Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova says the rest of the NBA has no option but to improve in a bid to catch up with the Warriors.
The Warriors won a third title in four years in 2017-18, and they have since further improved their All-Star roster with the arrival of DeMarcus Cousins.
Golden State is the clear favorite for the championship once again, but Dellavedova insists rival teams will not be giving up the chase before the season begins.
"[Stopping the Warriors] is definitely the plan," he told Omnisport.
"Obviously they're a great team and have been very successful — and adding another player of that caliber is going to make it a lot tougher on everybody — but the rest of the NBA just has to improve and just try to beat them."
The task of winning the Eastern Conference may be a more realistic target after, in the other big move of the offseason, LeBron James left the Cavaliers to join the Lakers in the West.
And the Bucks hope to be in the running, the 28-year-old Aussie says.
"Obviously LeBron going to the West helps everyone out but it's still going to be tough," he said. "There's Boston, Philly, Miami, Toronto.
"So there's still a lot of good teams and then a lot of good young teams on the rise.
"I'm looking forward to next season. I think the Bucks have a great group together, and we're looking to do something special."
