Opening night of the 2025-26 NBA season was supposed to pit two of the greatest superstars the league has ever seen in Stephen Curry and LeBron James against each other for, one would assume, one of the final times. Alas, James could not be present on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night as the Golden State Warriors took care of business against Luka Doncic and company, 119-109.
While the Warriors aren't exactly fully healthy themselves, the absences of Moses Moody and De'Anthony Melton can't exactly compare to the loss of James for the Lakers. Nevertheless, the Dubs can only play the team that's in front of them, and they managed to weather a storm from Doncic, who, despite putting up 43 points, was on the losing end.
Curry did not have the best of games, but he didn't really need to; he put up 23 points on 6-14 shooting from the field and 3-9 from beyond the arc on what is a quiet night by his standards. In so doing, he became the oldest guard in NBA history to score 20 points in a season-opening game, as pointed out by Polymarket Hoops on X (formerly Twitter).
The Warriors star took a backseat to the likes of Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, and Buddy Hield, all of whom had their moments on Tuesday night. Butler led the team in scoring with 31 points after he got to the foul line over and over again, Kuminga impressed fans with his better all-around game, and Hield turned the game upside-down in the second half by nailing four triples.
Nonetheless, Curry showed that he remains the star of this show; with the Lakers mounting a late comeback attempt, Curry shut them down with a triple from near the hash line to seal the deal for the Warriors and earn them their first win of the new campaign.
Warriors are back to having Strength in Numbers
The original Warriors championship DNA was built on depth and defense, and they have gotten back to that in the twilight of Curry's career. Klay Thompson may no longer be on the team, but Butler gives the team the toughness, interior scoring, rebounding, and foul-drawing prowess that the team sorely needs to compete.
Brandin Podziemski was making the right reads, Draymond Green was a monster defensively, and even Will Richard, the rookie, is establishing himself as a major rotation player for the Warriors.
If the Warriors' supporting cast can lessen the load on Curry in the regular season, that should keep him fresh for the playoffs to avoid a repeat of what happened last season.
