Steve Kerr Makes Pledge After Returning to Warriors
As soon as the Golden State Warriors' season ended with a 111-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns in the NBA play-in tournament, questions swirled about the future of head coach Steve Kerr.
It always seemed likely that Kerr would return for at least one more season alongside Stephen Curry, and the long-time head coach ended up signing a two-year contract to remain in Golden State and be the highest-paid coach in the NBA.
Since the Warriors' NBA championship in 2022, they have missed the playoffs twice and lost in the Western Conference semifinal round the other two times.
On Friday, Kerr spoke to reporters and admitted he has to be better going forward.
"I know I have to be better," Kerr said, via Anthony Slater of ESPN. "I didn't have a great coaching year.
The Warriors finished the regular season with a 37-45 record, which had them at No. 10 in the Western Conference.
They survived the first play-in game with a 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, thanks to a collapse by LA and a 43-point fourth-quarter breakout by Golden State.
The torn ACL to Jimmy Butler didn't help those chances, and the trade acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis raised eyebrows as he played just 15 games with Golden State.
Can Kerr Lead the Warriors Back to the NBA Finals?
Right now, the answer to this question is most likely not.
The Warriors have an aging roster, and they face a big decision with Draymond Green this offseason. Golden State has the No. 11 pick in the NBA Draft, and Butler's return won't come until late in the season, if he plays next season at all.
Now, the Warriors have been linked to a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. And, although LeBron James' NBA future is in question, there are some rumblings of him linking up with Curry to finish his career in the Bay Area.
Kerr seems to know that the roster, at least right now, is not a title-contending team.
"We had to come to a much more reality based shared vision on what success looks like for us," Kerr said. "What are we trying to accomplish? Because for the first time since our injury-plagued year (2019-20), we aren't sitting here saying, 'Hey, we can win a championship.' I don't need to say that. We know that right this second. But we had to hash that out. We had to talk about those things."
Again, a lot cn change in a few months, and the Warriors can certainly make things interesting if a superstar joins Curry to try and get another NBA title for Kerr and the franchise.
Related: Steve Kerr's Warriors Future Settled With New Two-Year Agreement
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 7:27 PM.