Fresh off their 2022 championship win, the Golden State Warriors have enjoyed a summer of luxury as they savor their success. But now that the new season is approaching, it’s almost time for the Dubs to get back on the grind and defend their title.
First up on the schedule for Golden State is a pre-season trip to Japan, which is drawing mixed reactions from the team and their fan base.
While many worry that long-distance travel will have a negative impact on the guys, head coach Steve Kerr said that the positives far outweigh the negatives.
“It’s not the ideal way to go through training camp. It’s not how you draw it up, but it’s an incredible opportunity,” Kerr said. “To go to Tokyo, which is such a great city…It’ll be an amazing experience for our players and coaches. Any sort of training camp disruption is far outweighed by the benefits of being in Tokyo with the team and growing the game. Seeing the Japanese people cheer on Steph Curry and the team, it’ll be a thrill.”
It remains to be seen how the Warriors’ trip will go, but they’ve earned a little getaway after another season of excellence.
Can The Warriors Successfully Defend Their Title This Season?
This year, with the same core intact, the Dubs will be competing for a championship again, and nobody is taking them lightly. In fact, some have already picked them to win the whole thing again.
“You are going to put me on the spot,” Matt Barnes said after Joey Mistretta of Clutch Points asked him to make his NBA Finals prediction. “I think in the Western Conference it’s going to be between Golden State and the Clippers. And in the Eastern Conference, I love Brooklyn if they can get their sh*t together, but I don’t know if they can. So I’m going to say it’s going to be a rematch between a healthy Milwaukee and hopefully a healthy Boston. I got Milwaukee against Golden State, and I got Golden State getting one more championship.”
It’s obviously way too early to draw any conclusions. At this point, anything could happen that can de-rail their title hopes.
But the Warriors can’t think like that right now. For them, the hope is that this Japan trip will get all of their players on the same page and ready to bring out their best for a brand new season.
