ESPN experts predict Warriors and Kings’ 2024-25 records, standings in the West

ESPN experts predict Warriors and Kings’ 2024-25 records, West standings originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The 2024-2025 NBA season is just around the corner and both the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings have high expectations for the upcoming season.

The Warriors lost franchise icon Klay Thompson and veteran point guard Chris Paul in free agency, but added valuable rotation players in De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson. The Kings, meanwhile, re-signed guard Malik Monk and added star guard DeMar DeRozan to create a formidable trio with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

Have the Warriors and Kings improved this offseason? Where do they stand in a loaded Western Conference? ESPN experts predict both teams’ records, broken down by tier, and where they’ll finish the 2024-25 season.

The contenders

1. Oklahoma City Thunder: 57-25

2. Minnesota Timberwolves: 54-28

3. Dallas Mavericks: 52-30

4. Denver Nuggets: 52-30

5. Phoenix Suns: 49-33

6. Sacramento-Kings: 47-35

“Rounding out the top six are two teams that will look different in 2024-25 — for different reasons,” ESPN Staff wrote. “The Suns are hoping for better health from their big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, who played just 41 games last season. The Kings, meanwhile, added All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who joins guard De’Aaron Fox to create one of the league’s clutch backcourts.”

The playgroup

1. New Orleans Pelicans: 46-36

2. Golden State Warriors: 45-37

3. Memphis Grizzlies: 44-38

4. Houston Rockets: 44-38

“The Grizzlies are hoping for a full season from Ja Morant but are staring at a play-in spot amid a tough Western Conference race,” ESPN Staff wrote. “Memphis could be a Pelicans team that would rather avoid the play-in tournament after three straight seasons. The Warriors, who bounced out of the play-in tournament last season, signed several players to soften the blow of losing Thompson, but that may not be enough to get Stephen Curry and Co. back in the playoffs.”

The bottom five

1. Los Angeles Lakers: 44-38

2. LA Clippers: 43-39

3. San Antonio Spurs: 35-47

4. Utah Jazz: 26-56

5. Portland Trail Blazers: 22-60

ESPN predicts the Warriors (45-37) will finish the 2024-25 season one win shy of last season’s record of 46-36, but in eighth place in the Western Conference after securing the 10th seed and the final spot in the NBA Play-In Tournament last season.

The Kings finished the 2023-24 season with the same 46-36 record as the Warriors, but held on to a seeding tiebreaker over their Northern California rival and secured the conference’s No. 9 seed. ESPN’s experts predict that Sacramento (47-35) will win one more game this upcoming season and move up three spots in the standings, thus avoiding the play-in tournament by one game.