In the most memorable videos to come out of their play-in loss to the Suns on Friday night, the Warriors huddled up one more time: Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, the last members standing of the team’s dynastic core, shared a special moment on the sidelines after falling short of the playoffs in another disappointing year.
During the huddle, which took place with a minute left to go in the game, Kerr was heard telling Curry and Green, “I don't know what's gonna happen next, but I love you guys.”
The Warriors fought their way into the play-in thanks to some vintage magic from Curry and Green, but that magic quickly dissipated against the Suns, who took an early lead against Golden State and never looked back. Led by Jalen Green’s 36 points, Phoenix advanced to clinch the last playoff spot in the West with a 111–96 win, leaving Curry and the Dubs to reminisce on what could be their old championship core’s last ride together.
Watch Kerr get visibly emotional about that below:
"I don't know what's gonna happen next, but I love you guys." 🥹 https://t.co/GyFAlQRjIx pic.twitter.com/KlInPGTZs1
— NBA (@NBA) April 18, 2026
Kerr, who doesn’t have a contract with the Warriors for next season, spoke briefly about his future with the organization in a postgame presser.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen. I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date,” Kerr said. “There’s a run that happens, and when the run ends sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas and all that. And if that’s the case, I will be nothing but grateful for the most amazing opportunity any person could have to coach this franchise in front of our fans in the Bay, to coach Steph Curry, to coach Dray, the whole group. It may still go on, it may not, I don’t know at this point. But we all need to step away a little bit and then reconvene.”
Steve Kerr on his future:
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) April 18, 2026
"I don't know what's going to happen. I still love coaching. But I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date" pic.twitter.com/WhQTTG6suq
This was not the end to the season the Warriors would have wanted, but it was more merciful than, say, getting swept by the Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs. With Jimmy Butler rehabbing his torn ACL and Curry only recently returning from knee injury, the Warriors were down to their last Hail Mary against the Suns. Curry couldn’t heat up (he finished with 17 points on 4-of-16 shooting), the Warriors had no one else to lean on, and the team is now left with more questions than answers about how to move forward in the wake of another bitter finish to their campaign.
What Steph Curry said about Steve Kerr, his Warriors’ future after play-in loss
Kerr signed a two-year, $35 million extension in 2024, and it’s currently anybody’s guess as to whether the Warriors will keep him around for what would be his 13th season at the helm. Curry backed his longtime coach in his postgame press conference and made clear he still wanted Kerr to coach the Warriors in the future.
“I want coach to be happy. I want him to be excited for the job. I want him to believe he’s the right guy for the job,” Curry said of Kerr’s future. “... He knows how I feel about him. Shouldn’t even need to be said, but however it goes, you’re thankful for what we’ve been able to accomplish over this run.”
Here is Steph Curry on Steve Kerr’s future: “I want coach to be happy. I want him to be excited for the job. I want him to believe he’s the right guy for the job.”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 18, 2026
Reiterates it is his preference to have Kerr around pic.twitter.com/SLYEMyEHbw
Curry also opened up about his heartfelt moment with Kerr and Green at the end of Friday’s loss:
“I was kind of fighting it to be honest... We're human beings and we have to be able to acknowledge each other in that moment, but I don't know if that's a signal of anything,” Curry said of the trio’s emotional moment at the end of the game.
Curry went on to confirm that he was interested in an extension with the Warriors this summer, and that he still had a few more years left in him. “Multiple [years] for sure,” he said when asked about his future in the league.
What Draymond Green said about his future in Golden State
As for Green, who has a $27.7 million player option and has been vocal about wanting an extension, he gave a similarly confident answer about remaining in Golden State.
“I’m not retiring,” Green said at the start, to clear up any rumors. “I still love to play. I think I’m still pretty decent. But this league we’re in is, it’s an interesting one. It’s one that you don’t really control everything. So for me, I hope I’ve done enough to still be here. Because at the end of the day, if I ain’t done enough I don’t want to be here.
“I’ve told y’all before, I never want like, ‘We just gonna keep him around because of what he’s done before.’ What can I still do? And by the way, that’s not just playing, right? That’s leadership, that’s helping bring the young guys along, that’s helping move the organization forward. Hopefully I’ve done enough to still be here.”
With an ever-slight hint of anxiety about the future, Green added, “But if not, we’ll see what it looks like.”
Draymond Green; “I’m not retiring.”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 18, 2026
“Hopefully I’ve done enough to still be here.”
Full Draymond soundbite on his future pic.twitter.com/AMDbWACHFF
Even with Curry returning for 2027 and beyond, the Warriors’ future may be as uncertain as it’s been in years as the organization tries to squeeze the most out of their superstar’s twilight years. In light of their latest early playoff exit, Golden State faces many tough questions about its roster, including whether players like Jimmy Butler, Brandin Podziemski, Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford are part of the team’s longer-term plans. It’s felt like the team has long flirted with a Draymond Green trade, too, which wouldn’t be totally out of the blue considering Green’s age and declining production.
All eyes will first be on what Joe Lacob and the Warriors’ brass choose to do with Kerr, the original founding father of the Warriors’ once-glittering dynasty who could very well be ushered out to make way for a new era of Golden State basketball.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Steve Kerr’s Emotional Message to Steph Curry, Draymond Green After Warriors’ Season Ends vs. Suns.
