The number of players missing the first matchup of the 2025-26 NBA season between the Warriors and Sacramento Kings made the vibe feel closer to a Santa Cruz vs. Stockton G League game than two Northern California rivals battling each other Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.
As the game progressed, though, so did the intensity. And inexperience eventually caught up to the Warriors in a 121-116 loss playing a Kings team that still featured two future Hall of Famers in their starting five.
The Kings were in the bonus with nearly nine minutes left in the third quarter, and went 14 of 18 from the free-throw line for the quarter after taking nine free throws in the first half. The Warriors in the third quarter were outscored 35-23, due in large part to having eight turnovers and being whistled for 11 fouls. While they scratched and clawed their way back in the fourth quarter, it was too little and too late for the undermanned Warriors.
Rookie Will Richard scored a game-high 30 points for a new career high that fell just four points of his previous career total of 34 points. Moses Moody, one night after scoring a season-high 24 points, scored a new season-high 28 points with six 3-pointers. Jonathan Kuminga fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds.
An ugly number of 19 Warriors turnovers became 30 points for the Kings.
Steph Curry (illness), Jimmy Butler (lower back) and Draymond Green (ribs) all were out for the Warriors. The Kings were down Domantas Sabonis (ribs), Zach LaVine (back) and Keegan Murray (left thumb surgery).
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Here are three takeaways from the Warriors’ loss to the Kings.
Second Timeline Starting Lineup
Without their top three players, the Warriors’ starters featured a rookie, a second-year player, a third-year player and two 23-year-olds. Hello there, second timeline. The future, for at least one night, is now.
You’d have to go all the way back to the finale of the 2011-12 regular season to find the last time all five starters had four or fewer years of service time.
The starting lineup hadn’t played a single second together this season as a five-man unit, yet they looked completely comfortable to begin the game. The Warriors led 16-11 through the first five minutes of the game before Al Horford replaced Quinten Post ahead of Will Richard’s second free throw. The ball was moving, and the youth was bringing the kind of spark coach Steve Kerr was searching for to survive and advance a shorthanded second night of a back-to-back.
In the first half, the young starting five scored 48 of the Warriors’ 62 points. The only starter held scoreless was Post, who took only one shot in eight minutes.
Post continued to struggle in the second half, too. The stretch-5 missed all five of his shot attempts and was scoreless in 15 minutes. The starting five played 10 and a half minutes together as a unit and was a plus-5, outscoring the Kings 30-25.
The Rook Shines
Here’s how Richard’s last three days have gone: Sent to Santa Cruz for his first G League practice Monday, recalled Tuesday but was a DNP-CD (Did Not Play, Coach’s Decision) and then received his first start in the NBA on Wednesday. He was a DNP-CD on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, too. No rust or nerves were seen from the Warriors rookie.
Richard in the first quarter alone scored 12 points, five more than his previous career high for a game. The former Florida Gator knocked down two threes from the left corner, made all four of his free throws and threw down a fastbreak dunk. He scored another four points in the second quarter, giving him 16 at the half.
The impressiveness of Richard’s performance popped in every which way. Richard scored another 14 points in the second half, and the Warriors wouldn’t even have had a chance if it weren’t for his two-way impact.
When the Warriors are at full strength, especially after De’Anthony Melton’s return, Richard might not have a spot in the rotation. However, he always makes it hard for Kerr not to play him.
Kuminga’s Showcase Game
Schedule makers haven’t been kind to the Warriors through the first two weeks of the season. They also brought some unintentional drama to their third back-to-back.
The Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings were the two teams that pursued Kuminga the hardest during his restricted free agency over the summer. Though he eventually signed a two-year, $48.5 million contract with a team option on the second year to remain with the Warriors, the Suns offered Kuminga a four-year deal around $90 million and the Kings put a three-year deal on the table worth $63 million with the chance for it to be slightly more.
Both contracts had Kuminga’s preferred player option on the back end.
Kuminga on Tuesday night against the Suns scored nine points on a season-low seven shot attempts. But a much bigger opportunity was presented to him in Sacramento. With eight minutes remaining in the third quarter, Kuminga already had his third 20-point game of the season. His 24 points were a mixed bag of good and bad.
After a strong start, Kuminga went 2 of 10 in the second half and clanked an open chance from 10 feet away to tie the game with 24 seconds left. Kuminga was called for four fouls in the second half and he again racked up far too many turnovers, finishing with five for a combined nine in the Warriors’ back-to-back.