![](https://warriorswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2022/06/USATSI_18514439-1.jpg?w=1000&h=600&crop=1)
As long as the Golden State Warriors‘ championship core remains active NBA players, they should be considered potential postseason contenders. Last season, the Warriors failed to defend their 2022 NBA championship, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs.
Yet, that loss hasn’t deterred ESPN analyst Zach Lowe, who believes the Warriors have all the ingredients to make another run at an NBA Finals and potentially win the fifth championship of the Steph Curry and Klay Thompson era. Lowe also pointed to Thompson’s recent comments in China, where he told a crowd of fans that he would return next summer as a five-time NBA champion.
Buy Warriors Tickets“That whole (Warriors) organization feels like an opportunity passed them by, and they could have won that Lakers series last year,” Lowe said on a recent episode of NBA Today. “I think they’re coming back. And I’ll tell you this: I will not count them out until those dudes are gone and retired because they’ve done enough winning to earn the benefit of the doubt. Their window is not closed. I like it. Five rings in the Bay.”
Golden State will face a tough task in returning to the NBA Finals. The Western Conference is full of talent, and some top-end teams strengthened their rosters during the summer, including the Lakers (who recently added Christian Wood to their roster.)
Nevertheless, if the Warriors can remain healthy and can integrate their latest batch of new players, they will be a force throughout the regular season and the playoffs.