Getty
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors aren’t where they hoped to be when the 2025-26 campaign began, but Steph Curry is back healthy and the Dubs have a shot at the playoffs. And after everything Golden State has been through this year, maybe that is all the franchise can ask for.
The Warriors bested the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, April 7 by a score of 110-105 to move to 37-42 on the season. But despite the victory, Golden State’s record with three games to play has cemented the team as the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.
The means the Warriors are headed to the NBA play-in tournament and will have to win two games away from home against opponents with better records in order to capture the 8th seed when the playoffs officially begin.
The Warriors are now locked into the 10th seed. They’ll need to win two road games next week to get into the playoffs and a 1 v 8 matchup with the Thunder.
“The Warriors are now locked into the 10th seed,” ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported via X. “They’ll need to win two road games next week to get into the playoffs and a 1 v 8 matchup with the Thunder.”
Oklahoma City has not officially clinched the No. 1 seed in the West, though it holds a three-game lead over the San Antonio Spurs with three games to play. The Spurs own the tiebreak but would have to win out, while the Thunder would have to lose out, in order for the top of the conference to flip.
The Thunder are the reigning NBA champions and are led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning league MVP and favorite to win the award again heading into the postseason.
Warriors Have Battled Through Injury-Riddled Season
GettyJimmy Butler III of the Golden State Warriors.
Curry missed 27 consecutive games during the dog days of season, going out with chronic knee pain just days after his sidekick and fellow superstar Jimmy Butler suffered a torn ACL that sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
The team traded for Kristaps Porzingis at the deadline, but he has also battled health concerns that have kept him in and out of the lineup since joining the Warriors.
Curry’s return, at the very least, gives the Dubs a puncher’s chance in any single game they play. That said, even going on the road and winning twice during the play-in tournament is likely to merely put Golden State in position to lose handily to the Thunder in Round 1.
Should the Warriors make the playoffs, that success will also disqualify the team from the draft lottery and any chance at moving up into the top four to select one of the best players from the best class of prospects in recent memory.
Warriors Likely to Face Either Clippers, Blazers in Opening Round of NBA Play-In Tournament
GettyLos Angeles Clippers superstar Kawhi Leonard.
Golden State’s potential opponents in the 9 vs. 10 matchup in the Western half of the play-in bracket are the Portland Trail Blazers (40-39) and Los Angeles Clippers (41-38).
The Clippers currently hold the tiebreak over the Blazers with a 2-1 advantage in the season series. However, the two teams play once more before the year is out. That contest is in Portland on Friday, April 10.
Golden State will take on the Clippers in Los Angeles Sunday in each team’s final regular-season game.
The most likely No. 7 seed in the Western Conference is the Phoenix Suns, who are currently 3.5 games back of the Minnesota Timberwolves for the sixth spot and 2.5 games ahead of Clippers.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group’s family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible
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