Who Barkley believes is biggest threat to Warriors in the West originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Warriors will head into the 2022-23 NBA season as one of the clear championship favorites.
Golden State’s road back to the Finals certainly won’t be easy, especially in the Western Conference, where multiple teams will give the Warriors a run for their money.
Hall of Famer and current NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley joined NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole on the latest episode of the “Dubs Talk” podcast, where he was asked who he believes could be Golden State’s biggest threat out West.
“Well, I think the Clippers, they’re going to be in consideration for the favorites in the West,” Barkley said. “Denver’s going to be up there, obviously, the Warriors are going to be there. To me, the Clippers man, they’re going to be really dangerous when they get Kawhi [Leonard] and Paul George back. They made some trades the past year that’s really going to help them, but if they can get Kawhi and Paul George back, the Clippers are going to be awesome.”
The Clippers, who were the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference with a record of 42-40, were without superstar Kawhi Leonard (torn ACL) for the entire season and Paul George (UCL injury), who was limited to just 31 games this season.
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Along with the Denver Nuggets, Barkley believes these three teams will compete for the top spot in the West. However, they won’t be alone as the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, and Minnesota Timberwolves figure to be among the top teams in the conference.
If the Clippers are as much of a threat as Barkley anticipates, the Warriors’ path to repeating as champions is about to get even tougher.