When we first brought out our red pen and delivered the initial Warriors report card of the 2024-25 season, it came after a frustrating loss to the San Antonio Spurs where a 17-point lead was squandered. That was only the Warriors’ fourth loss of the season in their first 16 games, though.
But two nights later in the Warriors’ next game, an 18-point lead turned to a 10-point loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Golden State’s loss to San Antonio started a five-game losing streak where the outlook for the team rarely was bright. The Warriors’ 12-3 start had them looking like a group not to be trifled with. Since then, wins have been a rarity.
The Warriors enter 2025 with a 16-16 record, good for 10th in the Western Conference. What has gone right? And what has gone wrong? Let’s break it all down to open a new calendar year.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Offense
Five and a half weeks ago in the first iteration of our Warriors report card, they ranked top five in points per game, assists per game, 3-point attempts per game and 3-pointers made per game, while ranking seventh in offensive rating and 3-point percentage. Many of those numbers have cratered.
The team that revolutionized offense now is struggling mightily on that side of the ball. This might be their biggest problem. In fact, it is.
Through 32 games, the Warriors now are scoring the 17th most points per game (111.5), two spots behind the Detroit Pistons. Though they take the fourth-most threes per game (41.3) and make the fifth-most (14.8), the Warriors also come in at No. 17 in 3-point percentage (35.9 percent). Their offensive rating (110.7) has dropped all the way to 21st, and was 23rd after their final game of 2024.
Golden State Warriors
Find the latest Golden State Warriors news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
During their troublesome skid, the Warriors are missing layups, mid-range shots and aren’t converting enough on threes. They don’t have players who can consistently create their own shot or go get a bucket, leaving a 36-year-old Steph Curry able to be face guarded for all 94 feet.
The Warriors have failed to score 100 points in eight games, and are 1-7 in said games.
Grade: C-/D+
Defense
When they’re on, the Warriors still can have an elite defense. But there also are far too many lapses into the same issues as last season, where over-helping turns into wide-open shots, specifically beyond the arc and from the corners. On the season, they now are ninth in defensive rating (109.7), one place ahead of the Miami Heat.
Some of their losses include point totals of 91, 102 (twice), 104, 105 and 107 points. Other games also saw them give up 128, 136, 143 and 144 points. Aside from allowing 37 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third quarter of their most recent loss, the Warriors gave up just 26, 20 and 30 points in the three other quarters to the best offense in the league.
In that same game against the Cavs, the Warriors had five steals, eight blocks and forced 11 turnovers. They didn’t score a single point off those turnovers. The defense isn’t perfect. It also isn’t the biggest problem. The first thing the Warriors must do is create defensive force from the opening tip, and take advantage of the times they do.
Grade: B
Stars
Father Time hasn’t fully caught up to Curry or Draymond Green, but he’s beginning to be seen on the Ring Camera walking towards their door. Curry’s Christmas show where he scored 38 points and cashed in eight 3-pointers is the exact reason why he still puts so much fear into the opposition. He was mesmerizing.
Curry also was fantastic in both his 30-point games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he has scored 30 or more points only five times in his first 26 games. He did so 13 times in his first 26 games last season. Curry also already has been held to under 20 points 10 times. That happened just three times in his first 26 games a season ago.
Green still can put together masterful defensive games. Go back and watch him contest Kevin Durant’s game-winning attempt on him and you can see how phenomenal Draymond continues to be defensively. The Warriors also are at their best when he’s the center, and he can’t do that for long stretches right now.
So far, Green has played 28 games. He was averaging 9.1 points and shooting 42.9 percent in his first 14 games. In his last 14 games, Green is averaging 7.7 points, shooting 37.7 percent on threes.
Andrew Wiggins, in his 10th season, appears to have fully turned into a 3-and-D player, something he can be great at. Wiggins is shooting 40.7 percent from three, but also only has 22 dunks and is shooting 52 percent on layups. He also averaged only 7.7 points his last three games.
Grade: B-
Additions
Early in the season, it looked like Mike Dunleavy went out and found the perfect role players. De’Anthony Melton before his injury was the kind of complement that could thrive next to Curry. Buddy Hield was on a heater and gave the image of a Sixth Man of the Year. Kyle Anderson was the veteran Steve Kerr had always wanted.
And now, Dennis Schröder is the Melton replacement. The Warriors have gone 2-5 in games with Schröder and he hasn’t fit at all, averaging 9.1 points on 29.7-percent shooting and 20.6 percent on threes. Hield just shot 30.5 percent behind the 3-point line in December. For the month, he had one scoreless game, eight in single digits and only four in double digits. Anderson in December received five DNPs (Did Not Play).
The additions have become afterthoughts. The Warriors aren’t talented enough for that to be their reality. Schröder has to find his way to fitting in. Hield has to find his shot again. As for Anderson, it’s hard to say when, or if, he’ll have a set spot in Kerr’s rotation again.
Grade: D
Youth
Jonathan Kuminga’s back-to-back 34-point games gave a glimpse of a star. Then, he scored 18 points on 4-of-15 shooting, with 10 of his points coming at the free-throw line against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the Warriors’ loss to the Cavs. Levels.
Brandin Podziemski’s 11-rebound game in a win against the Houston Rockets where he was a plus-13 was reminiscent of him as a rookie. He recently had four straight games with a positive plus/minus before being minus-17 and exiting early against the Phoenix Suns. He was starting to come around, with plenty left to be desired.
Moses Moody scored a season-high 19 points in the Warriors’ final 2024 game, but his spot in the rotation remains up and down when healthy.
As Kuminga has earned headlines, Trayce Jackson-Davis’ recent leap has been most impressive. His 16-point, 16-rebound game against Cleveland to close 2024 is the latest example. Jackson-Davis ended the year with six straight games in double-digit scoring, averaging 14.3 points and 10.5 rebounds in that span.
Grade: C+
Health
The Warriors in their first 19 games had a healthy Curry. Since then, he has missed six of their last 13 games because of bilateral knee tendinitis. That sounds like an injury for someone about to be 37 years old in March.
Gary Payton II currently is out with a left calf strain. Podziemski is day-to-day because of an abdominal strain and Moody missed multiple games in December.
Grade: B
Coaching
The social media pitchforks automatically come out for Kerr when the Warriors start losing. Is it his fault Buddy can’t buy a bucket? That Schröder's shot is way off, even when the Warriors ran pick-and-roll over and over again in a game where Curry and Green sat? That their two stars are starting to look their age?
He can be questioned for making a show of it being Kuminga’s time to be a starter, only for him to be back to the bench in no time. But his public calling out of Kuminga also appeared to be heard loud and clear.
Kerr has shortened his rotation, but he’s still searching for the right combinations.
Grade: B
Overall
Need we say me? Take Curry and Kerr for their word.
When I asked them what their 16-16 record at the end of 2024 to begin 2025 says about the Warriors, here’s what the two said.
Curry: “As the kids say, we’re very mid right now. We’re just very average.”
Kerr: “You are what your record says you are. I think Bill Parcells said that, and I think there’s a lot of truth to that.”
Neither has lost faith. Neither will kid themselves, either. Time for a clean slate and a fresh start.
Grade: C