Steph, Klay still confident in Warriors' chances to repeat originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The 2022-23 NBA season has been anything but easy for the Warriors, who have experienced plenty of ups and downs in their pursuit of back-to-back championships.
But as the Western Conference's No. 5 seed with a 34-31 record, Golden State superstars Steph Curry and Klay Thompson still like their team's chances to win it all.
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"I mean, our confidence is very high," Thompson told reporters Sunday at Crytpo.com Arena, after the Warriors fell short of their sixth straight win in a 113-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. "I think I've stated this before: I'm never going to doubt this group or this franchise.
"We've still got a lot of basketball left, and we can put ourselves in a great position to finish the year where we want to."
Curry, who returned Sunday from his second four-week injury absence of the season, said his Warriors teammates did a phenomenal job at keeping the squad afloat in his absence. Veteran Andre Iguodala also returned from injury in Sunday's loss, and forward Andrew Wiggins has been out since mid-February due to a personal matter.
Now, with their star point guard back, Golden State will look to finish the season on a high note and propel themselves into the NBA playoffs.
"The same way we approach everything -- with the right intentions, communicate, hold each other accountable," Curry said Sunday of the season's final stretch. "... The way we've been shorthanded for a long time, these guys have been stepping up and playing at an extremely high level to give us even a little bit of life to be where we are in the standings and all that.
"So, there's just a lot that we're trying to deal with and still stay optimistic about where we're headed, because until we get beat, we still feel like we're a tough matchup for anybody. And that's the confidence we have to have down the stretch and headed to the postseason."
Warriors like two-way players Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome have stepped up in big ways this season, and Thompson has quelled any whispers of his game "slipping" thanks to his performance in recent weeks.
In the 11 games Curry missed with a lower left leg injury, Thompson averaged 27.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 48 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from 3-point range.
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"[I was] just being myself and being the player I am," Thompson said Sunday of his recent play. "Just shaking off some rust. I mean, I expect greatness and I'm on my way."
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As a franchise, the Warriors expect greatness, too, after winning four NBA titles across eight seasons.
Whether or not they'll add a fifth championship in nine years remains to be seen, but Curry and Thompson certainly still have faith.
