Warriors stats: Dubs make history in win over Blazers, Hield nearly sets debut record, Curry passes Drexler

Originally thought to be a 139-104 victory, the Golden State Warriors actually took a 140-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night to kick off their 2024-25 NBA season after it was announced on Thursday that a scoring error had been made on a De'Anthony Melton free throw in the third quarter.

Thankfully for Steve Kerr's squad, this was never a close game after the first quarter, and the error ultimately didn't mean a thing.

With a new-look roster and a bigger-than-expected starting lineup that put Andrew Wiggins at shooting guard for the first time in seven years, Kerr got a complete team effort in the opening-night win.

Of the 14 Warriors who took the floor on Wednesday night, 13 recorded at least two points, the lone exception being Brandin Podziemski, who missed all five of his shots from the floor, four of which came from beyond the arc.

Stephen Curry opened his franchise-record 16th season with the club by nearly recording a triple-double, posting 17 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds.

Golden State's leading scorer for the night was new addition Buddy Hield, who made the most of his 15 minutes with 22 points. He was one of six double-digit scorers for Golden State, leading a group that also featured Wiggins (20), Curry (17), Trayce Jackson-Davis (14), Melton (11), and Jonathan Kuminga (10).

Hield actually nearly made some franchise history, which we'll get to in just a moment. But first, let's take a look at how the Warriors as a whole did so.

The Warriors' 36-point win was their largest ever in a season opener

The Warriors' 36-point win over the Blazers marked the largest margin of victory for Golden State in a season opener.

The previous mark was a 31-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers on October 30, 2013. Klay Thompson led the way for the Dubs that night, scoring a then-career-high 38 points.

Thompson, of course, is now a member of the Dallas Mavericks and made an immediate impact with his new team, shooting 6-for-10 from the three-point line en route to 22 points in the Mavs' win on Thursday night over the San Antonio Spurs. His six triples set a new Dallas record for the most by any player in their debut game with the franchise.

But let's get back to his former team.

Buddy Hield fell just short of the best debut in Warriors history

As mentioned, Buddy Hield made the most of his 15 minutes on the floor against the Blazers, shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 5-for-8 from the three-point line. He also made his lone free throw attempt.

With his five triples, Hield fell just one shy of the team record for three-pointers made in a debut. He also fell just one point short of the Golden State record for points scored in a debut. It should be noted that the scoring record is for a player making their Warriors debut after previously playing elsewhere.

It may surprise some people, but both records belong to Nick Young, who hit six threes and scored 23 points in the Warriors' season-opening loss to the Houston Rockets on October 17, 2017.

Stephen Curry passed Clyde Drexler on the NBA all-time assists leaderboard

With his seventh assist on Wednesday night, Stephen Curry passed Trail Blazers legend Clyde Drexler on the all-time NBA assists leaderboard. As mentioned, No. 30 dropped 10 dimes on the night.

Now with 6,129 assists for his career, Curry sits in 38th place on the all-time list. And he could move to No. 37 as early as Friday night. If he can notch seven against the Utah Jazz, he'll surpass six-time champion Scottie Pippen.