The Golden State Warriors do not appear to be a legitimate contender for the 2025 NBA Championship.

Early in the season, the Warriors were 9-2 in their first 11 games, which had them among the best teams in the Western Conference.

At the time, Charles Barkley did not believe the winning would last.

However, Shaquille O’Neal had higher hopes for Golden State (via the NBA on TNT).

Barkley: “I think they’re too small. Everybody’s fresh and feeling good right now… Everybody else is feeling good, and nobody’s got bumps and bruises, and I think their shooting will go down. They’re playing well right now. I just don’t think it’s sustainable.”

O’Neal: “I have to disagree with my brothers down there. I think they can sustain it. I remember when I first met Phil Jackson, he said you play eight seasons in one season, so he broke it down in games of ten… I think they can go 6-4 on seven more brackets, which would give them some type of home-court advantage.”

While there is still a lot of games left to be played, the Warriors have fallen off in a big way since their hot start.

They are 13-20 in the previous 33 games.

Right now, the Warriors are the 11th seed in the Western Conference with a 22-22 record in 44 games.

They are 6.0 games back of the Denver Nuggets for the fourth seed (the final home-court advantage spot).

On Saturday night, the Warriors will host the Los Angeles Lakers.