The Golden State Warriors’ 2025-26 championship aspirations are slim in late March.
The franchise is three games below .500 and haven’t had Stephen Curry in its lineup since Jan. 30. Simply put, the Dubs will be lucky to advance past the Play-In tournament and win a playoff series.
With the perfect offseason, though, Golden State could flip the script in 2026-27 and inch closer to helping Stephen Curry secure his fifth title. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Dave McMenamin, the Warriors are among the teams that should be in the mix for a Los Angeles Lakers four-time NBA Finals MVP.
“James has a history with the two Golden State Warriors leaders: guard Stephen Curry and coach Steve Kerr, whom James faced in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018. The three won a gold medal together at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Kerr said James and Curry developed a ‘bromance’,” Bontemps and McMenamin wrote Tuesday.
“The Warriors also feature one of James’ best friends in the league, Draymond Green, and another former Finals foe in Jimmy Butler III, who could miss the early part of next season while recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee.”
“Pairing with Curry, the defining foil of the second half of James’ career, would create a spectacle and bring even more buzz to James’ final stage.”
Oddly enough, a disappointing end to the season wouldn’t be the end of the world for the Dubs. A championship-less campaign would likely motivate the organization to dominate free agency by surrounding Curry with the ideal win-now pieces.
James could be among those pieces, as the former Cleveland Cavaliers star remains a high-level, high-IQ contributor at age 41. James is averaging 20.9 points, 7.0 assists, and 6.0 rebounds per game with the Lakers this season, and has also had nothing but positive remarks regarding Curry’s offensive brilliance through the years.
If James’ stint with the Lakers ends after the 2025-26 season, the Warriors will unquestionably be a popular destination.
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