Projected Warriors Starting Lineup, Rotation and Closing Lineup for 2026-27

The Golden State Warriors have a number of rotation decisions to make, including what to do with rookie Yaxel Lendeborg.

Will the Warriors start the No. 11 pick? Will he be in the closing lineup? Which players will he fit best with?

I give my best guesses below for how Golden State's lineups will look in the early part of the 2026-27 season.

Starting Lineup (First 5 Mins of 1st, 3rd Qs)

PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Brandin Podziemski
SF: Gui Santos
PF: Draymond Green
C: Kristaps Porzingis

Steve Kerr is committed to playing Lendeborg, but it would be surprising if he immediately starts him.

It's not just that Kerr will want to see Lendeborg earn the opportunity over time. It's also that Lendeborg is more of a 4 than a 3, which means Kerr will likely have Lendeborg on the court when Green is off and vice versa.

I could see Green coming off the bench later in the season, but Kerr will start him at first, as Green has come off the bench just seven times in the last 12 regular seasons.

This lineup played just 23 possessions last season, which speaks to Golden State's injury issues. But in that small sample size, it posted a plus-63.5 net rating, per Cleaning the Glass.

Next 4 Mins of 1st and 3rd Qs

Lineup: Curry, Melton, Payton, Lendeborg, Horford

Many Warriors fans are frustrated with the frequency of three-guard lineups the Dubs have played in recent years, but not all of those lineups have failed.

Lineups with Curry, De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II posted a plus-6.3 net rating last season.

Lineups with two of Melton, Payton and Will Richard tend to force turnovers. Doing so will allow Lendeborg to play in transition, where he thrives.

Last 3 Mins of 1st and 3rd Qs

Lineup: Williams, Melton, Richard, Lendeborg, Horford

Brandon Williams' role will be to provide scoring and playmaking while Curry is sitting.

Will Richard checks in for Payton to surround Williams with more three-point shooting. That's crucial considering Williams made just 23.2 percent of his threes last year.

First 4 Mins of 2nd and 4th Qs

Lineup: Williams, Podz, Santos, Green, Porzingis

It's the starting lineup except Williams is in for Curry.

Note that Porzingis and Green are playing all their minutes together. That's intentional, as Porzingis' offense can mask some of Green's flaws, and Green's defense can mask some of Porzingis' flaws.

Next 4 Mins of 2nd and 4th Qs

Lineup: Curry, Melton, Richard (or Payton), Lendeborg, Horford

Kerr will decide between Richard and Payton in this lineup based on how they performed in their first-quarter stints. Curry, Melton and Richard lineups were actually even better (plus-30.8 net rating) than Curry, Melton and Payton lineups last season, though the sample size was smaller.

With Green and Porzingis playing all of their minutes together, that leaves Lendeborg and Horford also playing all of theirs together. Lendeborg is versatile enough to fit with either center.

Where Lendeborg could struggle is defending on the perimeter, but he won't have to do much of that in the three lineups he's in. All of them feature three guards.

Closing Lineup (Last 4 Mins of 2nd and 4th Qs)

Lineup: Curry, Podz, Santos, Green, Porzingis

This is the starting lineup, and it features the Warriors' five best currently healthy players. So it should be the closing lineup unless Lendeborg outplays one of them.

Really only Curry is guaranteed to be in the closing lineup long-term. If Lendeborg plays too well to be left off the court, any of Santos, Green and Porzingis could get benched for him.

Final Minutes Distribution

Curry: 34
Green: 26
Podz: 26
Porzingis: 26
Santos: 26
Lendeborg: 22
Melton: 22
Horford: 22
Williams: 14
Richard: 14
Payton: 8

Final Thoughts

Until Jimmy Butler returns, the Warriors will have tougher decisions with their small forward minutes. In this projection, Santos plays 26 of them, and the rest are shared by Richard (14) and Payton (8).

The alternative is to have Lendeborg play some of those small forward minutes while Santos rests.

That would lead to more minutes for Lendeborg, which feels inevitable once the 2026 national champion gets his feet wet.

But at least for the first few weeks, I have the rookie playing only power forward and being limited to 22 minutes per game. He has more of a natural point forward skill set, so at least offensively, he should be better off not playing alongside Green, who also has a point forward skill set.

This projection doesn't feature Charles Bassey or Georges Niang. Both should get plenty of opportunities once injuries and rest days happen.

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