SI:AM | This Might Be the End for the Warriors

Is that it for one of the sport’s greatest dynasties?
Thompson’s time with the Warriors may be coming to an end soon.
Thompson’s time with the Warriors may be coming to an end soon. / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I really hope Zion Williamson is able to play in the Pelicans’ do-or-die game against the Kings on Friday.

In today’s SI:AM: 

🗑️ The Warriors crash out
🎙️ Looking back at John Sterling’s career
🔮 Predicting which QBs will be stars

Is this it? 

The Golden State Warriors have ruled the NBA for most of the past decade, but now, after their season ended Tuesday night with a loss in the play-in tournament, this era of Warriors excellence could be coming to a close.

It was a tough season for Golden State, which spent most of the year hovering around .500 before winning 10 of its last 13 to finish 46–36. That was good for 10th in the conference, which meant traveling on the road for a do-or-die game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night in the play-in.

The Kings won the game easily, 118–94. Stephen Curry had 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Draymond Green chipped in 12 points, with six assists and three rebounds. Klay Thompson was held scoreless, missing all 10 shots he took. It was the first time he was held without a point since his rookie season (excluding the game in November when he was ejected less than two minutes after tipoff).

“For the most part, they just took it to us the whole game,” Curry said. “There’s really no way around it.”

So now the Warriors have some difficult decisions to make this offseason. The biggest one is on Thompson, who will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It’s difficult to imagine the Warriors without Thompson, who has been as critical to the team’s success over the past decade as anyone else. It isn’t a coincidence that the Warriors’ two worst recent seasons came in 2019–20 and ’20–21, the two years Thompson missed with knee and Achilles injuries.

But it might be time for the franchise to move on from Thompson. He is 34 years old and clearly declining. Tuesday night’s scoreless outing was unusual, but not unforeseeable. He had a few other stinkers this season (a 1-for-10 game in November, a 1-for-11 game in December and a 1-for-9 in February, to name a few). In the final three games of Golden State’s Western Conference semifinal loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last year, he went a combined 9-for-42 from the field (21.4%). His three-point shooting percentage this season was .387, the second lowest of his career. Only the 2021–22 season, when he returned to the floor in January after two-and-a-half years recovering from two devastating injuries, was worse (.385).

For what it’s worth, coach Steve Kerr said after the loss that the Warriors “desperately want [Thompson] back” and that he believes Thompson has “still got good years left.” Still, moving on from Thompson would be easy—or at least as easy as saying goodbye to an all-time great can be. He’ll be a free agent, and so the team can simply thank him for his contributions to one of the sport’s greatest dynasties and let him sign elsewhere.

Golden State has a much more difficult decision to make with Draymond Green, though. Green remains under contract for the next three seasons and is owed $77 million over that span. While he remains an elite defender, you wouldn’t fault the Warriors if they wanted to move on from him after his poor temper led to a 19-game suspension earlier this season.

“I can never see myself not with those two guys,” Curry said after the loss, referring to Thompson and Green. But when asked if the Warriors needed to make significant changes to win next season, Curry said, “I just want to win.”

This Warriors era will have to come to an end in the near future. Their big three are all approaching the end of their careers. Thompson and Green are both 34, while Curry is 36. Sooner or later that core will be dissolved. After Tuesday night’s loss to the Kings, it’s fair to wonder whether that breakup will be coming this summer.

Nov 25, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA;  LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) calls a play.
Will Daniels (5) live up to the first-round hype in the NFL? / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).