Top Storylines of Warriors’ 2021-22 Season - Regular Season Edition

As the Warriors prepare for the 2022 NBA Playoffs, let’s take a look a the top storylines that defined the Dubs’ 2021-22 regular season.

Stephen Curry entered the season with a number of 3-point records already under his belt, and the all-time record would offer further weight to the argument that he is indeed the greatest shooter in NBA history. Curry officially became the NBA’s All-Time 3-Point leader on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden, as he passed Ray Allen (2,973) at the 7:33 mark of the first quarter of the game against the Knicks. Curry finished the night with 2,977 total treys, completing the feat in 789 games, 511 games less than Allen (2,973 threes in 1,300 games). Curry led the NBA in 3-pointers made in five straight seasons, from 2012-13 to 2018-19, and again this season (285) to bring his record 3-point total to 3,117.

It was a moment Dub Nation — and his fellow teammates — had anticipated for a very, very long time as Klay Thompson took to the NBA floor for his first game in 941 days. The three-time NBA Champion was welcomed with a standing ovation in his season debut at Chase Center, and Thompson wasted no time making his first NBA bucket in the team’s first offensive possession.

“That was a very special moment. I’ll never forget. I’ll never forget this night, I’ll never forget the reception the Warrior fans gave us, especially myself,” the three-time NBA champion humbly shared. “It was worth every single day of being away…all the conditioning days. It was worth every single moment. I was so grateful to just compete again. It’s been a long road, but I’m also just proud of myself for persevering.”

Thompson finished his season debut with 17 points, sinking three splashes in 20 minutes of game action. The two-way guard concluded the 2021-22 season with a season-high 41-point performance in the team’s regular season finale.

After struggling with injuries in prior seasons, Dubs’ big man Kevon Looney had admitted that one of his goals of the 2021-22 campaign was to participate in every single game of the regular season — and that he did. Looney was the only Warrior active in all 82 regular season games, joining four other NBA players to play in every game for their team this season (Deni Avdija, Saddiq Bey, Mikal Bridges and Dwight Powell). Looney also averaged a career best 21.1 minutes per game, demonstrating durability in his seventh NBA season.

Looney scratched new single-season career highs in starts (80), games played (82), rebounds (596), assists (165), steals (50), and rebounds per game (7.3 rpg). Looney averaged 6.0 points and 7.3 rebounds on the 2021-22 season, leading the team in rebounding in 28 games. Looney just shied a double-double his game-winning heroics helped lift to Warriors to victory over the Pacers.

During the 2021-22 campaign, nine-year veteran Andrew Wiggins earned not only his first NBA All-Star recognition but also his first All-Star start. “I thought I was dreaming,” Wiggins shared after learning the exciting news. “I have been putting in a lot of work and I have found a home here.” Wiggins joined Team Durant in a 163-160 defeat at the 71st NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland, with the forward posting 10 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the floor in his All-Star debut.

“To see how hard he’s worked and to see all the work rewarded, just could not be happier for him,” Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr stated. “The whole organization is glowing right now because of what Wiggs has meant to us, but more importantly just the way he carries himself. Just a wonderful guy and he deserves this and we are all thrilled.”

Wiggins finished the 2021-22 regular season averaging 17.2 points and 4.5 rebounds and shooting a career-best 39.3 percent from 3-point range.

Ever the showman, Stephen Curry put forth one of the all-time greatest performances at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland on Feb. 20. Curry finished with a game-high 50 points, splashing 16 3-pointers, the most in the history of the game. The three-time NBA champion led Team LeBron to a trilling 163-160 victory over Team Durant. Curry posted 24 points in the first half of the contest, becoming the All-Star Game’s all-time leader in three-pointers made (47) and setting an All-Star Game record for most three-pointers made in a quarter (7) and a half (8). The sharpshooter’s explosive output in his eighth All-Star appearance earned him 2022 Kia NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player honors, extending his ever-growing NBA resume.

Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr was named to the 15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History list, joining former Dubs coach Don Nelson on the elite list. The honorees were selected by a panel of 43 coaches, including 30 current NBA head coaches and 13 former NBA coaches, in collaboration with the National Basketball Coaches Association. The 2021-22 campaign marks Kerr’s eighth season as head coach of the Warriors, with Kerr helping guide the playoff-bound Warriors to a 53-29 regular season record and third place in the Western Conference. The 2022 NBA Playoffs will serve as the sixth postseason appearance the Dubs will make under Coach Kerr.

The Warriors started the 2021-22 campaign as winners of 18 of their first 20 games. Although injuries to multiple star players would take their toll, the Warriors still managed to hang on to the league’s best record until early January. However, the team would struggle to find wins in February and March, as their 10-16 record over that stretch was the worst out of any of the teams in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. But with the threat of losing homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs looming, the Dubs flipped the script and won their last five regular season games to secure what was tied for the third best record (53-29) in the entire NBA.

After averaging 15.7 points per game over the first five months of the season, Jordan Poole turned it up in March, averaging 25.4 points in (16 games) and shooting a season-high 49.5 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from 3-point range. On March 3, Poole sparked a career-best 20-point streak of 17 games, becoming the 10th Warriors player to have a 20-point streak of that length. Poole's streak of 20-point games was the longest by a Warrior since Stephen Curry owned an 18-game streak spanning two seasons. At age 22 years old, Poole has become the second-youngest Warrior to have a 20-point streak of 15-or-more games, trailing only Rick Barry.

Poole knocked down 67 total threes in March, marking the most of any player in the NBA this season. The Warriors guard ranked first among league leaders in free throw percentage during the regular season (92.5 percent), making 246 of 266 free throw attempts in 76 games played.

Poole finished the 2021-22 regular season averaging a career-high 18.5 points and shooting a career-best 44.8 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from 3-point range.

After spending five NBA seasons with four teams (Bucks, Lakers, Wizards, Warriors), Gary Payton II has found his role with the Warriors. A defensive disruptor who threw down some of the best in-game dunks of the NBA season, Payton has posted single-season career-highs in games played (71), points (502), rebounds (247), assists (64), steals (96), blocks (22), minutes (1,248), field goals made (212) and attempted (344), 3-pointers made (43) and attempted (120), free throws made (35) and attempted (58), scoring (7.1 ppg), rebounding (3.5 rpg), steals (1.35 spg), minutes (17.6 mpg).

Previously named the NBA G-League Defensive Player of the Year (2021) and two-time G League All-Defensive First Team (2018-19, 2020-21), Payton’s defensive grit has had an immeasurable impact on the Warriors this season. The guard has appeared in 71 games including 16 starts for the Warriors, averaging 7.1 points and 3.5 rebounds, shooting 61.6 percent from the field and Scored in double figures in 24 games.

Center James Wiseman, who has missed a total of 115 games with the Warriors, was sidelined for the entirety of the 2021-22 season. The Dubs’ big man appeared in three games with the (G-League affiliate) Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds, but had experienced subsequent swelling that ended his season before it even began. In the immediate future, Wiseman will utilize a combination of strength and conditioning exercises as he prepares for his return to NBA action next season.

Selected by the Warriors with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jonathan Kuminga concluded his 2021-22 rookie campaign averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds. Among the rookie leaders, Kuminga, who had six assignments with the Santa Cruz Warriors, ranked second in field goal percentage (51.3 percent) and 16th in scoring (9.3 ppg).

At 19 years old, Kuminga holds the most 20-point games by a player 19 years or younger in a single season in Warriors franchise history with five. The Dubs’ rookie posted his highest-scoring performance of the 2021-22 season with a career-high 26 points over the Raptors. In the feat, Kuminga became the first Warriors rookie since Chris Wright (2012) to score at least 25 points in his first NBA start. Kuminga scored in double figures in 28 of his 30 games in which he played at least 20 minutes, averaging 15.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in those matchups.

Among Western Conference rookie leaders in the month of February, Kuminga ranked third in scoring (14.8 ppg), third in rebounding (4.7 rpg), and third in field goal percentage (.576). The Dubs rookie also participated in the 2022 Clorox Rising Stars during NBA All-Star Weekend.

A prominent theme of the Warriors’ 2021-22 campaign was the team’s challenges with injuries throughout the roster, with the squad without a full roster the entirety of season. Fifteen Warriors missed at least one game during the 2021-22 campaign, with Kevon Looney serving as the sole Warrior to play in each of the 82 regular season games. The trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green played together for just 11 minutes, as Thompson’s return in January coincided with Green sitting out 31 games with a lower back injury, and Curry suffered a sprained ligament in his left foot shortly after Green returned. Curry missed the final 12 games of the season, with his status probable heading into the playoffs, the rest of the Warriors — excluding James Wiseman — should be good to go when the playoffs begin.

In honor of the NBA’s landmark 75th Anniversary season, the league named the 75th Anniversary Team, comprised of 75 of the NBA’s greatest talent. The elected honorees combine a total 158 NBA championships, 730 NBA All-Star selections and 110 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Awards. The NBA 75th Anniversary Team was selected by a blue-ribbon panel of current and former NBA players, coaches, general managers and team and league executives, WNBA legends and sportswriters and broadcasters. A total of eight current and former Warriors were included in the selection, as well as 11 active NBA players including Stephen Curry. The NBA 75th Anniversary Team received formal recognition during a special halftime ceremony at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, where Hall of Famers and today’s superstars stood side-by-side in the distinguished commemoration. The Warriors are one of only three original NBA franchises, with the team sporting their Warriors Origins uniforms to commemorate their 75th anniversary season.