Warriors to face Suns on NBA Opening Night, per report
The Warriors will begin their season in the national spotlight, as they have done so many times in the last decade.
According to league insider Shams Charania, they will host the Phoenix Suns in the second game of the NBA’s Opening Night on Oct. 24. Kevin Durant will play his first game in front of Bay Area fans since leaving the Warriors in the summer of 2019. Since then, he has only played at Chase Center once, in 2021, in front of an empty arena due to COVID restrictions.
The game will also mark Chris Paul’s first appearance in a Warriors uniform during the regular season, and he’ll be facing his former teammates after being traded to Washington for Bradley Beal, then flipped to the Warriors for a package that included Jordan Poole.
The Warriors’ starting lineup from last season — the league’s best five-man group by net rating — will be a major focus for observers, as Paul has never come off the bench in his 18 years of regular-season and playoff games — remains intact.
The game will air on TNT following the Nuggets’ opener against the Lakers, who defeated the Warriors in the second round of the playoffs last season.
The Phoenix-Golden State game earlier this season featured a memorable moment when Klay Thompson was ejected after talking trash to Devin Booker, reminding him that Thompson has four championship rings despite the Warriors star struggling to shoot while Booker finished with 34 points.
However, the rematch between the shooting guards may be less heated. Thompson addressed the incident on a podcast with Clippers star Paul George earlier this week:
“That day, the book was busting my (butt) and I wasn’t where I needed to be.” Things don’t age well, and this didn’t age well for me. I don’t need to flex four rings, bro… We’re all insecure at times. I’m a man enough to admit that we all have weak points. “I’m not particularly proud of that one.”
The game will also feature another reunion with Damion Lee, a former Warrior and Steph Curry’s brother-in-law.
The Warriors’ remaining schedule will most likely be released over the next week.
