History says the Warriors’ 10-2 start bodes well for NBA Finals chances originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
It’s official.
Warriors fans don’t need to worry about the next six months — Golden State’s fate is already sealed.
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But after the Warriors gritty 123-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night pushed them to a 10-2 record, recent history suggests Golden State will go far this season.
In each of the previous ones five cases under Steve Kerr that the Warriors won at least 10 of their first 12 games, the team – at least – reached the NBA Finals each time.
That’s a pretty decent omen.
Granted, it’s no guarantee they will to win all, but it doesn’t seem like a coincidence that this trend has held true for five of the Warriors’ six Finals appearances under Kerr. The only exception is when Golden State won its second straight championship in 2017-18 after starting a miserable … 9-3.
On the other hand, here is the Warriors records through 12 games in the seasons they have no made the Finals: 2-10 in 2019-20, 6-6 in 2020-21, 5-7 in 2022-23 and 6-6 in 2023-24.
That’s right. In other words, whenever the Warriors started with a record above .500 through 12 games, they won at least the Western Conference, if not the whole shebang.
So, while maybe Dub Nation shouldn’t just look away for the next six months, it’s not crazy to feel a little overconfident in the Warriors just a month into the season.
After all, the statistics don’t lie.
