The Warriors finished the 2023-24 NBA season on a hot streak, but it wasn’t enough to secure an outright playoff spot in a loaded Western Conference.
Instead, Golden State finished the regular season ranked 10th in the West with a 46-36 record after beating the Utah Jazz, 123-116, on Sunday at Chase Center. Now expected to face the No. 9 seed Sacramento Kings in the NBA Play-In tournament, the Warriors also made history in the final standings of the season.
Golden State, with a 56.1 winning percentage this season, is the 10th-best team in NBA history (h/t HoopsHype).
A top-heavy West is right, as evidenced by the fact that the Warriors have little to show for their dominance down the stretch. Since Jan. 30, Golden State’s 27-12 record ranks fourth in the NBA, according to StatMuse, behind the Denver Nuggets (24-10), Oklahoma City Thunder (25-10) and Boston Celtics (28-7).
Despite the final seeding, Warriors coach Steve Kerr previously said he was grateful to Golden State for making its way to the play-in and hopes the team takes full advantage of the opportunity that wouldn’t even have existed five years ago.
And now that the Warriors’ path through the tournament is set, Kerr believes his battle-hardened team can succeed.
“Well, really, I’m happy with the way [the season] “That’s what’s happened over the last couple of months,” Kerr told reporters after Sunday’s game. “We were a little bit in disarray for a while at the start of the season, trying to find ourselves, and a lot of guys really stepped up, not just on the field but off the field, in the locker room.
“We have a really good connection on this team, good chemistry, guys who help each other and get the job done. So I have a really good idea of what’s in store for us. I think we still have a chance to do something special.”
The Warriors know what it’s like to be shut out, and they also know what it feels like to prove those doubters wrong, like the team did after winning the 2022 NBA Finals .
And now, as the 10th winningest team in NBA history, Golden State will look to show why the ranking is just a number.
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