Warriors, jimmy butler, stephen curry, charles barkley
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Jimmy Butler III #10 and Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors watch from the bench during the second half of the NBA game against the Phoenix Suns at PHX Arena on April 08, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.
No team has been on the receiving end of more skepticism from Charles Barkley than the Golden State Warriors in the last decade. Right from Steve Kerr’s first season in 2014-15, which ended with the first of four NBA titles, Barkley has consistently doubted the Warriors’ pedigree and playing style.
During the 2015 playoffs, he infamously said that “jump-shooting teams can’t win championships” and “it’ll always be a big man’s game” while questioning Golden State’s title chances. And even after the Warriors won it all, he cited an easy route that didn’t include matchups against the San Antonio Spurs or the Oklahoma City Thunder, and a Finals matchup against a Cleveland Cavaliers team with two injured All-Stars.
A year later, when the Warriors overcame a 3-1 series lead against the Thunder, Barkley appeared disappointed in the “Inside the NBA” studio, and later couldn’t contain his excitement when the Cavaliers upset Steph Curry and Co. in the Finals.
Barkley’s Warriors Dislike
The hate continued into 2018 when Barkley was convinced that the Warriors would have lost the playoff series to the Houston Rockets if not for Chris Paul’s injury.
More recently, he ‘GuarONteed’ the Boston Celtics would win the 2022 NBA Finals, only to be proven wrong. He predicted wrong again when the Warriors faced the Sacramento Kings in 2023 and the young, Alperen Sengun-led Rockets last year.
Now that the Warriors’ championship window appears firmly shut — unless a blockbuster trade happens — Barkley is seemingly ready to dance on their grave.
End of the Road for Warriors?
“Old and over the hill — that’s where they are,” Barkely said of the 2025-26 Warriors on the “Tom Tolbert Show” recently.
“Listen, they had one of the greatest runs in NBA history, but it’s over. They’re just old. Everboy gets old. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Barkley also predicted that Steph Curry, who turns 38 in March, will be unable to stay healthy for the Warriors to make a deep playoff run.
“Steph is on the Mount Rushmore, but he’s going to keep breaking down because of age and wear and tear,” Barkley stressed. “I don’t think Jimmy is the same player, and Draymond’s definitely not the same player.”
NBA Courtside
Charles Barkley says it’s OVER for the Warriors
“They had one of the greatest runs in NBA history but it’s over. They’re just old. Steph is on the Mount Rushmore but he gonna keep breaking down. I don’t think Jimmy is the same player and Draymond definitely not the same player”
Many expected the Warriors to be contenders this season after the Jimmy Butler III acquisition helped them end the season with a 23-7 record last year. In fact, ESPN’s analytics-based simulation model predicted Kerr’s team to win 63 games and top the Western Conference, and many other analysts projected them to be a 50-win team.
The exact opposite has happened, as the future appears pretty bleak for the Warriors. They’ve started the season 14-15 in a conference where the top six have separated themselves from the pack. Also, their hopeful stars of tomorrow, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski, are reportedly both available in trades ahead of the Feb. 5 deadline. Also worth noting is that the Warriors have tried out nine different starting combinations since Nov. 25 and don’t exactly have an identity just yet.