The 2026-27 NBA season is officially underway! A new season kicked off on Tuesday with a trio of exciting games, and tonight the Golden State Warriors begin their campaign when they take on the Los Angeles Lakers.
It goes without saying that the most intriguing players for Warriors fans to watch this year are … well … Warriors. But there are a lot of other players around the NBA to keep an eye one. Here are nine players on other teams that Warriors fans will want to be watching closely.
Jonathan Kuminga
The Warriors and Kuminga tried for years to form a fruitful pairing, and it simply never worked out. I don’t think anyone is to blame in that situation, and even if Kuminga goes on to materialize his potential elsewhere, it won’t necessarily mean that Golden State messed up.
But it’s worth keeping an eye on. After a brief stint with the Atlanta Hawks last year following his departure from the Dubs, Kuminga signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason. On paper, it’s a great fit: the Wolves are a team that is dependent on athleticism, have a clear spot on their roster for him to fill, and have two players (LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards) who like to make audacious passes. Kuminga should be flying to the rim every other possession, hoping to catch a highlight-reel lob.
Warriors fans still have some investment in Kuminga. For some, it’s a matter of believing in his talent. For others, it’s a curiosity as to whether that talent can blossom in a different environment, and with a new coach. And for some, it’s simply a matter of rooting for a player who, despite having a complicated history with the team, was always very likable.
Klay Thompson
It’s still weird to see Klay in a different jersey, and it should delight no one that his tenure with the Dallas Mavericks didn’t pan out. But Thompson is on the Miami Heat now, reunited with Andrew Wiggins, and things are primed to go better. Sure, Klay had a rough preseason, but an Erik Spoelstra-coached team that stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo should play right into Klay’s strengths, and give him a chance to compete for a deep postseason run. And let’s be honest: South Beach seems on Klay’s wavelength in a way that inland Texas never was.
I’m still holding out hope that Thompson will return to the Bay, but for now, it will just be fun to see if he can resuscitate his career with the Heat.
James Wiseman
As long as we’re talking about former Warriors, it will be fun to track Wiseman’s progress. After looking like he might have to go outside of the country for opportunities, the Dubs’ former No. 2 overall pick signed on with the defending-champion New York Knicks, and with Mitchell Robinson now playing in New England, there should be an opportunity for Wiseman to get reps. The lefty didn’t play in New York’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, as he’s firmly behind starter Karl-Anthony Towns and backup Andre Drummond on the depth chart. But those two won’t both stay healthy all year, and Wiseman should get his chance at some point. After injuries and poor play limited him to just five games over the last two seasons, it will be fun to see if Wiseman can secure his spot as a quality NBA role player.
LeBron James
The big news for the Warriors this offseason was someone who didn’t actually join their team. The Dubs went all in on James, trying — certainly not for the first time — to acquire the league’s all-time leading scorer. Ultimately, James chose to sign with the Sixers, and had a decent debut on Tuesday, with 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
After many years, the dream of teaming LeBron with Steph Curry is officially dead, and we’re left to wonder what it would look like. It’s always fascinating to follow the paths of players that the Warriors almost acquired; based on how James looks in his league-record 24th season, we’ll get a chance to see whether the Warriors narrowly missed out on a franchise-changing signing, or if they got fortunate that he gave another team a rose.
Brayden Burries
It’s repeated every year: the draft is a crapshoot. There’s certainly a lot of scouting skill involved, but so much rests in the hands of chance and fate. The Warriors, for example, had their entire franchise changed by drafting Curry seventh overall in 2009. But what if another team drafted him first? Or what if they had a higher selection; would they still have taken him? Golden State maintains that Curry was No. 2 on their draft board, and even if you take that at face value — and I don’t — it means that they would have drafted Blake Griffin had they won the draft lottery that year. And while you can certainly do worse than drafting a six-time All-Star with highlight reel dunks and SNL-level comedic chops, it’s safe to say that if the Dubs had drafted Griffin over Curry in 2009, they would not have four titles, a dynasty, and a league-leading valuation.
All of that is to say: you need to draft well, but sometimes the situation matters more than the scouting. And that was very relevant in June’s draft, when the Dubs used the No. 11 pick on forward Yaxel Lendeborg. Golden State was always high on Lendeborg, and the fit seemed perfect, but reports came out that the team was enamored with Arizona guard Brayden Burries. We’ll never know exactly how they felt, but it certainly appears as though the Warriors were hoping Burries would fall to them, and were exploring options to trade up and nab him.
Ultimately, Burries went one spot ahead of the Dubs, to the Milwaukee Bucks. And so far, that looks fortuitous: Lendeborg was one of the stars of the preseason, prompting Draymond Green to anoint him the next face of the franchise, while Burries struggled to find offense in his preseason games, averaging 14.0 points but shooting just 41.3% from the field and 11.8% from deep. Watching the rookie progression of Lendeborg and Burries — who both figure to play prominent roles on their respective teams — will be fascinating.
Cooper Flagg
In many ways, the Warriors and Mavericks are polar opposites. The former is trying to maintain their recent highs, while the latter is trying to climb the mountain. The Dubs are built around a player in his 18th season, while the Mavs are constructed around a teenager.
But there’s something tying the two franchises together. Both are hoping to be competitive this year, while also building a strong future for years to come. And Flagg is at the heart of both timelines for Dallas.
Last year’s No. 1 pick certainly didn’t disappoint in his first year — he won Rookie of the Year honors and averaged 21.0 points per game — but it’s not yet clear whether he’s a really good player or a superstar. If he’s merely the former right now, it makes Golden State’s path to the playoffs this year much smoother; no one is counting on Dallas being a standout team, but a leap from their cornerstone player could change that. And as the Dubs look to build a consistently competitive team in the post-Curry era, one of their primary adversaries could be the Mavs, depending on how Flagg develops.
Kevin Durant
As with James, the Warriors have tried a few times over recent years to acquire Durant, who of course had a wildly-successful three-year stint with the team during the dynastic days. They were close to a reunion at the 2025 deadline, but stopped pursuing a trade when it was made clear that KD did not want to return to the Bay Area.
That could eventually change. Durant tends to bounce from situation to situation, and he maintains a stellar relationship with Curry, and a strong one with Draymond Green, despite their prior drama. We know the Dubs always want to go deep sea fishing to add a star, and if the situation with the Houston Rockets sours, it seems like a safe bet that they’ll poke around a reunion. And if not … well, Durant is worth paying attention to anyway. Who doesn’t love watching an all-time great bucket-getter who loves to be petty online?
Nikola Jokić
This one’s a bit of a stretch, but again: we know that Joe Lacob always wants to make a splash and acquire a huge star. The Warriors failed in their pursuits to land Antetokounmpo and James, but it won’t slow them from fishing in the deepest depths of the ocean.
It seems highly unlikely that Jokić, who has stunningly finished as the MVP or the runner-up in each of the last six seasons, will be leaving the Denver Nuggets anytime soon. But there have been a few whispers and murmurs, and he could elect to test free agency next summer. It would be very difficult for the Warriors to swing an in-season trade for the eight-time All-Star, as matching his salary will be hard, and Denver is highly unlikely to consider any offers. But it’s worth monitoring his situation with the Nuggets: if it’s not a great year for Denver, and rumors persist that Jokić isn’t convinced his future is in the Mile High City, then it could open the door for the Warriors to try to make a seismic splash next summer.
Myles Turner
They haven’t played their first game yet, but the Warriors already have a bit of a center situation on their hands. On Wednesday morning, news broke that the Dubs are already exploring options to trade Kristaps Porziņģis, who reportedly is reconsidering his NBA future as he continues to deal with health issues.
Porziņģis figured to be the team’s starting center, while Al Horford — who is 40 years old, played just 45 games last year, and doesn’t play back to backs — is the primary backup. That means that the team is desperately lacking in options at the five, barring a huge turnaround in the Porziņģis situation.
It seems likely that the Dubs will try to replace KP at some point, and who better than Turner? The Bucks’ center does all the things that made Porziņģis so attractive to Golden State: he’s a physical force who plays strong defense (he’s led the league in blocks twice), fits the system well on both ends, and stretches the floor (he’s shot 38.9% on threes over the last two years, on high volume). The only difference between Turner and Porziņģis is that the former has a reliable bill of health, having played in over 70 games in each of the last three years.
The Bucks already seemed to regret signing Turner even before they traded Antetokounmpo, and now that they’re likely in rebuild mode, it seems as though they’ll be shopping their center. So keep your eye on Turner: if he has a good season and Milwaukee does not, he could be starting for Golden State by the end of the year.
