The Golden State Warriors may have secured a play-in spot, but head coach Steve Kerr made it clear that this is nothing to celebrate. The Warriors currently hold a 35-38 record in what has been an up-and-down season.
While they’ve managed to win their last two games and stay in postseason contention, it’s not the kind of success the franchise is used to. For Kerr, simply making the play-in tournament isn’t an achievement worth praising.
Steve Kerr Downplays the Warriors’ Play-In Spot
In a recent segment on “95.7 The Game,” host Steiny reached out to congratulate Kerr after the Warriors clinched their play-in spot. Kerr was not thrilled in the slightest.
“Don’t do that,” Kerr said.
Steiny congratulated Steve Kerr and the Warriors on clinching a spot in the Play-In Tournament.
Kerr wasn’t having it 😂
(via @SteinyGuru957) pic.twitter.com/y2ug6sqxPC
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) March 26, 2026
The Warriors entered the play-in picture after Memphis was eliminated and Golden State defeated the Brooklyn Nets. But the win over Brooklyn was not convincing, at least not for the first three quarters. The Warriors trailed by five after the first quarter and were down by eight at halftime.
In the third quarter, Golden State managed 27 points, but the real shift came in the fourth, when they scored 32 to secure a 109-106 victory.
With that win, Golden State is locked into a top-10 seed in the Western Conference, guaranteeing a postseason opportunity. Their exact position in the 7-to-10 range, however, is still undecided.
A seventh or eighth seed finish would give the Warriors two chances to reach the playoffs. Falling to ninth or 10th would mean a single-game elimination scenario with no margin for error. So while the spot is secure, seeding still matters heading into the final stretch.
The bigger problem is who is not on the court. Stephen Curry remains sidelined with a knee injury and has now missed 23 straight games. There is no guarantee he returns before the regular season ends.
On top of that, Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler III are both dealing with season-ending injuries, thinning out the roster considerably.
That puts added responsibility on Brandin Podziemski, who is averaging 13.1 points per game. He will need to keep carrying that load. Kerr’s reaction on the radio makes more sense in this context: the Warriors are still fighting, but they know this season hasn’t met their standards.
