NBA basketball officially returns in less than one week with the Warriors tipping off their season on Dec. 22 against the Brooklyn Nets (4 p.m., TNT). As we prepare for the 2020-21 campaign, we take a look at the Dubs’ roster position-by-position continuing with Warriors guards.
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As announced by the Warriors on Nov. 25, Klay Thompson will miss the 2020-21 season while he recovers from a torn right Achilles tendon. However, the Dubs’ list of available players on the roster isn’t short of backcourt depth and talent. Between a mix three-point threats, playmakers, scorers, and hard-nosed defenders, the Warriors’ guards bring with them a number of options at the one and two spots.
Stephen Curry
The guards are led by two-time NBA MVP and six-time All-Star Stephen Curry. The 32-year-old Curry is entering his 12th season with the Warriors, which will tie him with Chris Mullin for the most seasons played in franchise history.
Curry is coming off a 2019-20 campaign, which was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, in which he was limited to just five games. Though he missed a majority of the season recovering from a broken bone in his hand, when on the floor Curry still averaged 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists while extending his career-long streak of averaging at least two three-pointers per game.
But after a long offseason, Curry is ready to take to the court with the Warriors.
“Watching The Bubble was weird,” said the guard. “It was nice to be a fan for a little bit, but I definitely wanted to play competitive basketball and in games that matter… there’s a lot of excitement to get back out there.”
And through the preseason, it has been so far, so good for the veteran Dub as he is coming off a series in Sacramento where he posted 29 points each.
Jordan Poole
Second-year guard Jordan Poole is coming off his rookie campaign in which he averaged 8.8 points and 2.1 rebounds. “My first year was pretty crazy,” the No. 28 overall pick in the 2019 draft shared, having played in 57 NBA games as well as a short stint of three games with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The the 21-year-old made the most of the offseason, demonstrating his relentless work ethic by spending countless hours in the gym. “He’s been our most consistent worker,” Head Coach Steve Kerr shared, “He’s put the time and the effort in. He’s really earned the right to play and get his opportunity.”
Poole’s offseason effort has translated in his preseason performance as he was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for 10 points against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
“I just feel like it’s natural, that whenever I’m given the time and opportunity to get better, I’m going to try to take advantage of it as best as I can,” Poole said. “And being able just to have an amazing player-development staff and an amazing coaching staff to put me in the right position in order to succeed best, I’m just so thankful for that.”
Kent Bazemore
Veteran swingman Kent Bazemore is entering his ninth year in the NBA, and is celebrating it by returning to the team where he began his career.
Bazemore originally went undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft, but eventually signed with the Warriors that offseason. He eventually made his debut on Nov. 9 and quickly became a fan and teammate favorite for his support on the bench — especially with what became known as his signature “bazemoring” move.
Bazemore is bringing more than just positive vibes back to the Warriors though. “I’m going to bring the energy,” he said. “Defense is where I hang my hat, ‘shut that water off’ as they say.”
“Get some rebounds, get some steals, get some blocks… and smile my way back into the playoffs,” said Bazemore in an interview.
Bazemore has built a career on just that: doing a little bit of everything. He owns career averages of 8.7 points including 35.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per game.
Damion Lee
Damion Lee is entering his third year with the Warriors, and fourth overall NBA season. After a winding road to the start of his career that included two torn ACLs, two broken hands and three seasons of playing in the G League, Lee enters this season for the first time in his career on a guaranteed contract.
Lee earned his new contract last season after playing-out the maximum number of days on his second two-way contract with the Warriors. By the end of the 2019-20 campaign, the lengthy guard posted solid averages across the board of 12.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals.
Thus far, Lee has carried that momentum into the early parts of the 2020-21 season.
Lee continued his strong play through the preseason with an emphatic dunk in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings. The fourth-year vet is averaging 9.5 points on 62.5 percent shooting from the field in 12.5 minutes per game through the exhibition games.
Brad Wanamaker
Though just a two-year veteran of the NBA who spent the last two seasons with the Boston Celtics, Brad Wanamaker brings far more experience than that to the Dubs’ backcourt. After going unselected in the 2011 NBA Draft, he spent seven seasons playing overseas in Italy, France, Germany and Turkey.
When asked what his role will be, Wanamaker said: “Go out there and play defense, and make plays for the team. Try to lead the group that I’m in there with, and just try to bring some energy to the team.”
The new Dub enters the season as the league’s reigning leader in free throw percentage (92.6 percent). He also finished the year averaging 6.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 0.9 steals in just over 19 minutes per game.
Nico Mannion
Nico Mannion joins the Warriors after being selected with the 48th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Nico, the son of former Warrior Pace Mannion who was selected by the team in the 1983 draft, brings a unique mix of both collegiate and international experience to the Dubs.
In his first and only season of college basketball at Arizona during the 2019-20 season, Mannion averaged 14.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.2 steals in 32 minutes of action. His effort earned him a spot on the All-Pac-12 Second Team and All-Freshman Team.
But having been born in Italy where his father played professionally after six NBA seasons, Nico also played for Italy in the 2017 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship in which he had one game line that included 42 points, five rebounds, and six steals in 29 minutes. He then joined Team Italy again for the European Qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup at just 17 years of age.
The blend of experience has caught the attention of none other than Stephen Curry.
“The sky is the limit for him,” said Curry of the teenager who once participated in Curry’s own Under Armour camp. “Kinda wise beyond his years. He has a game that doesn’t look like a 19-year-old that just came out of college.”
Mychal Mulder
The 26-year-old guard made his NBA debut with the Dubs last season, averaging 11 points and 3.3 rebounds in seven games played. He made his way to the Warriors after splashing his way through the G League where he averaged over 3.9 three pointers made on 40-percent-and-better from distance for the last two seasons.
And the hot hand he had through the G League and last season has continued so far in the preseason as Mulder continues to optimize each opportunity he has on the floor, making a trio of three-pointers in the Dubs preseason opener against the Nuggets.
He finished that game with 10 points on a 3-for-4 night from beyond the arc, and hit another trey in the Warriors’ Tuesday night game against the Kings. Mulder’s catch and shoot prowess makes him a threat, and the Warriors can certainly use a boost from the perimeter in the wake of Thompson’s injury.
“Mike is a really, really good player,” Head Coach Steve Kerr shared on Mulder following Saturday’s game. “He showed that last year when he came up late in the season. His shooting is important to us.”
Despite the loss of Klay Thompson to a torn Achilles, the Warriors enter the 2020-21 campaign with a number and variety of threats — both on offense and defense.
