Warriors become best 10th-ranked team in NBA history ahead of play-in

Warriors become best 10th-ranked team in NBA history ahead of play-in originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Warriors ended the 2023-24 NBA season on a hot streak, but it wasn’t enough to secure an outright playoff berth in a loaded Western Conference.

Instead, Golden State finished the regular season at No. 10 in the West with a 46-36 record after defeating the Utah Jazz, 123-116, on Sunday at Chase Center. Now slated to face the No. 9-seeded Sacramento Kings in the NBA Play-In Tournament, the Warriors also made a bit of history in the season’s final standings.

Golden State, with a 56.1 winning percentage this season, is the best 10th-ranked team in NBA history (h/t HoopsHype).

A top-heavy West is right, as evidenced by the fact that the Warriors have little to show for their dominance down the stretch. Since Jan. 30, Golden State’s 27-12 record ranks fourth in the NBA, per StatMuse, behind the Denver Nuggets (24-10), Oklahoma City Thunder (25-10) and Boston Celtics (28-7).

Despite the final standings, Warriors coach Steve Kerr previously has stated he’s grateful Golden State fought its way into the play-in and hopes the team takes full advantage of the opportunity that wouldn’t even have existed five years ago.

And now that the Warriors’ path through the tournament is set, Kerr believes his battle-tested team can make a run.

“Well really, I’m happy with the way [the season] unfolded over the last couple of months,” Kerr told reporters after Sunday’s game. “We were a little bit in disarray for a while early in the season, trying to find ourselves, and a lot of guys really stepped up not only on the court but off the court, in the locker room.

“We have a really good connection on this team, good chemistry, guys pulling for each other, putting in the work. So I’ve got a good, good feeling about what’s ahead. I think we still have a chance to do something special.”

The Warriors know what it’s like to be counted out, and they also know how it feels to prove those doubters wrong, as the team did after winning the 2022 NBA Finals.

And now, as the winningest 10th-place team in NBA history, Golden State will look to show why seeding is just a number.

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