Warriors will make unwanted history on opening night

Who will be the fifth Warriors starter?

There's still uncertainty over which player will join the aging quartet in the starting lineup, with the list of candidates including Moses Moody, De'Anthony Melton, Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has hinted that Moody will get the nod, citing the 6-foot-5 wing's ability to guard multiple positions. 

Last season, Moody started in 34 of his 74 appearances in the regular season and got two starts in the playoffs. While addressing reporters on Wednesday, Kerr said he expects Moody to be the team's primary point-of-attack defender, per the San Francisco Chronicle's Sam Gordon.

Jonathan Kuminga unlikely to start

The one player who almost assuredly won't start is Kuminga, who inked a two-year, $48.5M contract on Tuesday to return to the Warriors. During last season's playoffs, Kuminga received four DNPs because he reportedly "irked" the coaching staff for not scoring within the flow of the offense. The Congolese forward finally got opportunities off the bench in the second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, only after Curry was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

In his exit news conference, Kerr bluntly admitted that the trio of Kuminga, Green and Butler "doesn't fit real well," citing their inability to shoot from long range. To his point, Green (32.5 percent), Kuminga (30.5 percent) and Butler (27.9 percent) were subpar three-point shooters last season.

The Warriors are still trying to fill the void left by the departure of Klay Thompson, who was the team's starting shooting guard for 11 seasons. The 2025-26 season presents the likes of Podziemski and Moody with another opportunity to form a backcourt with Curry.