Beginning Nov. 3, the Warriors will participate in the NBA's first edition of the In-Season Tournament. This tournament involves games that count towards the regular season standings but also toward tournament play. Every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3-28 (except Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when no games will be played) will be a 'tournament night,' where only group play games will be played. All 30 teams have been broken into six groups, three for each conference. The Dubs were drawn into West Group C along with the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
'TOURNAMENT NIGHT' SCHEDULE
11/3 at OKC
11/14 vs. MIN
11/24 vs. SAS
11/28 at SAC
Beginning on Dec. 4, the top four teams from each conference during group play will begin a single elimination knockout round. The top finisher in each group will receive a guaranteed spot in the knockout round, along with two wild cards (one from each conference).
TIEBREAKERS
In the case of a tiebreaker, here's how spots will be determined.
- Head-to-head record in the Group Stage
- Point differential in the Group Stage
- Total points scored in the Group Stage
- Regular season record from the 2022-23 NBA regular season
- Random drawing (in the unlikely scenario that two or more teams are still tied following the previous tiebreakers)
For teams that advance to the knockout rounds, all their players will receive prize pool money, with increasing allocations depending on how far their team progresses in the tournament. At the conclusion of the tournament, the NBA will award a Most Valuable Player and an All-Tournament team based on the players’ performance in both group play and the knockout rounds. The winners of the quarterfinals will head to Las Vegas for the neutral-site semifinals on Dec. 7 and the last two teams remaining will play in the championship game on Dec. 9. The winner of the inaugural in-season tournament will receive the first ever ‘NBA Cup.’
Read below to learn more about the teams the Warriors will compete against in West Group C.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
The Warriors and Sacramento Kings most recently squared off in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, with the Dubs winning in a tightly contested seven-game series. Stephen Curry made NBA history by becoming the first player to score 50 points in a series-deciding Game 7. This series marked the first head-to-head playoff battle between the Nor-Cal neighbors. In the 2022-23 season, the Kings were the third seed in the Western Conference and ended what was the longest postseason drought in the history of the major American team sports (16 years).
The Kings are led by two All-NBA players – De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis – making Sacramento the only Western Conference team with two All-NBA representatives last season.
2022-23 Warriors Regular Season Record vs. Kings: 3-1
Warriors Best Plays From Regular Season vs. Sacramento Kings
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
This past season, the eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves split their two play-in tournament games, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the opener and defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder to secure the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, Minnesota was defeated by the eventual NBA Champion Denver Nuggets in five games. The Timberwolves are led by one-time All-Star Anthony Edwards and two former All-NBA bigs in Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert.
2022-23 Warriors Regular Season Record vs. Timberwolves: 2-2
Golden State Warriors Highlights vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Fresh off a play-in tournament appearance, the Oklahoma City Thunder have a very talented young core. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 25, made his first All-Star and All-NBA team in the 2022-23 season. Gilgeous-Alexander shares the backcourt with Josh Giddey, one of five players to average at least 16 points (16.6), seven rebounds (7.9) and six assists (6.2) this past season (LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis). In the frontcourt, second-year forward Jalen Williams is coming off of an All-Rookie first team selection, finishing second overall in the Rookie of the Year race. After missing the past season with a right foot injury, the second pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, Chet Holmgren, will make his NBA debut this season.
In their first play-in game, the 40-42 Thunder defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, but were unable to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves to secure a playoff spot.
2022-23 Warriors Regular Season Record vs. Thunder: 3-1
Golden State Warriors Highlights vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
With the first pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, the San Antonio Spurs selected versatile 7'5 big man Victor Wembanyama from France. Wembanyama was viewed as a draft prospect with elite potential as a defensive anchor and a three-level scorer. Wembanyama will attempt to be the next great Spurs big man, joining Tim Duncan and David Robinson. The Spurs had the worst record in the Western Conference last season (22-60), but led by Head Coach Greg Popovich, who signed a multi-year contract extension this summer, they will look to make some positive strides this season.
2022-23 Warriors Regular Season Record vs. Spurs: 3-0
Golden State Warriors Highlights vs. San Antonio Spurs
WARRIORS VS. WEST GROUP C in 2022-23
The Warriors had great success against the teams in West Group C in 2022-23, finishing with an 11-4 record, which was the best record amongst the five teams last season.
Combined Group C Head-to-Head Standings from 2022-23
1st: Warriors 11-4
2nd: Timberwolves 10-6
3rd: Kings 7-7
4th: Thunder 5-9
5th: Spurs 3-10