The reality surrounding the Golden State Warriors is clear. They are going to have an uphill battle to make a deep postseason run. On Media Day, there were two distinct reactions to the fact that even from Dub Nation, many aren’t expecting a bright season ahead because of the state of the roster. Now, head coach Steve Kerr took the matter in stride and remained positive. But Stephen Curry, who is usually infinitely optimistic, appeared too stunned to speak.

When a journalist straight up said “no one” expected Golden State to make it out of the regular season alive, Curry, eyes wide open, interjected, saying, “That’s how bad, to [not] make the playoffs, we went from championship to…”

With a light smirk, Curry dropped his shoulders, stood up, and started walking away from the table, saying, “Damn! Damn!” Before leaving the room, however, Curry clarified that his frustration wasn’t directed at the reporter and wasn’t her fault, saying, “Sorry, that wasn’t to you, that was to the situation.”

Not long before that, Kerr, who has previously admitted the Warriors are a “fading dynasty,” was in front of the media. But even with more unexpected bad news, including Kristaps Porzingis being ruled out before training camp, the head coach remained positive and saw the criticism from a very different lens.

“Yeah, I don’t mind the fact that everyone is picking us to miss the playoffs, that’s not a bad spot to be in as a team, as a coach,” said Kerr. “For me, what it means is we get to focus on the process. We just get to lock in on what we’re trying to accomplish right from Day 1. Tomorrow morning we’ll have a meeting with the team, and we’ll lay out our expectations, our vision.”

For the Warriors to have a good season, they need their aging core playing as much as possible. Although much of the focus was on how Golden State’s season tailed off after Jimmy Butler tore his right ACL in January, Curry also missed 39 games last year due to knee issues. The Dubs were 13-26 in his absence.

So, it’s clear the Warriors need Curry on the floor. At Media Day, Curry said his knee was “feeling great” and that he wasn’t dealing with any issues. He did, however, mention the word “management” once and said he had to keep an eye on how much he exerted himself in practice and games.

Golden State’s medical team, led by Rick Celebrini, will monitor Curry’s health regularly, starting with the first practice in Hawaii at training camp. Earlier this month, though, league sources told NBC Sports that the Warriors were “somewhat concerned” that Curry’s runner’s knee issue could become chronic.

Curry, aware of the reality, admitted he had built a “really good” foundation over the summer and felt “a lot stronger” and more confident heading into the new campaign. But the buck of high expectations doesn’t just stop with him.

Why the Warriors Are Facing Lower Expectations

Skepticism surrounding Golden State follows a difficult 2025-26 season. The Warriors finished 10th in the Western Conference at 37-45 and barely entered the Play-In Tournament. After beating the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State’s season ended with a 111-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns.

When available, Curry averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game. Aside from the veteran sharpshooter and Jimmy Butler, no one could consistently shoulder the scoring load. That’s why, in the summer, it felt good to have the Dubs linked to top names like Giannis Antetokounmpo. But none of those targets panned out, and the front office ended up re-signing the same old names.

Along with bringing back Kristaps Porzingis, Golden State re-signed Draymond Green, Al Horford, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II while adding Georges Niang and Brandon Williams. The franchise also retained head coach Steve Kerr.

But Golden State now enters training camp with another health question. Kristaps Porzingis, whom the Warriors re-signed to a two-year, $40 million deal this offseason, is out indefinitely because of a health issue and will not travel with the team to Hawaii for training camp. General manager Mike Dunleavy said the team is not ruling out Porzingis for the start of the season.

On the other hand, Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are both recovering from knee surgeries but will still make the trip to Hawaii and continue rehab. Dunleavy said both are in a good spot and doing “very light on-court activities.” But there’s no clear timeline yet for either player’s return.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry made his commitment to the organization clear ahead of Media Day. He agreed to a two-year, $116 million extension that will keep him with Golden State through the 2028-29 season. It came after Curry repeatedly expressed his desire to stay with the Warriors as the team continued to build around him.

That commitment makes the changing expectations around Golden State particularly notable. Curry is entering his 18th NBA season and remains the franchise’s undisputed centerpiece, but the team is coming off a season in which injuries limited its core potential and ultimately kept it out of the playoffs.

Whether Golden State can change the conversation will be determined once the season begins, but Curry’s reaction made clear how differently the team’s current expectations sound compared with the standard it has upheld for much of his career.