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Since the Golden State Warriors won their last championship in 2022, they have been in desperation mode. The team has constantly hovered around the NBA Play-In Tournament picture, unloading much of their tank late in the regular season in order to increase their chances of success in the playoffs. One can only scratch and claw for so long. Though, before Stephen Curry suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, this group was in a decent spot.
The Warriors outlasted the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round of the NBA playoffs and then beat the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road to begin the next stage. Curry's absence was too big of a hurdle to clear, however, as the Dubs lost four straight games to end their 2024-25 campaign. The front office traded for Jimmy Butler and immediately signed him to a monster two-year, $111 million contract extension, communicating a strong sense of urgency.
The ticking clock is becoming louder and louder, with time running out for this core group to collect another title. Curry is fully aware of the situation, but he is also trying to just focus on the upcoming summer.
Stephen Curry, Warriors enter a pivotal offseason
“I'm going to take full advantage of the offseason, knowing I've been playing a lot of basketball for the last year,” Curry told reporters in his end of season interview, via ClutchPoints. “Yeah our contracts — me, Draymond {Green}, Jimmy, Steve {Kerr} — all two years {left} and we want this ride to last as long as possible, but it's just about what does this team need for next year?”
“Answering those questions over the summer, everybody preparing themselves individually to get through another 82-game season, hopefully with a little bit more comfort room down the stretch, where we don't have to have a two-month gauntlet just to make the playoffs. So, that's all we're really focused on right now.”
"I'm going to take full advantage of the offseason, knowing I've been playing a lot of basketball for the last year… Me, Draymond, Steve, Jimmy… All two years [left]. We want this ride to last as long as possible."
— Steph Curry 🗣️
(via @warriors)pic.twitter.com/1oH0RfArwR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 16, 2025
A true end of an era is coming. Stephen Curry celebrated his 37th birthday in March. Draymond Green is 35. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is nearing 60 and has experienced back problems in the past. Jimmy Butler, the man brought in to maximize this fleeting contention window, will be 36 by the time the 2025-26 season tips off.
They seemingly all still have something left in the tank — Curry averaged 24.5 points while shooting 39.7 percent from 3-point range this season — but Father Time is in pursuit. It is imperative that Golden State prioritizes health in the offseason and figures out how to best compliment the pieces already in place. There is no time to waste.
