‘Healthy egos’: How Warriors can make a 12-man rotation work

PORTLAND, Ore. — The last time Steph Curry played on a team with this many quality players was 10 years ago, in the 2014-15 season.

That team, which coined the “Strength in Numbers” mantra, won the franchise’s first title since 1975, tipping off their dynasty. They went 10 deep, with Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, David Lee, Marreese Speights and Leandro Barbosa playing at least 15 minutes per night off the bench.

This group, a decade later, doesn’t have the same championship aspirations. And they’re trying to do something different: play a 12-man rotation on a nightly basis, at least to start the season.

In Golden State’s opener — a romp over the Blazers at the Moda Center — Moses Moody checked in to start the second quarter as the 12th Warrior to step on the court. He was one of 12 players to log at least 14 minutes, as head coach Steve Kerr decided on the eve of the season opener that he just couldn’t justify trimming his rotation down to the preferred 10.

If the Warriors are going to go 12 deep, it’ll require sacrifice and selflessness up and down the roster. In Curry’s words, it’ll require “healthy egos.”

“You have to have a commitment,” Curry said in the visitor’s locker room postgame. “No agendas, no egos — or, healthy egos. When you’re out there, you know you’re supposed to be out there. But if it’s not your night, you can’t bring the team down with your energy. Haven’t seen any red flags of that. Which has been great.”

What exactly does a “healthy ego” look like?

“Believing that you’re an impactful player out on the court and you have a certain skill set that you can showcase every single night,” Curry said. “But if it’s not your night, again, you’re not sticking out like a sore thumb with pouting and complaining or, ‘Woe is me.’ The NBA is a tough job, it’s a tough environment. For our team to be successful, everybody has to bring their best self. And again, commit to the group.”

Against Portland, the Warriors’ bench outscored that of Portland 70 to 37. Everybody played, and everybody ate. They leaned into their depth and came out with a blowout victory. Although the Blazers are expected to be among the worst teams in the league, the win was proof that it’s possible to thrive with a 12-man rotation.

Even if Kerr has never done it before.

“It’s not easy on anybody, but we’ve just got to trust that from one night to the next, we’re going to find combinations that really work,” Kerr said postgame. “And the guys have to understand that some nights are their night, some nights are not. And that’s OK as long as we continue to play together and play hard.”

Throughout training camp and the preseason, Kerr has said that the 2024-25 Warriors are the deepest team he’s had to coach. In coaches meetings, he’d wonder aloud how to get everyone minutes.

Kerr wanted to cut his rotation down to 10, but instead concluded that his top 12 guys earned playing time.

“Two days ago, I was thinking, ‘I’ll just play 10, and I’ll have to tell two of these guys that they’re going to sit,’” Kerr said. “But I couldn’t justify that. Because they all played really well in camp.”

The rotation, then, is set. Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Moody are going to get run. Kerr will take it from there.

Minutes will inevitably wane, and feelings will inevitably get hurt. Curry said the Warriors have a “beautiful locker room” and that everyone is happy to be here playing their brand of basketball.

Look no further than Hield, the Klay Thompson facsimile who scored a team-high 22 points in his Warriors debut. He was practically beaming at the postgame podium as he described the team’s style and unselfishness.

The Warriors’ system perfectly fits Hield, as players seek him out with extra passes and off screens. He said Wednesday was the freest he has felt on a court since Oklahoma, where he was a two-time All-American and led the Big 12 in scoring as a junior and senior.

Not everything orbits around Hield with the Warriors as it did in college, but he’s getting similar looks in what he called an “organic” on-court environment.

“Everybody’s unselfish,” Hield said postgame. “Play basketball the right way. Next pass, next shot available, everybody can shoot it. Everybody’s heart is in the right place.”

The Warriors needed more shooting this offseason, especially after Thompson defected to Dallas, and Hield fit the bill. In the last five seasons, he leads the NBA in 3-point makes.

“He’s been a very seamless transition so far,” Curry said.

As great a shooter as Hield is, he isn’t going to go 8-for-12 every night. Some games, he’s going to cede minutes to Moody, Anderson, Podziemski, Melton or others. When you have 12 players, the coaching staff gets the luxury (and curse) of playing the matchups.

Then again, the attrition of an 82-game regular season almost certainly will prevent Golden State from sustaining the current plan throughout the year. Injuries and unplanned absences will cause natural selection. A trade or two would have powerful clarifying effects.

But for now, the Warriors might have as much strength in as many numbers as ever. They’ll need the intangibles to match.

“I think we’ve got the deepest team in the league,” Wiggins said.

The Warriors aren’t partying like it’s 2015. But their party’s pretty crowded, that’s for sure.