Warriors Media Day 2020: Stephen Curry Talks Klay Thompson Injury, James Wiseman

Coming off an injury-plagued season in which the Golden State Warriors finished an NBA-worst 15-50, Stephen Curry believes the team is well-positioned to return to contention in 2020-21. 

Speaking to reporters during Golden State's official media session Wednesday, Curry was asked about the team being underdogs in the Western Conference. 

"I hear it," he said. "It doesn't sink home at all. It is what it is. I didn't get big-headed when they picked us first in the league, won't get overwhelmed wherever they have us coming into this season."

The Warriors' hopes for this season took a huge blow on Nov. 19 when they announced Klay Thompson tore his Achilles during a workout. He had surgery six days later and is expected to miss the entire 2020-21 season. He missed all of last season rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. 

Curry acknowledged that Golden State's path to contention will be more difficult without Thompson: 

Warriors general manager Bob Myers did take steps to bolster the roster without Thompson. He acquired Kelly Oubre Jr. from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for a protected 2021 NBA draft pick. 

Oubre won't single-handedly replace Thompson's production, but the 24-year-old will be a solid fill-in. He averaged 18.7 points and shot a career-high 45.2 percent from the field for the Phoenix Suns last season.

The Warriors also added James Wiseman with the No. 2 overall pick this offseason. The 19-year-old played only three games at Memphis last season, but he showed promise while averaging 19.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in that small sample size. 

Curry believes Wiseman will be able to handle a significant workload for the Warriors right away. 

"We have to have grace with that," Curry said of the rookie center. "Success for him will be framed a lot of different ways. It might not be what the stats look like. It might be being part of meaningful basketball, helping us win."

One lingering question Curry didn't have a definitive answer for is whether he plans to participate in the Tokyo Olympics that are currently scheduled to begin on July 23, 2021. 

"Honestly, I have no idea," the two-time NBA MVP said of possibly playing for Team USA. "Very open-ended question, and I have no idea."

The NBA is playing a shortened 72-game regular season, with the playoffs tentatively set to begin on May 22. The NBA Finals could run through July 22 if there are no delays and it goes a full seven games. 

The Olympic basketball schedule is set to run from July 25 through August 8. 

Curry has never played for the United States during the Olympics, though he did win two FIBA gold medals in 2010 and 2014. The six-time All-Star was a finalist for the team in 2016, but he ultimately decided to withdraw his name from consideration.  

Curry's limited availability last season was a big reason why Golden State fell apart. He appeared in only five games, shooting a career-low 40.2 percent overall and 24.5 percent from three-point range.

Even without Thompson available, the Warriors do have enough talent to challenge for a playoff spot. Curry, Oubre, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins form a solid nucleus, though they will have to develop chemistry on the fly since this will be their first season playing together.