When you're in the NBA in any capacity — player, coach, executive, the guys and gals who fire off the T-shirt cannons — it's a bit of a high-wire act. All eyes are on you to some extent. Of course, not all situations are the same.
Some gigs come with added (and sometimes unwanted) attention. With that in mind, here are our pressure rankings as the 2026-27 season approaches. No one is really expecting anything out of Golden State.
Steph Curry and the Warriors only land on the list by their own volition. There's not a ton of pressure here — except to the extent that they put it on themselves. Curry put to rest any questions about him jumping ship in search of a team better suited to win now when he signed a two-year $115 million extension that will carry him through his age-41 season.
In doing so, he noted that part of the reason why he took a discount — he was eligible for up to $137 million in that new deal — was to give the Warriors flexibility when trying to improve the roster. Put another way, Mike Dunleavy and the Golden State front office are once more tasked with not wasting what's left of Curry's career. Maybe the added savings help, but turning these Warriors into contenders for one last run before the core rides off into the sunset won't be easy.
Jimmy Butler is still on the mend from an ACL injury. Kristaps Porziņģis has suffered a litany of injuries and health issues. Curry will be 39 in March.
The clock has been ticking for a while now, and time is running out on the lot of them. Which is something Curry doesn't necessarily want to hear. When he signed the extension, he declared that "this team should be competitive and go win." OK.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
