3 bold predictions for the Golden State Warriors’ 2022–23 season
By Luke Duffy
Prediction #3: They have five All-Stars
Back in 2015, the Atlanta Hawks, who won 60 games that year and got swept in the Eastern Conference finals by the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, had four of their players make the All-Star game. None of Al Horford, Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, or Jeff Teague started the game, but the feat was hugely impressive.
Usually, teams that are having a great season up to that point can get three on the roster, but four is unheard of. Why, then, can the Golden State Warriors not go one better and get five players into the game? The Golden State Warriors are never far from history, and they have also had four players make the All-Star game already.
So there, in all likelihood, couldn’t be a situation where all five Warriors players were on the same team and on the court at the same time. Still, this would be an unbelievable accomplishment. Who would the five guys be? Easy. Curry, Thompson, Green, Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole (maybe even Jonathan Kuminga in his place?).
Curry is obvious, while Thompson and Green are likely to get in because the game is a popularity contest, and both of those players are extremely popular with casual fans because of the success of the Warriors. Wiggins was an All-Star starter last year, and if anything showed in the playoffs, it was that his selection wasn’t the wrong choice after all.
Poole has come on so much in such a short space of time, and because of his ability to do a passable Curry impression and the fact he is on the Warriors, casual fans have gravitated towards him. So too have the more ardent fans of the league, because of how Poole fits in so well with the dynasty in San Francisco.
In a not-so-subtle nod to those 2015 Hawks that showcases the longevity of this Warriors core, it was Kerr, Curry, Thompson, and Green who beat the Cavaliers that year, on their way to winning their first championship of this unprecedented run. It would be only fitting that they sign off with five All-Stars as this magical period in their history edges closer to completion.