Warriors' Draymond Green provides updated list of NBA championship contenders originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
As the NBA season turns the corner into 2026, Warriors forward Draymond Green has additions and subtractions to his list of serious title contenders.
Previously, he listed five Western Conference teams as his contenders: the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors, as Green explains on a new episode of his podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” released Monday, have fallen off his list of serious contenders. But he remains optimistic.
“We’re 16-15. Can’t say you’re a real contender at 16-15,” Green said of the Warriors record at the time, which now is 17-16. “However, I think it’s starting to come together for us. And I think for us, the one thing that stands out is that we have a great defense.”
After Golden State’s 120-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, the Warriors have a 109.7 defensive rating. That’s the fifth-best in the NBA, and third-best in the Western Conference.
Green points to the Warriors’ offensive struggles as the reason for their middling record.
“What has struggled is our offense, and now our offense is starting to turn the corner. Great defense, top two defense in the league, you can contend with that,” Green explained “And so, we’re not a serious contender right now– because of the record, we’re not even a playoff team right now. But, down the line, I think the Warriors are returning to your list of serious contenders.”
The Warriors are in the middle of a good stretch right now, winning four of their last five games. They have averaged 122.4 points per game during that stretch – much better than their season-average of 115.1 points per game.
As for the rest of his previous list, Green removed the Clippers because of their abysmal 10-21 start to the season, while the Nuggets and Thunders remain strong contenders, with the Lakers dropping slightly.
“The Lakers, they’re a fringe. If they can’t figure out the defensive end, you can’t contend,” Green said. “But, if they can figure out the defensive end, we know they have the offensive firepower…”
“… Right now, they’re on the fringe but not quite a real contender.”
He made one addition from the Western Conference – the San Antonio Spurs who currently are 23-9 and have notched three wins against the defending-champion Thunder in this month alone.
In the Eastern Conference, Green has high praise for the Detroit Pistons.
“They got a serious-contender record, and they’re putting it together,” Green said. “And like I said before, they lost a series they should have won last year. So, I think you have to put them in that category out of the East.”
Green also mentions the New York Knicks as one of the best teams in the East, but more of a fringe contender.
It’s still early into the season, but the dog days of January might give Green and the NBA a clearer picture sooner rather than later.
