In the NBA’s first-ever mid-season tournament, the Golden State Warriors will not be taking the stakes lightly. In fact, according to team GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., team veterans Chris Paul and Draymond Green have made a promise to win the tournament by any means necessary.
“I said to [Warriors general manager] Mike Dunleavy about a month ago, I said, ‘Hey Mike, what do you think about this in-season tournament?,” explained Warriors president Brandon Schneider as he joined the NBC Sports Bay Area broadcast. “He said, ‘Well, Draymond Green and Chris Paul told me we’re going to win it.’ I said, ‘OK, that’s all I needed to know.’ “
Dray and CP3 told Mike Dunleavy they're gunning for the in-season tournament 👀 pic.twitter.com/93banuuNqw
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 19, 2023
Since their rise to power in 2015, the Warriors have been steadily in the race for a title, with the exception of a few down years. Even now, with Curry heading into his 15th season, the Warriors are committed to bringing home another title. Apparently, that mission also extends to the mid-season tournament as well, even though there’s no long-term benefit to winning.
The NBA’s In-Season Tournament Explained
Following the massive success of the play-in tournament, the league moved forward with their plans to incorporate an in-season tournament into the NBA schedule. As it currently stands, the tournament will involve two different stages: two stages: Group Play and Knockout Rounds. The knockout rounds will be single-elimination games until the final team standing wins a prize pool and trophy. The NBA will also name an MVP of the tournament, as well as an All-Tournament Team.
Across the league, feelings have been mixed. While some fans are fully bought into the idea, others are not sold on the value it brings to the league. For the players, many of them have been vocally against the addition and it’s expected for a number of stars and big rotation players to skip out on the games entirely. Nevertheless, it’ll be interesting to see how the in-season tournament measures up to the play-in and if both will become permanent fixtures of the game.
Can The Warriors Win?
With a healthy core of Steph, Klay, Wiggins, and Draymond Green, the Warriors can take on any team in the NBA. Regarding their chances for the in-season tournament, it’s impossible to say for sure since we’ve never seen this in action. With several teams and players likely to dismiss the whole event anyway, those who take it seriously will already have an added advantage coming in.
This season, the Warriors seem like they’re all-in on the in-season title… but should they be? As the Warriors core enters their twilight years, it might be better for them to focus on preserving their energy for the playoffs instead of wasting their efforts on a meaningless in-season tournament. Nonetheless, if there’s a trophy to be had, you can bet that this team will be fighting for it, and they stand a pretty decent chance of winning it all.
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