Warriors’ De’Anthony Melton Out for 2024-25 Season; Will Get Surgery on Knee Injury

The Golden State Warriors announced Wednesday that veteran guard De’Anthony Melton will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season with an ACL injury that will require surgery.

The injury was initially diagnosed as a sprained left ACL, but additional testing indicated that surgery was the best option for Melton’s knee.

The Warriors made a number of changes to the roster this past offseason, losing Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal while adding Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson in free agency.

Hield has fit in nicely for the 10-3 Dubs, averaging 16.9 points while shooting 46.2 percent from three in an instant-offense role off the bench. Anderson has been less effective, averaging 5.5 points and 2.7 assists per game in a more limited second-team role.

Melton, 26, was brought aboard for his solid defense but averaged a solid 10.3 points in six appearances (two starts), shooting 37.1 percent from three. When healthy, he’s a nice 3-and-D option on the perimeter for teams, but he only appeared in 38 games last year due to injury and will miss almost the entirety of this season.

He was one of the players in the running to be Golden State’s fifth starter. While Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and Trayce Jackson-Davis have been locked in place as consistent starters, players like Melton, Hield, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski have been called upon as the fifth starter.

It appeared Melton had seized the role before his injury.

While it’s fair to question if Golden State can maintain its excellent form to start the season without a true No. 2 option behind Curry, the team’s depth has absolutely been a strength. Losing Melton is undeniably a blow in that regard.