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PHOENIX — Turns out, the Warriors’ thrilling, vintage win over the Clippers was a last gasp, not the start of a magical run. 

For a night, they were champions again. It was one of Steve Kerr’s favorite wins of the Warriors’ illustrious, golden-era run, but it wasn’t enough to save the season.

Forty-eight hours later, the Warriors were done. The Suns, younger and fresher, sent them home with a 111-96 victory. Jalen Green, who was a goat in last year’s first-round series for Houston, torched the Warriors with 36 points. Jordan Goodwin scored 19 points and snagged six steals, helping limit Steph Curry to just 17 points on 4-for-16 shooting. 

The Warriors’ season was marred by injuries, and their offseason is defined by uncertainty. Seismic change could be coming to the Warriors’ franchise, as Steve Kerr’s future is up in the air. The lasting image of Golden State’s exit was Kerr, Curry, and Draymond Green — three pillars of the Warriors’ dynasty — putting their heads together in a triple embrace. 

“He said, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, but if it is the last time, I just want to share this moment,’” Curry said. 

Kerr enjoyed coaching this year despite the team’s first losing season since 2019-20, finding “beauty in the struggle.” That struggle ended without a playoff berth.

In the year with widespread tanking around the league, the Warriors resisted willingly dropping into the lottery. Instead, Curry insisted on returning from his two-month absence due to runner’s knee for the chance at what he calls “meaningful basketball.” 

That turned out to be a pair of play-in games as the 10th seed.

This is the franchise that has won four championships and been to two more Finals over the past 12 years. The team that modernized the game, saved the league, and ruined the sport — depending on who you ask — and ushered in a golden age of basketball in the Bay. 

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The team’s expectations have shifted, from perennially playing for the Larry O’Brien Trophy to striving to compete as long as it can. Curry said on Friday that the team must reframe the way it builds a season, focusing not as much on a championship as an aspiration but instead doing the basics necessary to become a good team. 

The Warriors’ campaign was defined by a brutal rash of injuries. Jimmy Butler’s season-ending torn ACL in January “changed everything,” Kerr said. Jonathan Kuminga couldn’t stay healthy before his tumultuous tenure with the franchise ended at the trade deadline. His replacement, Kristaps Porzingis, played just 15 games in the second half and was hobbled in Friday’s loss to the Suns. Moses Moody also suffered a devastating torn patellar tendon in Dallas. 

Then there’s Curry’s injury, which he described as a “new normal” for him. He shook off a slow start against the Clippers to drop 35 points, including a sensational, go-ahead 3-pointer with 50 seconds left. But against Phoenix, there was no flurry. 

Any team that endures as much attrition as the Warriors won’t fare well in the spring. But at least some of the team’s misfortune was baked into its roster construction. 

Porzingis arrived with significant health red flags. The team’s biggest offseason acquisitions — De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford — were coming off a torn ACL and 39 years old. Curry turned 38 in March and Butler has a ton of miles on his tires. 

The Warriors aren’t getting any younger, either. Where does their fading dynasty go from here? 

First, they’ll hope for some lottery luck. Last year, the Mavericks miraculously turned a 1.8% chance at the top pick into Cooper Flagg. The Warriors, with the 11th worst record, have similar odds. Banking on them isn’t exactly a plan, but the lottery is the first domino to fall regardless. The NBA Draft, either by selecting a rookie or trading the pick, is the team’s clearest avenue to adding a ready-made wing or two to the rotation. 

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A multi-year deal could be mutually beneficial for the Warriors and Draymond Green, who has a $28 million player option. Green has no intention of retiring and has repeatedly said he wants to finish his career as a Warrior. 

“I hope I’ve done enough to still be here,” Green said. 

Curry would “for sure” be interested in a contract extension and plans to play multiple more seasons. Horford also has a player option and a decision to make on whether to continue his illustrious career. Porzingis is a free agent, and he showed why the Warriors would want to retain him in the Clippers win. Butler is eyeing a return, possibly as early as December, from his nearly unprecedented ACL tear. 

Still, the Warriors project to be expensive and top-heavy, with talented veterans tasked to carry a roster while managing their workloads. 

Before the offseason takes shape, the Warriors and Kerr will have to hash out their future. Kerr, the most successful coach in franchise history, decided to coach this season without a contract beyond this year, opting to re-evaluate his and the team’s direction after the season. 

Kerr will take the next week or two to mull his future before talking with owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy, but declined to share exactly which factors he’ll consider. “If it’s right, it’s right,” the head coach said. But, if it’s time for new blood, he said he’ll be nothing but grateful for his 12 years with the organization. He added that he definitely won’t be coaching another NBA team next year. 

Kerr was asked before Wednesday’s do-or-die game if he talks about the past decade’s dynastic journey with Curry and Green. The focus was on beating the Clippers, so not really. But…

“We’re well aware, all of us, of what we’ve been through together,” Kerr said. “That this is an opportunity that we may not get again. We don’t know. We’re all sort of at that stage where we have to be conscious of the finality that is possible.” 

That finality never felt more possible than in the immediate aftermath of their play-in exit.

Obituaries of the Warriors’ dynasty have been written several times over by now. When Kevin Durant departed and Klay Thompson suffered consecutive leg injuries. As it became clear the James Wiseman and Kuminga picks wouldn’t pan out. After Thompson’s 0-for-10 swan song in Sacramento. When Butler went down in January. 

Perhaps the Warriors’ last chance at truly meaningful basketball was last spring’s second round against Minnesota, which was thwarted by Curry’s bum hamstring. 

If this is the end of the Warriors’ odyssey, Green said it best: “It’s been a hell of a run.”