Austin Rivers pinpoints start of Warriors' decline

The Golden State Warriors are 21-21 over the first half of the season. They sit 11th in the Western Conference, one spot outside of the play-in tournament. Steve Kerr's team watched the 2024 playoffs from home, having been eliminated by the Sacramento Kings in the play-in tournament.

Over the past 18 months, the Warriors have been in sharp decline. Their roster has become imbalanced, with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green leading a group of talented but raw players. Unless the front office makes some significant moves ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, Golden State will struggle to be a serious threat this season.

During a recent episode of Austin Rivers' "Off Guard" podcast, the former NBA point guard pinpointed the moment the Warriors began their rapid dissension. He named Green's now infamous punch to Jordan Poole, and the footage that leaked to the media as the moment everything began to unravel. 

“Whoever leaked it messed up the whole organization,” Rivers said. “I mean, that video was the beginning of, I would say, the downfall of that organization. It cut their run because you look at the last championship they won. They were getting a huge contribution from youth. This led people to be like ‘Oh man, maybe Steph can age, and Klay can age gracefully because they got this new talent. They can have this thing they’re doing now, and it just didn’t go that way because the main piece at that time was JP.”