Stephen Curry Gives One-Word Response to Critics Writing Off Warriors’ Playoff Chances

He had a 50-point Game 7 that buried the Kings on April 30, 2023. After the game, Stephen Curry was asked about the pundits who had written off the Warriors' chances. "Not as long as I'm still breathing," he said.

On Monday, someone tried the doubt again, and Curry's answer this time was shorter, but the message was identical. During Golden State's media day, a reporter told Curry that the Warriors aren't expected to make the playoffs this season. His reaction: "No playoffs?? Damn!"

The exchange, caught on video, quickly became the highlight of a media day otherwise dominated by injury updates and roster questions ahead of training camp.

The skepticism isn't coming from nowhere. Golden State has missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Last spring, the Warriors were eliminated in the play-in tournament by the Suns after Jimmy Butler tore his ACL and ended his season early; two years before that, they lost a first-round series to Minnesota.

Stephen Curry himself played just 43 games last season because of a knee injury. And the doubters pointing to this season have leaned heavily on his age and durability as reasons the Warriors' championship window is closing.

Curry pushed back on that part directly. He told reporters he will have "no limitations" this season, though the knee will still need to be managed throughout the year. It's the clearest signal yet that he expects to be a full-time factor again, and not a player Golden State has to ration through the regular season the way it did a year ago.

The doubt about this season isn't only about Curry's knee. It's about what's around him. Kristaps Porzingis, brought in to add size, rim protection and floor spacing, is now out indefinitely, another blow to a frontcourt that has struggled for years to support Curry and Butler on both ends.

Draymond Green remains the team's defensive anchor and center. But the margin for error on a roster that already missed the play-in cut a season ago is thin, and an injury to a projected starter this early doesn't help the case against the doubters.

Golden State will get its first live look at this group on Oct. 4, when it opens the preseason against the Clippers in Honolulu. A low-stakes setting, but the first real chance to see whether camp has answered any of the questions raised about depth and health before the games start to count.

None of that changes what Curry has said, on the record, for three straight years now. Written off or not, he intends to be the reason the Warriors are still playing games in the spring.