Experience has traditionally outclassed youth throughout NBA history. The Oklahoma City Thunder completely squashed that narrative by winning the 2025 NBA championship. Their historic playoff run stamped them as the second youngest team to win a title, behind the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers. The Golden State Warriors are striving to uphold that narrative, though, reaching for the same end goal but with an aging roster. Thunder guard Alex Caruso provided an honest assessment of the Western Conference rival.
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In the 2024-25 season, not many teams had more momentum than GS. They finished the season 23-7 after adding Jimmy Butler to the lineup. The combined experience of Butler, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green propelled them to a win over the second-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round.
Unfortunately, Golden State’s title hopes came to a screeching halt when Curry strained a hammy. With him cast to the sidelines, the Warriors were unable to overtake the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.
Caruso revealed that, despite that setback, the Warriors are on the Thunder’s radar as potential threats. “For the Warriors, it just comes down to if they can get Steph healthy,” Caruso said in an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area & California. “Like that’s the big deciding factor. If he’s healthy, you always have a chance to win a playoff series.”
Caruso knows far too well what the Warriors are capable of with Curry on the court. In 2021, as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, he faced Golden State in the play-in. The Lakers narrowly scraped by with a 103-100 victory. But Curry did his best to give the Warriors a chance.
The 11-time All-Star finished with 37 points and 7 rebounds. Caruso matched up against Curry for most of the game and couldn’t do anything to slow him down. The combination of Curry and Draymond Green furthers Caruso’s claim.
“Him and Draymond just have so much experience,” Caruso added. Between the two Warriors stars, they have 324 games’ worth of playoff experience. That mark is greater than the number of playoff games played by 18 teams’ entire existence.
Of course, the new dynamic to the equation is Butler. Although he showed glimpses, he wasn’t the same player basketball fans know him to be. Having played against him in the 2020 NBA Finals, Caruso knows firsthand what Butler’s capable of.
“I don’t think [Jimmy Butler] was particularly 100% or healthy in those playoffs either. So having those guys healthy is a big deal just because of the experience and competitive nature that they have,” Caruso said.
When it comes to their star core, the Warriors certainly can compete for a title. Questions begin to arise when examining the rest of the roster. Their lack of depth could hurt them, especially against a team like the Thunder, which can play 12 players on any given night.
Regardless, Golden State has the respect of teams across the league. In a wild Western Conference, nobody is taking them lightly, not even the defending NBA champions.
