With the 2023-24 NBA season on the horizon, all eyes land on the Golden State Warriors. After a disappointing season that ended in a sixth-place finish and a second-round exit, the Warriors made one of the summer's biggest splashes by trading for Chris Paul, a former enemy of the state.
Paul now joins the same Warriors core that won the championship a little over a year ago. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are entrenched in the backcourt, Andrew Wiggins is back to full strength, and Draymond Green re-signed on an exceedingly reasonable four-year contract.
Training camp is right around the corner. Steve Kerr's group will enter the season with the same goal it has held for the last decade: win a ring. That goal is getting harder to accomplish, however, as Father Time wages his eternal war against youth. The Warriors aren't quite as spry as they once were during those dynastic years of the mid-10s. Curry is 35, Thompson is 33, Green is 33, Paul is THIRTY-EIGHT. All four have injuries on their ledger and miles on their odometer.
Golden State is no longer a juggernaut feared in every realm. The Warriors are a good team, totally capable of mounting another deep postseason run, but few teams will lose sleep with Golden State on the schedule. That is unless the Warriors make a statement early and often once the regular season starts.
The genesis of any successful season is training camp. With under a month until NBA teams convene to prepare for another 82-game marathon, here are all the important training camp and preseason dates for Golden State.
When does Golden State Warriors training camp start?
The Warriors will begin training camp on Monday, Oct. 2 at the team's arena, the Chase Center in San Francisco, per the team.
Last fall, the Warriors made training camp headlines when Draymond Green punched Jordan Poole in practice. Poole was sent to Washington in the CP3 trade, but the Warriors will still be under a microscope as they look to rebuild the chemistry that defined their four title runs.
Important Golden State Warriors preseason dates
The Warriors will participate in five preseason games between Oct. 7 and Oct. 20.
- Saturday, Oct. 7: Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors, 8:30 PM E.T.
- Friday, Oct. 13: Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers, 10 PM E.T.
- Sunday, Oct. 15: Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings, 9 PM E.T.
- Wednesday, Oct. 18: Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors, 10 PM E.T.
- Friday, Oct. 20: San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors, 10 PM E.T.
That's a jam-packed schedule.
The Warriors and Lakers will draw eyes due to both the star power on display and the circumstances behind the matchup. Los Angeles eliminated Golden State from the playoffs, so there's more bad blood than normal. Plus, it never hurts to watch Curry and LeBron go at it, even if their playing time will be severely restricted in the preseason.
Golden State also gets a double-shot postseason rematch with the Sacramento Kings, who the Warriors eliminated from the playoffs in seven games.
The final preseason bout will feature Victor Wembanyama and the new-look San Antonio Spurs.