Warriors’ eight-game run turns an 0-3 start into history

An 0-3 start usually leaves little room for celebration in November. Golden State has turned that opening stretch into a footnote by winning eight straight, the first team in NBA history to follow three losses with eight consecutive victories.

That turnaround has come with some variety, not just one hot shooting night or a single comeback. Four of the eight wins have been by double digits after the Warriors rallied from behind, and their 112-95 victory over the Lakers on Oct. 30 stood out as one of the stretch’s sharpest results. That game opened Emirates NBA Cup Group Play and also marked the first time in the shot-clock era that a team came back to tie or take the lead at halftime after trailing by 23 or more points at the end of the first quarter.

Stephen Curry remains the clearest reason the run has lasted. At age 38, he is still carrying a scoring load that would be notable at any stage of his career, and the early-season numbers have kept him in the MVP conversation. He had a 41-point game in the overtime win over Orlando, his second 40-point performance of the season, and his 77th career 40-point game tied Oscar Robertson for the eighth most in NBA history. Curry also has made at least five 3-pointers in five straight games, his eighth such streak in a single season, and he is shooting 45.7% from deep.

The more interesting part is that Golden State has not needed Curry to do everything alone. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg has become a real second option almost immediately, giving the offense another scorer who can punish mismatches and keep pressure on the defense when Curry sits. The No. 11 pick in the 2026 draft has averaged 21.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists early in the season, and the Warriors have already leaned into his versatility in a way that is unusual for a first-year player.

Lendeborg’s best moments have also given the streak some independence from its star. He scored a career-high 37 points in a 124-112 win over the Clippers, and that was the highest-scoring game by a Warriors rookie since Curry scored 42 points in April 2010. Through his first 10 games, he joined Wilt Chamberlain and Rick Barry as the only Warriors rookies to reach 200 points, and he is one of only two players in NBA history, alongside Shaquille O’Neal, to total at least 113 points and 46 rebounds in his first five games.

The bench has made the rest of the equation possible. Golden State’s reserve group has turned non-Curry minutes into an advantage, and the team’s scoring depth has backed up the idea that this start is about more than two names. During the win streak, the Warriors have posted the NBA’s best 3-point percentage at 40.3%, a 70% assist rate that ranks second, and a top-three bench scoring total. Brandon Williams has provided downhill scoring, Georges Niang has stretched the floor, and Charles Bassey has given the second unit a usable backup center presence.

That depth matters because it has helped the Warriors recover from rough patches inside games and erase deficits that would have been harder to overcome in a shallower rotation. The club has a clear 12-man rotation, with offseason additions mixing with younger players and veterans to keep the pace of the offense steady and the defense from stalling when the starters rest.

Golden State still faces a demanding stretch, and the next checkpoint comes Wednesday against the Rockets, with Kevin Durant on the other side and an ESPN tipoff set for 9:30 ET. For now, the result is the same regardless of the opponent: an 0-3 start has turned into an eight-game surge that has already made NBA history.