Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here and subscribe to the “Section 415" podcast wherever you listen.

Steph Curry hasn’t given up on chasing a fifth championship. But he knows that at this point, he and the Warriors have to look at it differently. 

In the most revealing moment of Curry’s exit interview shortly after Golden State’s play-in loss to the Suns, the two-time MVP explained that the Warriors need to reframe the way they approach the season. They’re no longer perennial title contenders, and everyone knows it. They’re a “fading dynasty,” and everyone knows it. Admitting those facts, and being conscious of them, could be productive. 

The Warriors have entered basically every year since 2015 with a world championship on their mind. That has been their objective, the weight of the standard they’ve set for themselves heavy on their shoulders. 

No longer. 

“I think we can reshape the narrative, knowing in the back of our mind that [a championship]) is an ultimate goal,” Curry explained. “But we have to get back to the basics of what makes a good basketball team, a competitive basketball team every single night.” 

In the Warriors’ first losing season since 2019-20, catastrophic injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, plus Curry’s two-month absence, made a solid roster look incredibly limited. 

• Kawakami: Did Steve Kerr just say goodbye to the Warriors?

• The Warriors’ season fizzles out with a play-in loss to Suns, tipping off a seismic summer

• Kawakami: 5 thoughts on the Warriors’ potential hangover game in Phoenix

The cracks revealed reality: the Warriors aren’t close to competing at the highest level. Had they advanced past Phoenix, a short series against the Thunder awaited. The 62-win Spurs aren’t going anywhere. 

Hence Curry’s mindset shift. 

“Can we rethink how we do things with the foundation that we’ve established?” Curry said. “We don’t have to keep saying ‘championship, championship, championship’ every day, even though we’ve experienced that. Can we build the foundation again with what this team needs to do, with the way that the game is played now, how fast it is, how young and athletic it is?”

An attitude adjustment won’t be the only change for the Warriors next year. Whether Steve Kerr is back as coach is anyone’s guess at this point. Draymond Green has a player option, and so does Al Horford. Kristaps Porzingis is a free agent. The Warriors could have the 11th pick or the first. If a star like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, or LeBron James desires to play for the Warriors, Golden State will try to make a splash. 

Even Curry’s immediate future is a bit hairy. He wants to play multiple more years and is interested in an extension, but it’d be unrealistic to expect him to carry the Warriors through a full regular season.  

This year, Curry played just 43 games, plus two more in the play-in. The timing of his runner’s knee should have meant that he was fresh for the play-in tournament, having barely played the prior three months. But after his scintillating 35-point performance to beat the Clippers, he struggled to gain separation against Phoenix’s physical defense. He shot 4-for-16 and committed four turnovers.

The Suns are tough, but Jordan Goodwin isn’t Amen Thompson, Stephon Castle, or Cason Wallace. Imagine how Curry might’ve fared against them in a seven-game series. 

Look around at Curry’s peers. There are more players from Curry’s 2009 draft class with media careers than players who are still in the league. Kevin Durant has Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun. The Lakers were at their best this season when James took a back seat to both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Paul George, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook? They’ve been role players for years. 

Curry, at his best, is still a better player than all those guys. But they’re not supposed to lift up a team for a full 82-game slate, and neither should he. The Warriors need to figure out a way to add talent to make his job easier.

To build a strong foundation again. 

Curry is still capable of being the best player on the floor any given night, against any team. He showed that against Leonard and the Clippers. And twice in back-to-back wins over Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs. He torched Toumani Camara for 42 points and dropped 42 on the Nuggets in October. He shot 39.3% from deep and would have led the league in makes per game had he qualified. 

“Steph’s still got it,” Kerr said. “If you watched the other night, he can still do it.”

Yet in a night full of harsh truths, Kerr added another. 

“But it just gets more difficult as you get older,” Kerr said. “Obviously, he plays a different game than a lot of other older players, more experienced players around the league…it’s just going to be harder for him to be healthy and out there game after game. He’s going to be 39 next year. This is just how it works.”