Stephen Curry responds to Steve Kerr's harsh comments about Warriors

For the first time in the Steve Kerr era, the Golden State Warriors lost a playoff series to a Western Conference team. The Los Angeles Lakers were too much for the reigning NBA champions.

Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson were missing in action for most of the series. They still lost two games by a couple of possessions or less and ultimately failed to get the job done.

Notably, that wasn’t exactly surprising for their coach. Apparently, Kerr didn’t see his team as legit championship contenders, given how much they struggled this season.

Steve Kerr Says Warriors Weren’t A Championship Team

“To be fair, I think this team ultimately maxed out,” Coach Kerr said. “We were barely in the playoff picture most of this year. (…) This is not a championship team.”

“We did a pretty damn good job of finding something here over the last month,” continued Kerr. “We came close to recapturing what we had, but we didn’t quite get there. We didn’t feel like a championship team all year, but we had the guts and the fortitude to believe.”

Curry Admits Warriors Weren’t Good Enough

Notably, Stephen Curry might have felt the same way. As much as he hated to admit it, he acknowledged that they weren’t good enough to get the job done this season.

“I mean, we lost, so that’s a hard truth at the end of the journey,” Curry said. “No competitor believes that until you’re proven that you’re not a championship team, and that’s what getting beat in a playoff series means.” 

“Basketball is over for this year,” Curry continued. “Felt in the fourth quarter with about seven minutes left. You just really never heard that from us before in terms of trying to make sense of losing a series like we did, unless it’s been in the finals. Gotta accept it, move on, and try to be better next year.”

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The Warriors’ title window isn’t closed just yet, especially if they make the right moves. They’ll have to move some pieces and try to keep GM Bob Myers, but they’ll be contenders for as long as Curry is still out there.