The NBA season isn’t even a week old, but the league’s already sprinting like it’s June.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 55, Aaron Gordon drilled 10 of 11 threes, Luka Doncic logged videogame numbers, and Victor Wembanyama is blocking more shots than entire franchises. The first week of the season is supposed to be about shaking off rust, not rewriting history books. But that’s the vibe of this season: wild, caffeinated, with nonstop highlights.
Even Austin Reaves got in on the chaos, dropping 51-11-9,
just one assist shy of a 50-point triple-double. Lmao WHAT?!
While everyone else is playing Halloween dress-up as “contenders,” the Golden State Warriors have quietly started 2-1 and they’ve done it the hard way. Their two wins came against Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic Aaron Gordon, both giving MVP dominance. Those two exploded like they bet the over on themselves on FanDuel lolol. Luka cooked them for 49 points, 11 boards, and 8 assists, scoring from every dimension of the floor. Gordon followed it up by hitting 10 of 11 threes, the kind of heat check that if it happened in NBA 2K would send a controller through the TV screen.
Isn’t it great playing with Steph?
But the Warriors survived and under heroic team performances led by Steph Curry going nuclear in his own right, the Dubs turned superstar performances into moral victories or the other team. For Al Horford, it must feel like a basketball Twilight Zone. Last spring, he was Boston’s sage veteran on a Finals contender. Now he’s in the Bay, surrounded by motion, music, and joy while the are wounded, winless and searching for rhythm.
Former Warriors in the Haunted House
Meanwhile, the Warriors’ former brothers have wandered off into scarier journeys, each living a different kind of October horror story.
- Kevin Durant, now rocking Rockets red, is 0-2 and trying to get last year’s #2 seed their first win since the Warriors ejected them out of the postseason in the first round.
- James Wiseman, now with the defending Eastern Conference Champion Pacers, is 0-3 and still trying to find minutes that make sense for his growth.
- Jordan Poole and Kevon Looney are 0-2 with the Pelicans, and were victimized by a scary
Now I know, I know, I’m somewhat of a happy homer in the barbershop of 24/7 sports jabber. And in the days of everyone trying to sound smart on the internet, my standing on jubilant optimism is something that deeply triggers the “yeah, but actually…” brigade to try to crash through the walls like overanxious Kool-Aid Man.
But after eight years of writing about this team, I keep falling in love with the style of basketball they play and the personalities they exude. In a world swirling with what ifs, when it comes to Warriors basketball it brings me great joy to wonder what if they do the unthinkable and snatch a 5th ring for Steph and Draymond?
On the other flip on that what if is this: what if those former Warriors I mentioned are stuck on the outside looking in of the Golden Empire’s reign as their teams struggle to find consistency? KD’s Phoenix run and Poole in Washington are examples of not finding team success after parades in the Bay. Heck, Poole mentioned he likes the Pelicans fanbase because they remind him of Dub Nation after spending a couple years in the coffin that is the Wizard’s arena.
It’s early, of course. Every October record is completely forgotten by Thanksgiving. But the symbolism gives me a little chuckle. It’s like the opening act of a scary movie with a few jump scares, nothing fatal yet, but my hope is for these other teams that the vibe is a little off.
And for all the pyrotechnics around the league, Steph and company are doing what they always do in reinforcing Golden State’s subtle chemistry, the way the ball moves, the defense rotates, the bench celebrates, all tried and true examples that might actually last. And somewhere in the middle of this beautiful chaos, the Warriors are smiling. Because while everyone else is treating October like an audition tape, Golden State already knows what happens when the league stops chasing highlights and starts needing wins that matter. They’ve been here before. They’ll be here again.
