Analyzing Golden State Warriors 2021-22 win projections

The upcoming NBA season could be a great one for the Golden State Warriors. At the same time, a few unfortunate turns could leave them in the same position they were last year.

Will the Dubs reach the playoffs? Are they true contenders? What are the expectations for this ragtag team of vets, unproven youngsters and superstars who are eager to enact revenge on a league that has forgotten them?

What do win projections look like for the Golden State Warriors this season? We rounded up a list of predictions to compare and contrast.

In order to get a sense of what the expectations are this season, I gathered win projections from multiple outlets to build a consensus of where the Dubs should set their sights this season.

50 Wins – Bleacher Report

Starting with Bleacher Report, Andy Bailey gives the Warriors their most generous win projection at 50. This would mark the first time Golden State won 50 games since Kevin Durant was balling in the Bay area and it is a fair goal to aim for.

As Bailey points out, the Warriors have Klay Thompson gearing up for a (hopefully) climactic return. His presence in the lineup, as opposed to Kelly Oubre Jr. last season, should be enough to thrust the Dubs back into title contention.

50 Wins – FanSided

Keeping up with the theme of Golden State returning to prominence, FanSided’s Ian Levy also has the Warriors rattling off 50 wins.

Although Levy does not dive deep into what makes the Warriors such a threat this season, he does mention the team is in a position to battle for another championship in his article detailing Otto Porter’s successful preseason.

48.5 Wins – NBC Sports

NBC Sports relied on their betting partners to set predictions for the upcoming NBA season with Golden State ranking as the fourth-best team in the West. The over/under is set at 48.5, a realistic benchmark for the Warriors who will have the challenge of combining youth and veteran talent at a rapid pace this season.

48 Wins – ESPN

ESPN took a more collective approach to make their predictions with multiple NBA insiders chipping in. According to them, the Dubs will win 48 games and land at sixth in the Western Conference behind the Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets.

Much like everybody else, ESPN points out Stephen Curry is still in his prime (he just scored 41 points in a preseason game) and will benefit greatly from Thompson’s long-awaited return to play.

39 Wins – The Athletic

Finally, we have a low-ball prediction of just 39 wins and narrowly reaching the playoffs (well, Play-In at eighth in the West). This pessimistic view comes from John Hollinger of The Athletic, who has been previewing each NBA team over the last few weeks.

The ‘end’ of the Splash Brothers is Hollinger’s bold justification for his projection. He cites Thompson’s declining production even before his injuries (?) and believes the dynasty is ‘staring mortality in the face.’

While this might feel like a fair and reasonable thing to assume given the Warriors have gone dormant with Thompson nurturing consecutive season-ending injuries — nobody should be surprised if this prediction ages very badly in the coming months.