The Golden State Warriors’ 2025–26 season is over. Golden State lost to the Phoenix Suns 111–96 in the Western Conference play-in elimination game on Friday night at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, bringing down the curtain on a campaign defined more by hospital charts than highlight reels.
The Warriors dug themselves into an 18-point first-quarter hole and never fully escaped. They trimmed the deficit to five at halftime, but the Suns controlled both the third and fourth quarters to seal the win.
For Kristaps Porzingis, the night was a frustrating finish to a season spent fighting his body as much as opposing defenses. The Latvian big man had entered the game listed as questionable due to right ankle soreness — an injury picked up just two days earlier in the Warriors’ gutsy overtime win over the Clippers, in which Porzingis had totalled 20 points, five assists and two blocks. On Friday, the tank was empty and the ankle was sore. Porzingis finished with just five points on 1-of-3 shooting in 11 minutes, a far cry from the form he had shown against LA.
It was a fitting, if painful, symbol of Golden State’s season. Few teams have dealt with the level of misfortune the Warriors have in 2025–26. After coming into the season with title aspirations, those hopes quickly died after Jimmy Butler went down with a torn ACL in January. Stephen Curry appeared in just 43 games — his fewest since 2019–20 — and the Warriors accumulated over 100 more man-games lost to injury than the next-highest team in the league.
They stumbled to a 37–45 record, the 10-seed, and a season-ending loss to the Suns with the 8-seed on the line.
Kerr’s Emotional Goodbye — or Is It?
The defining image of Friday night came in the closing seconds. Kerr subbed Curry and Green out of the game, circled them for a quick conversation and gave them both a combination hug after telling them:
“I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I love you guys to death. Thank you.”
Postgame, the 12-year head coach spoke candidly about his future in a way that left the Bay Area holding its breath. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Kerr said. “I still love coaching, but I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date. There is a run that happens and when the run ends, sometimes it’s time for new blood and new ideas.”
Kerr said his plan is to take a week or two, then sit down with controlling owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy to discuss what comes next — both for himself and for the franchise. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I still love coaching. But I get it. These jobs all have an expiration date,” he said.
Kerr was careful not to slam the door entirely. He reiterated that he would not walk away from Stephen Curry, and that he would not go and coach somewhere else in the NBA next year. Curry, for his part, said he wants his coach to be happy above all else — a measured, respectful response that nonetheless acknowledged the reality that several factors beyond loyalty are now in play.
Green, finishing his 14th NBA season, said postgame that he would not retire.
A Roster at a Crossroads
Beyond Kerr’s future, the Warriors face a daunting offseason of roster decisions. Porzingis and Gary Payton II are unrestricted free agents. Green, Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton hold player options for 2026–27. Jimmy Butler III faces a lengthy rehabilitation from his torn ACL, and Moses Moody could miss most of next season recovering from a ruptured patellar tendon.
For Porzingis specifically, the question of whether he returns to Golden State is now very much open. The 30-year-old Latvian averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game during the regular season — numbers that will attract interest from multiple teams. His partnership with the veteran Horford in the frontcourt had shown genuine promise in limited action, and his own words before the Suns game hinted at optimism about what the group could become: “That’s actually a good preview of what could potentially be,” Porzingis said, referring to the twin-towers lineup with Horford.
Whether he gets to find out in a Warriors uniform remains to be seen. Curry and Butler are signed through the 2026–27 season, but the roster around them is almost entirely in flux.
One era, defined by dynasty and then diminishing returns, has ended in Phoenix. What comes next — for Porzingis, for Kerr, for the Warriors — is a question with no answer yet.
