The Golden State Warriors were barely done celebrating their latest championship before staking a forceful claim for another one.

Maybe their blowout 123-109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener on Tuesday isn't a sign of what's to come throughout 2022-23. Ring night can make the actual basketball being played seem more like an event than a game, and no team in the league is fully formed on day one of the regular season anyway.

Dominant as LeBron James and Anthony Davis looked at times, the Lakers could still be bound for the lottery. If the teams traded a couple misses and makes from deep during Los Angeles' last-gasp run in the fourth quarter, Golden State would've been at real risk of suffering an embarrassing crunch-time collapse. Steve Kerr admitted his team looked disjointed late; perhaps a real Western Conference contender would've taken full advantage, spoiling the Warriors' celebration.

Push that skepticism aside for now and put on some gold-tinted glasses. Golden State tipped off its title defense with a stirring double-digit win over Southern California rivals, the franchise historically considered the glitziest and most glamorous in the NBA. There's no debating the Warriors own that distinction now, and it's time for Dub Nation to pump its collective chest.

These are the three biggest overreactions from Golden State's win over Los Angeles on opening night of the 2022-23 season.

3. ‘Playoff' Andrew Wiggins is here to stay

Andrew Wiggins was definitely the Warriors' second-best player in the NBA Finals, and arguably throughout the playoffs. His comfort and confidence hardened by proving himself on the game's biggest stage en route to a title, inking a four-year extension with Golden State and cementing the Bay as his NBA home, it makes perfect sense that Wiggins pick up right where left off in 2022-23. Steve Kerr even publicly challenged him to continue crashing the glass with the newfound gusto he did on the Dubs' title run, a playful provocation Wiggins welcomed.

But preseason optimism about the Warriors repeating as champions sprung from pretty much anywhere other than the expectation Wiggins could take a real leap this season. Hopefully not anymore after Tuesday night.

Wiggins was Golden State's best on-ball defender against the Lakers, bringing palpable energy and intensity to that side of the floor from the jump. He answered Kerr's summons by collecting six boards, keeping many other out-of-reach rebounds alive and even getting whistled for multiple over-the-back fouls. Wiggins' trio of fourth-quarter triples killed Los Angeles' long-shot comeback bid, and his speed and decisiveness in the open floor helped ignite Golden State's game-changing run after halftime.

He even played table-setter on a handful of possessions, Wiggins blending his threat as an all-court scorer with processing honed by so much time spent in the Warriors' system.

Draymond Green is Golden State's defensive trump card and the key that unlocks its most dangerous lineup. Klay Thompson dropped 18 points in about as many minutes on Tuesday, appearing primed to play his best basketball since 2019 in his second season removed from injury. Jordan Poole is almost as flammable as the Splash Brothers, and could explode as a primary ball handler now that he's captaining the Warriors' bench units.

None of that's debatable, just like what it would mean for Golden State–not to mention the rest of the league–if Wiggins entrenches himself as this team's second-best player regardless. Either way, it's clear ‘playoff' Wiggins is here to stay.

2. The Warriors are loaded with LeBron stoppers

Wiggins. Draymond. Kevon Looney. Jonathan Kuminga. JaMychal Green.

There's a good chance those first three players earn All-Defense votes this season. Kuminga's physical tools are even better than theirs, and he's openly embracing a potential early-career role as a defensive stopper. Green isn't on that level defensively, but still possesses the strength, length and short-area quickness to switch across multiple positions without being a liability.

Golden State is loaded with quality defenders of star opposing wings, basically, a reality on full display against James in the opener.

Watch Green and Looney seamlessly switch this HORNS hand-off action, the latter keeping James in front of him while the former provides perfectly timed help just above the restricted area, quickly backpedaling to Anthony Davis to prevent a dump-off on the drive.

Textbook. It's not just the Warriors' veterans who made life tough on James as a halfcourt penetrator, either.

Even James Wiseman had a couple impressive moments tangling with James, like this one on the last possession of the first quarter. The 22-year-old does a great job flipping his hips after briefly getting fooled by James' in-and-out dribble, then gets aggressive help from Kuminga one pass away. Check out how many multiple efforts that Kuminga, specifically, makes from there.

Los Angeles, like James pointedly admitted on the postgame podium, didn't exactly surround him with plus shooters over the summer. Kuminga bailing on the strong-side corner without any hesitation is plain evidence of that reality, and so was the Warriors packing the paint from the opening tip. The Lakers haven't put James in the best position to thrive at 37.

The Warriors' enviable depth of effective wing defenders nevertheless stood out, potentially making them an abnormally difficult matchup for not just James, but other game-breaking oversized ball handlers. “Stoppers” of players like James, Luka Doncic and Kawhi Leonard don't really exist. Golden State has a wealth of defenders to sic on those superstars, though, with an ingrained system of help defense bound to keep them off balance.

1. Golden State's bench is basketball's best

Moses Moody seemed earmarked as the Warriors' second-most used reserve this season behind Poole. That widespread assumption could still come to fruition, but it hardly did on Tuesday, when the sophomore wing was his team's 11th and final man in the rotation. Moody didn't even take the floor until the second quarter, stuck on the pine as Kerr surprised by utilizing a three-man frontcourt of Kuminga, JaMychal Green and Wiseman once his starters went to the bench.

Moody played well against the Lakers, by the way, immediately hitting a quick-hitting corner three in semi-transition and generally expanding Golden State's space in the halfcourt. He has a clear role to play for the Warriors this season, and Kerr clarified as much after the game.

“We just have a lot of guys. If we're healthy, we can go really deep. It's rare to play 11 guys in a rotation, but Moses will play plenty this year,” he said. “We're not gonna be healthy for 82 games, so there's gonna be lots of opportunities for him and for our other young guys. But what I told the team yesterday is that because of our depth, certain nights aren't go your way. You just gotta keep your head up and keep moving and your chance will come.”

Kerr and Curry also compared this Golden State team to the beloved 2014-15 squad that tipped off the Warriors dynasty. “Strength in Numbers” wasn't just that team's rallying cry, but a reminder of the peerless depth that allowed Golden State to play a multitude of different styles, keep opposing teams guessing and withstand sudden injury woes.

Can the 2022-23 Dubs live up to that comparison? Youth of the Warriors' bench suggests that might be too tall a task. But in Poole, Kuminga, Green, Wiseman, Donte DiVincenzo and Moody, Golden State boasts the league's best collection of talent on the bench, and they played like it on opening night.