serviceable career and contributes enough across the board to warrant fantasy consideration in most formats. Wiggins saw a decline in his scoring efforts for a third consecutive season, averaging 17.2 points per contest, down from 18.6 per game in the previous campaign. He also saw dips in both rebounds and assists, though smaller and which can likely be accounted for by his drop in playing time. On the plus side, Wiggins matched a career-best average of 2.2 three-point makes per contest and converted at a career-best 39.2 percent clip -- an asset that hasn't been part of his bag for much of his career. Wiggins also reached the steal per contest mark for the first time since back in 2018-19, slightly boosting his fantasy value. Still only 27 years old, Wiggins should slot in as a regular in the starting five again this season in a similar role to what he saw last year.

Jordan Poole

Playing guard on a team that already features Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson doesn't seem like the best opportunity for a young player to carve out a career-changing campaign, but Poole did just that last season, making a massive impact on the Warriors' path to an NBA title and emerging as one of the league's most dynamic rising stars. The 2019 first-round pick showed some promise in his first two NBA campaigns, but he didn't put it all together until last year, when he finished with per-game averages of 18.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 three-pointers while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 92.5 percent from the charity stripe. Much of Poole's work was done as a starter. He began the campaign in the starting five as Thompson rehabbed his Achilles injury, and he filled in for Curry when the point guard missed nearly a month due to a foot injury late in the season. Poole was especially effective during the latter stretch, averaging 25.8 points, 6.2 dimes, 5.0 boards and 4.1 triples during Curry's 12-game absence. Golden State will, of course, hope that both Curry and Thompson can remain healthy next season, likely resulting in Poole playing primarily off the bench. The 23-year-old performed well as a reserve last season, but it's logical to expect that such a role will result in a dent in his overall production. It may be tempting to grab Poole in the middle rounds of fantasy drafts based on his sustained periods of brilliance last season, but be wary of overlooking the fact that his opportunities may not be as favorable if the Warriors' superstars maintain good health.

Klay Thompson

It had been a long time since we saw Thompson on the floor. His last game action came during the 2019 playoffs. He still wasn't ready to take the floor at the start of last season, waiting until January to make his return. Understandably, he wasn't the shooter that he once was. He only shot 42.9 percent from the field, breaking a streak of five straight campaigns in which he shot at least 46.3 percent. In addition, he shot 38.5 percent from behind the arc, marking the first time he shot below 40 percent in that department in his career. His inconsistent shooting continued in the playoffs, but the Warriors still managed to bring home another title. Thompson could improve his efficiency with an entire, healthy offseason to try and work his way back into form. Given that he averaged 20.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.6 three-pointers even with his limitations last season, there is still plenty of fantasy appeal with him. While he may be limited in back-to-back game situations, it's also possible that he increases his average of 29 minutes per game he had last season. Before that, he had never logged fewer than 32 minutes per game after his rookie season.

Golden State Warriors Depth Chart for 2022-23

Click for a more detailed Golden State Warriors depth chart

Golden State Warriors Predictions for 2022-23

The Warriors got just 64 games out of Curry, 32 from Thompson and 46 from green last year and still rattled off 53 wins. Losing depth matters, but more minutes from Kuminga, Moody and Wiseman could make up for it, and DiVincenzo is a great system add. Assuming health, there's plenty of reason to expect the Warriors back in the Finals.

Record Prediction

  • 54-28
  • 1-seed
  • Loses in NBA Finals

Bold Call

Either James Wiseman or Jonathan Kuminga enters the starting five permanently at some point in the year.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
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