The Warriors beat the Lakers 111-103 to start their 2025-26 preseason, and before you start with the “it’s just preseason” disclaimers, understand what this organization has built. Since 2020-21, Golden State is now 21-4 in exhibition play. That’s an 85% winning percentage in games that supposedly don’t matter, but seem to matter a whole lot to an organization that prides itself on keeping players engaged and ready.
Sure, LeBron James and Luka Doncic sat this one out for the Lakers and made the game
a helluva lot easier for a Warriors team that had their core ready to go, with role players Seth Curry and De’Anthony Melton missing this competition.
Steph Curry logged 15 minutes, scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and reminded everyone that greatness doesn’t need a full workload to leave fingerprints. The Warriors shot 46.4% from the floor and 39.5% from three, building a 24-point lead before emptying the bench and letting deep rotation guys get meaningful minutes.
This is how you use October. Not as a formality, but as a laboratory where habits get reinforced and young talent proves they belong. The Warriors went 5-0 in preseason during 2021-22 and won the championship. They’re treating this exhibition schedule with the same intensity, the same commitment to execution, the same refusal to coast just because the games don’t count in the standings.
Additionally I’m sure a ton of Dub Nation observers were excitedly waiting to see what young athletic wing Jonathan Kuminga could provide this game after his contract dispute was the dominant storyline of this summer’s offseason. Not everybody was pumped about his performance:
But he added another layer to this depth showcase. His five points, six rebounds, four assists in 15 minutes with a +7 plus/minus were solid. Those assist numbers tell you wasn’t just hunting for his own shot, and this rebound numbers show that when he’s engaged he can absolutely help out o the glass.. He’s reading the floor, making the right pass, operating within the framework that turns talented players into winning pieces.
It was another Warriors lottery pick from 2021 that turned the game on its head though. Moses Moody, the #14 pick in that draft had a heckuva game, with timely offense and aggressive, rangy defense. Moody walked into this game and dropped 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting in just 15 minutes, going 5-of-7 from three. His plus/minus of +21 was the highest in the game. When your young wing operates with this kind of surgical precision within the system, you’re not hoping for development. You’re watching it happen in real time.
By the way, newly acquired 19th-year veteran center Al Horford brought some good vibes from his championship tenure in Boston. His passes were smart, his defensive instincts were sharp, and he showed off the long range shooting capability with a catch-and-shoot triple that was all quick trigger.
I was genuinely excited watching him anchor the Warriors defense while stretching the floor on the other end with confidence. Pairing him with sophomore Quinten Post as double stretch bigs could be an intriguing lineup tweak for a team that needs to do all it can to give Curry and Butler (and Kuminga) some operating room.
The assist differential tells you everything about how this game was controlled. Thirty-five assists for the Warriors versus 25 for the Lakers. The sound of the ball humming in the Dubs’ offense whipped the Chase Center crowd into a frenzy. Here’s the number that pops off the stat sheet: 23 fast break points for Golden State, 5 for the Lakers. When you’re generating that kind of transition dominance while holding a team to five fast break opportunities, you’ve dictated tempo from opening tip to final buzzer. The Warriors forced 19 turnovers, generated 11 steals, and turned defensive chaos into the kind of easy offense that wears opponents down.
The season hasn’t officially started, but the foundation is already being tested and proven sound. Excellence isn’t seasonal. It’s structural.
