Warriors record in NBA Play-In Tournament: Revisiting Golden State’s struggles with Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr

Warriors record in NBA Play-In Tournament: Revisiting Golden State’s struggles with Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ever since the NBA instituted the NBA Play-In Tournament, it has forced some teams to win an extra game or two in order to make the playoffs.

While some teams have had success in the tournament, the Golden State Warriors haven't been as successful. Although the Warriors are frequently considered one of the more dangerous teams in the playoff picture, it took them a while to get their first win in the Play-In Tournament.

Golden State has another chance to make the playoffs in 2026, but it requires winning two Play-In games as a No. 10 seed. First up, the Warriors will play the LA Clippers, who have yet to win a Play-In game themselves.

Here's a look back at the Warriors history in the NBA Play-In Tournament.

SN's NBA HQ:Live NBA scores | Updated NBA standings | Full NBA schedule

Warriors record in NBA Play-In Tournament

2021

The first edition of the Play-In Tournament featured a star-studded battle between the No. 7 Lakers and No. 8 Warriors in Los Angeles. While Golden State lost the game, as the Lakers squeaked out a three-point victory, Golden State still had a chance to advance to the playoffs by hosting the Memphis Grizzlies.

However, the Grizzlies upset the Warriors in the first signature moment in the history of the Play-In Tournament. Memphis stunned Golden State in a thriller, and it appeared Ja Morant was on his way to becoming on star in the NBA.

This Warriors team dealt with some injuries coming off an abysmal 2019-20, as Klay Thompson missed the season with a knee injury, but Golden State was still widely expected to win one game in the Play-In Tournament. Instead, Stephen Curry and company were sent home before the playoffs began.

2024

After making the playoffs two-straight years, including winning the title in 2022, the Warriors had a disappointing 2024 season. Golden State won 46 games, but that was only good enough to be 10th in the Western Conference standings, sending the Warriors to the Play-In Tournament.

The Warriors face the Sacramento Kings in a rematch of the previous year's first-round series, as the Kings got revenge with a dominant win over Golden State. Sacramento outscored the Warriors 64-44 in the second half to move onto the next game in the Play-In Tournament, where the team would lose to the New Orleans Pelicans.

2025

The Warriors finally collected their first Play-In Tournament victory in 2025, when they defeated the Grizzlies in the 7 vs. 8 matchup. Golden State won 48 games in the regular season, and proved to be playoff-worthy with a five-point win at home over Golden State to advance to the playoffs.

From there, the Warriors took on the Houston Rockets in the first round, and they beat the No. 2 seed in a hard-fought seven-game series. However, A Stephen Curry injury in the second round ended Golden State's playoff hopes against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

MORE: History of Stephen Curry's injuries in his career

NBA Play-In Tournament records by team

Of the 30 NBA teams, 23 of them have played in at least one game in the Play-In Tournament since inception. Of those teams, Golden State is one of three teams with three losses, along with the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks, but no team has lost four times in the event.