The Golden State Warriors’ season ended Friday night in Phoenix after a 111-96 loss to the Suns in the NBA play-in tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center. Stephen Curry addressed the defeat with a wide-ranging postgame reflection on the team’s future.
Curry opened by framing the offseason uncertainty, saying, “I’m gonna take Steve’s lead just we haven’t had any of these conversations so we all have to kind of assess where we’re at and you know I’m sure decisions either way will be made but just the idea of just looking at how we try to make something out of this year is the focus for me and we’ll get to the rest of what the future looks like but we had a lot of good moments in the locker room, just appreciating the fight and the battle that we had and the ability to try to extend our season. Didn’t go the way we wanted to. We’ll get to the other stuff later.”
The conversation also turned to head coach Steve Kerr and his future. Curry made his stance clear on the coaching situation, stating, “I want coach to be happy. I want him to be excited about the job. I want him to believe he’s the right guy for the job. I want him to have an opportunity to, again, enjoy what he does. So whatever that means for him, everybody’s plan is their own, and I’m not going to try to tell anybody what to do. He knows how I feel about him. That shouldn’t even need to be said.”
Golden State’s star guard emphasized appreciation for the franchise’s run, adding, “However it goes, you’re thankful for what we’ve been able to accomplish over this run. Thankful for an opportunity, hopefully, to put it together and do something again next year. And again, I just want, I just want coach to be able to look at, you know, the situation as a whole and feel like he’s the right guy.”
Curry also reflected on the emotional weight of a possible final shared moment with Steve Kerr and Draymond Green. “I was kind of fighting it to be honest. You’ve had those moments on the sideline where you go up and down and thank everybody for what they’ve poured into the year,” he said. “But for it to start with that conversation and that moment, it was definitely weird.”
He acknowledged the Suns’ performance as well, noting their roster balance and identity. “They got better, and they looked different, and they figured out how to put the pieces together to highlight what they could do,” Curry said, referencing Phoenix’s defensive intensity and balanced scoring.
Looking ahead, Curry addressed the team’s offseason direction and the need for structural adjustment. “We have to kind of put everything on the drawing board to get back to just being competitive every single night,” he said, signaling a shift away from title-or-bust expectations.
He also discussed his health outlook, noting rest as the primary focus for his knee and a return plan ahead of next season. Curry added that there are “multiple” offseason considerations, while confirming, “For sure” when asked about an extension, though no discussions have taken place yet.
The Warriors exit the season at 37-45 after falling short in the play-in, while Phoenix advances to face the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.
