Golden State Making a Bid for NBA Title
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 09 Oct 2025
The Golden State Warriors are the last team to complete their preseason acquisitions, barely beating the deadline, but they made it count by getting the personnel they desired, hopefully to aid their bid for another run at the NBA title.
The Warriors were able to convince Jonathan Kuminga to agree to a compromise deal after a protracted holdout that prevented Golden State from finalizing contracts with a few other players, primarily former Celtics big man Al Horford.
With Horford at center, the Warriors now have potentially the strongest starting unit in the league with Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler at forward and Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield at the guard positions.
Head coach Steve Kerr can also rotate Horford at power forward and Green at center for his noted small-ball strategy, as Horford can score from the outside and Green demonstrated, especially last season, that he can defend against bigger slotmen. Alternatively, Kerr can go big by playing Horford as power forward in tandem with Green or Butler, with Quentin Post or Trayce Jackson-Davis at center and Curry and Moses Moody at guard.
The Warriors let go of Kevon Looney to pave the way for the entry of Horford, who is a more proven scorer and defender.
Among the other prominent players in the Golden State rotation are Kuminga (PF), Brandin Podziemski (SG), Gary Payton II (SG), De'Anthony Melton (SG), Seth Curry (SG), and Gui Santos (PF).
With these players, Kerr is hopeful that Golden State will have a better chance of not only making but advancing far in the playoffs and getting another stab at the league title.
But more than Horford, attention will also be on the performance of Butler, who, along with Curry and Green, carried the Warriors through the postseason playoffs.
This will be the first time Butler is playing a full season as a Warrior. Last season, Butler belatedly joined the team in February 2025 and saw action in the Warriors’ remaining regular season games while helping the team advance in the playoffs.
On February 8, Butler made his Warriors debut, putting up 25 points in a 132–111 win over the Chicago Bulls. On March 10, Butler recorded his first triple-double with the Warriors, scoring 15 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists—the first triple-double of the season for Golden State and the 18th of Butler's career.
On April 15, Butler made his Play-In debut with the Warriors, recording a game-high 38 points along with seven rebounds and six assists in a 121–116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to secure the seventh seed for the playoffs. On April 20, Butler, in his playoff debut with the Warriors, recorded 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and five steals in a 95–85 victory against the Houston Rockets. In Game 7 of the first round, Butler contributed 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists as the Warriors eliminated the Rockets with a 103–89 road win to advance to the Western Conference semifinals. But they were then eliminated in five games by his former team, the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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