The Golden State Warriors walked off the floor Friday night in Phoenix with their season over. The Phoenix Suns won 111-96 in a game that always seemed out of reach for Golden State. The Suns jumped out to a 33-15 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
Jalen Green was the difference. He finished with 36 points on 14-for-20 shooting, including eight made threes, and answered every Warriors run before it could gain traction.
As the final minutes wound down, Steve Kerr gathered his two longest-tenured players and said something that no one in the Bay Area will forget quickly.
A Moment That Said Everything
With the game gone, Kerr pulled Steph Curry and Draymond Green close and delivered words that carried twelve years of weight behind them.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I love you guys to death. Thank you.”
He did not reach for a speech. He did not rehearse it. Kerr said what he felt, and what he felt was gratitude. In a moment that could have been defined by disappointment, Kerr made it about something else entirely.
Kerr has not yet signed an extension. After Friday’s loss, he acknowledged he plans to take a week or two before sitting down with owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. The decision is genuinely open. He was firm on one thing only. He would not leave Golden State to coach another team.
The embrace with Curry and Green reflected everything left unsaid.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I love you guys to death. Thank you.”
What a moment. 🙌🙏. (via @NBAonPrime)
What Kerr’s Time Has Produced
Kerr took over the Warriors in 2014. What followed redefined what a dynasty could look like in the modern NBA.
Golden State went to the Finals six times in his tenure. They won four titles. Curry became the greatest shooter the sport has ever seen, collecting two MVPs and a Finals MVP along the way. Green became the defensive anchor and orchestrator that made the whole system function.
The Warriors did not just win. They changed how the game was played.
GettyHead coach Steve Kerr (C) waves with coaching staff from a double decker bus during the Golden State Warriors NBA Championship victory parade along Market Street in San Francisco, California on June 20, 2022. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images)
What Comes Next for Golden State
The uncertainty around Kerr is only part of it. Draymond Green holds a $27.6 million player option for next season and has not committed to picking it up. There have been rumblings that Draymond could opt out and re-sign on a team friendly deal. Curry has one year left on his deal.
The Warriors will hold lottery odds this offseason. Dunleavy faces decisions that will shape the next decade. Some of those decisions involve the men who built everything that came before it.
GettyPHOENIX, ARIZONA – APRIL 17: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors walks off the court after being defeating by the Phoenix Suns in an NBA play-in tournament game at Mortgage Matchup Center on April 17, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Warriors 111-96. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Final Word for the Warriors
Twelve years, four championships, and a dynasty built from scratch earned that moment in Phoenix.
Kerr did not wait for a podium or a press conference. He pulled aside the two people who were there for all of it. Curry and Green.
He said he loved them. He said thank you. The rest is still to be decided.
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