Warriors depth chart: Why the Warriors don't need one starting lineup
By Luke Norris
To say Steve Kerr has tinkered with the Golden State Warriors starting lineup in the early weeks of this 2024-25 NBA season would be a massive understatement.
Before the season even began, Kerr shook things up by moving Andrew Wiggins from small forward to shooting guard, a position he hadn't played regularly in roughly seven years. This was part of the big lineup he rolled out over the first few games that saw Steph Curry in his regular spot at the point, Wiggins at the two, and Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, and Trayce Jackson-Davis manning the frontcourt.
After three games, Kuminga was moved to the bench, which has worked out beautifully, but Kerr was forced to make even more adjustments due to injuries to Curry, Wiggins, and De'Anthony Melton, thus giving Buddy Hield, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and Lindy Waters III their chances in the starting five.
Once everyone got healthy, Kerr seemed to have finally settled on one set starting lineup, with Curry at point, Melton at shooting guard, Wiggins back at small forward, Green at power forward, and Jackson-Davis at center.
But that didn't last long, as Melton suffered a sprained ACL that will seemingly keep him out of action for quite some time. As such, Kerr seems set on Waters taking over as the starting shooting guard for now.
Yeah, it's been a lot.
But here's the thing: No matter what the starting five looks like on any given night, the Warriors are winning.
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Golden State Warriors depth chart
Given the starting lineups and the different combos Kerr has used with his reserves recently, this seems to be what the official Warriors depth chart looks like at the moment.
POSITION | STARTER | BENCH | DEEP BENCH |
|---|---|---|---|
PG | Steph Curry | Brandin Podziemski | Moses Moody |
SG | Lindy Waters III | Buddy Hield | Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Andrew Wiggins |
SF | Andrew Wiggins | Kyle Anderson | Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Lindy Waters III |
PF | Draymond Green | Jonathan Kuminga | Kyle Anderson, Andrew Wiggins, Lindy Waters III, Moses Moody |
C | Trayce Jackson-Davis | Kevon Looney | Draymond Green |
The beauty of this Golden State roster is that Kerr has so many players who can play multiple positions at a high level. And we've certainly seen plenty of that during the Warriors' 10-3 start to the season.
The fact of the matter is that while every coach would love to have one set starting lineup throughout the season, Kerr doesn't actually need one. Such is the luxury of a deep team. And make no mistake about it; this might be the deepest team he's ever had, which is obviously saying something.
Despite all the different combinations Kerr has utilized, the Warriors offense has been one of the most prolific in the league, averaging 119.6 points per game, the third-most in the league behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.
And the balance between the starting lineup and the reserves has been incredible.
With Curry naturally leading the way with 23.0 points per game and Wiggins adding 15.2, the Golden State starters are putting up 63.2 points per contest. And the bench, led by Hield (16.9) and Kuminga (14.0), is averaging an NBA-best 56.4 points per game.
All these different combos have worked out just fine on the defensive side of things as well, as the Dubs have held opponents to the sixth-fewest points in the league.
Only time will tell if Kerr continues to tinker with the Warriors depth chart. But once again, it really doesn't seem to matter, as he's getting results with every combination he puts on the floor.
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