Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr praised the Minnesota Timberwolves and acknowledged his team’s shortcomings after being eliminated in five games in the Western Conference semifinals.
“First of all, congrats to the Wolves,” Kerr said following the 121–110 loss. “They were fantastic. Had a great series, beating us four games straight after that first one. Congrats to Chris Finch, Tim Connelly. They’ve done a great job building this team.”
The Timberwolves shot a scorching 63% from the field in Game 5, and Kerr emphasized that defense was the deciding factor.
“We did everything we needed to do to win the game, but they shot 63%,” he said. “Ultimately, you’ve got to be able to guard and get stops, and we weren’t able to do that.”
Golden State played the series without Stephen Curry, who suffered a hamstring injury in Game 1. When asked about the impact, Kerr avoided dwelling on it.
“There’s no sense in even talking about Steph,” Kerr said. “I don’t want to take anything away from what Minnesota just accomplished.”
Kerr pointed to Game 3 as the pivotal moment in the series. The Warriors led by six points midway through the fourth quarter, but couldn’t close it out.
“That was the one we needed to get,” he said. “Then the last two games, they broke free offensively.”
While Golden State’s stars struggled, young players like Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga delivered strong performances. Podziemski led the team with a career-high 28 points.
“I thought it was our best offensive game of the series,” Kerr said. “The ball really moved. Our spacing was much better. Both JK and Brandin had big scoring nights.”
Kerr also praised Moses Moody’s fourth-quarter effort and said he was proud of how the team responded to adversity throughout the season.
“This was a hell of a run for us,” he said. “Considering where we were at the trade deadline — Jimmy changed our season. Flipped everything for us.”
Looking ahead, Kerr expressed confidence in the Warriors’ future core.
“We’ve got Jimmy and Dray and Steph all coming back,” he said. “Our young players performed really well this year. There’s a lot to look forward to.”
He acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining championship contention as players age, but dismissed the idea that luck only matters late in a team’s window.
“You need luck when they’re younger too,” Kerr said. “In 2015 we go to the Finals and Cleveland’s without Kyrie and Kevin Love. The next year Steph goes down, Draymond gets suspended — stuff happens.”
Kerr praised the Timberwolves’ performance, specifically singling out Julius Randle and Anthony Edwards.
“Julius Randle was incredible. He’s taken a leap,” Kerr said. “Obviously, Anthony Edwards is just a superstar. So they were the better team.”
Asked how he’ll remember the 2024–25 campaign, Kerr pointed to the team’s growth and perseverance.
“I will remember this season for the way this team was connected and persevered,” he said. “All you can really ask as a coach is for your team to commit to each other and fight through adversity.”
Despite the early exit, Kerr made it clear that the Warriors aren’t done competing.
“We had a shot,” he said. “We became one of the best teams in the league. Obviously, you get to the final eight in the NBA, you’re one of the best teams.”
