Warriors' Steve Kerr Reveals Reason Behind Steph Curry's Decision After Play-In Game

The Golden State Warriors have kept their season alive by eliminating the LA Clippers after a 126-121 win in the 9-10 Play-In Tournament Game. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with a masterful 35-point (12-23 FG, 7-12 3P) performance in this clash.

Curry missed xxx games from xx to xxx with a knee injury, with the 38-year-old guard pushing to make a return and lead the Warriors to a potential playoff run. There were suggestions that Curry should take the season off and heal up instead of running the Play-In gauntlet, but his presence just helped the Warriors pass the first test.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr addressed the people, suggesting Curry should sit out the rest of the season in his post-game press conference, reacting to how Curry led them to this win.

"This is why Steph came back. Everyone out there who thought Steph should take the rest of the year off…*bangs table*… This is who he is. If he can compete, he's gonna compete... This is what he does."

The Warriors will face the Phoenix Suns in a win-or-go-home game to decide who'll earn the No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup against the OKC Thunder on Friday.

Curry averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 43 games in the regular season, missing half the season with various injuries.

It was a bad year for the Warriors with injuries, as they lost Jimmy Butler in January to an ACL tear, which might cause him to miss a portion of next season as well, and Moses Moody in March with a patellar tendon tear.

Despite these sizeable setbacks, the Warriors are now one win away from returning to the playoffs. They made it through the Play-In and went to the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs, so they'll be optimistic about what they can achieve in the postseason.

Curry will need to repeat these heroics to stop the Suns, who are led by Devin Booker and finished the regular season with eight more wins than the Warriors.

Related: Chris Paul's Immediate Reaction After Clippers' Loss to Warriors

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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 1:37 AM.