The Warriors' Season Doesn't Really Start Until December
Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are both out until December, and last season's best lineups ran through both of them.
Golden State's regular season opens October 21 in Los Angeles, but the two players who anchored last season's most effective five-man groups won't be available for weeks after that. Steve Kerr's group has to find its shape in October and November without them.
Out until December
Jimmy Butler III is out with a right knee injury, and Moses Moody is out with a left knee injury; both carry an estimated return date of December 1. The preseason runs October 4 through 10, against the Clippers, Lakers, Trail Blazers and Kings, and the regular season opens October 21 at the Lakers on ESPN. Butler and Moody will miss all of it.
The lineups that made last season work
Last season's three most effective five-man groups by minutes played all featured Butler, and two of them had Moody too. The best played only 65 minutes together — Curry, Butler, Green, Kuminga and Podziemski — but posted a net rating of plus-16.9. The other two, both including Moody, ranged from plus-2.3 to minus-6.5. Butler was the constant. None of those groups are available to open camp.
What's actually being reported
HoopsRumors ran a season check-in on the Warriors September 12, then followed it September 13 with a notes roundup grouping four names in its headline: Melton, Niang, Green and Curry. Neither report's specific content has surfaced yet, which leaves camp opening on a roster whose two most banged-up pieces already have a date they won't be ready before.
Are Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody playing in the Warriors' preseason games?
No. Both are out with knee injuries and have an estimated return date of December 1, 2026, which covers the entire preseason slate.
When do the Warriors open the 2026-27 regular season?
October 21 on the road against the Lakers, airing on ESPN.