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What Will Become of the Golden State Warriors?
A play-in loss to the Sacramento Kings has brought the Warriors to their most uncertain offseason of the Steph Curry era. Whatever it takes, the goal is clear. “I want to win, plain and simple,” Curry tells The Ringer.
Thirty-five minutes after the Golden State Warriors’ 2023-24 season ended in a 118-94 defeat to the Sacramento Kings, Stephen Curry is among the last players in the visitors’ locker room, fully clothed and ready to get out of Dodge. After small talk with reporters, he puts on his backpack, opens an 11-ounce bottle of Stella Artois, and begins his journey into the night.
Walking down a corridor of Golden 1 Center, he shares pleasantries with team staffers and the remaining Warriors travel party.
“Amazing season!” he yells as Kevon Looney approaches, before taking a swig of his beer.
It’s a discombobulating scene. The loss in the 9 vs. 10 play-in game marks the earliest a Curry-led team has been eliminated from playoff contention since 2012, his third season, when the Warriors finished tied for the league’s seventh-worst record.
Golden State has since won four titles in 10 years, building one of the greatest dynasties in professional sports. But this season was defined by suspensions, injuries, and ongoing questions about the team’s future. As Sacramento pulled away on Tuesday night, those championships felt far away. Even last year’s first-round victory over the Kings felt like a long time ago. Golden State is mortal now.
“This is awkward as hell,” Curry tells me. “The schedule is weird, just thinking about not having any games to play. It’s a different experience, going to be a volleyball dad next week instead of preparing for a playoff series. It’s freaking weird.”
The Warriors are now entering the most uncertain summer of Curry’s tenure. Next season will be Curry’s 16th. Klay Thompson, Curry’s longtime Splash Brother, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. And the league’s new collective bargaining agreement includes severe financial and team-building restrictions for the most expensive teams. In the moments after Tuesday’s loss, Curry insists his mindset hasn’t changed.
“I want to win,” he tells me. “Plain and simple. It’s not my job to make all of those decisions, but it’s my job to hold people accountable and say I want to win, and I’ll give my input, but I just want to win.”
Now, the Warriors will try to chart a path back to contention. To help make sense of their options, we asked and answered six big questions that will define this critical offseason.
Will the Warriors’ core four be back next season?
Curry has long maintained that he wants to play out his career alongside Draymond Green, Thompson, and Steve Kerr. “In a perfect world, we all finish this thing the way we deserve to finish,” Curry told me in February. In other words, together. “Whether that’s winning or not, you can’t control that,” he said.
Curry’s current contract runs through the 2025-26 season, when he will be 38. Green signed a four-year, $100 million extension last summer and, despite an erratic season, is still squarely in the team’s plans moving forward. And this February, Golden State agreed to terms with Kerr on a two-year, $35 million extension that is timed to end at the same time as Curry’s deal.
