Steve Kerr may coach one of the greatest basketball dynasties ever, but when it comes to convincing the NBA to shorten the regular season? Yeah, he’s about as effective as Dwight Howard at the free-throw line in crunch time.

The Warriors’ head coach has been shouting from the mountaintops for years now: less is more. Fewer games. Less wear and tear. Fewer players crumbling midseason like a Jenga tower missing all its base pieces. But even with logic, stats, and a frustrated MVP in his corner, Kerr is finding out what every fan who’s bought $25 nachos in an arena already knows—capitalism plays ISO ball and never passes.

And this time, Stephen Curry has joined the rebellion.

Curry, the face of the Warriors, the face of the modern NBA, and the face of every dad who dominates his kid’s friend group in a backyard 3v3, is quietly sounding the alarm. “I don’t know. I’m just taking the two years at a time. That’s all I have on my contract left,” Steph said. “I hope to be in a situation where physically I have the choice and it’s not made for me. So I’m doing everything I can to stay limber… and do what I do at a high level.”

Translation? Father Time may not be knocking yet, but Steph’s already checking the peephole.

With 19,000 minutes on his legs, Stephen Curry has every right to be tired of the NBA’s relentless grind. And when even he says he’s not sure what comes next, that’s not just a red flag—it’s a Draymond Green flagrant two to the league office.

Steve Kerr isn’t just tired—he’s had it. After back-to-back late-night games in Dallas and Houston, with tipoffs later than your uncle’s fantasy draft, Kerr dropped the hammer. “The NBA in its infinite wisdom makes us play an 8:45 game,” he grumbled after a loss to the Mavs. “They clearly don’t care about rest or player health. It’s just ratings and all that stuff.”

All that stuff includes a postgame flight that landed after 3 AM, wrapping up a six-game, nine-day road trip that probably had Klay Thompson sleepwalking through defensive rotations. Kerr’s solution? Cut the 82-game schedule down to something sustainable—something that doesn’t feel like running a marathon on a treadmill that never stops. “We should be playing fewer games. Everyone knows that,” Steve Kerr told The Athletic. “But it’s a money issue. How many of the constituents are willing to take less money?”

Look, when Steve Kerr starts sounding like a college professor giving a TED Talk on late-stage capitalism, you know he’s hit the “nothing left to lose” stage.

“Bear-Hugging Steph” and the Broken Rulebook

Forget the schedule—Steve Kerr is also fed up with the league’s casual attitude toward flagrant fouls on his superstar.

During a brutal playoff series, Curry was roughed up worse than a rookie hazing ritual. In Game 5, Dillon Brooks targeted Steph’s injured thumb after the shot—yet the refs apparently thought he was just going for a high five.“On every release, Steph’s getting hit. This is how the league wants it right now,” Kerr said. “They’re bear-hugging Steph. They could’ve called six fouls… I’m getting ready to send my own clips into the league.”

Now that’s some vintage Steve Kerr energy. Not since the “Hack-a-Shaq” days has there been such an obvious refusal to protect a marquee talent. If they did this to LeBron, Skip Bayless would be typing in ALL CAPS before the final buzzer.

Before the 2025–26 season even tipped off, Steve Kerr tried diplomacy—he emailed Adam Silver directly about reducing the number of games. Silver, ever the measured commissioner with a calm voice and a Wall Street brain, appreciated the input… and then essentially hit “mark as read.”

While Silver is open to evolution (see: In-Season Tournament, virtual fans in the bubble, or that one time he tried to explain NFTs), cutting games = cutting revenue. And the NBA’s owners? Let’s just say they didn’t buy private islands by saying “Sure, I’ll take less money for the greater good.”

Kerr summed it up best:“What I don’t have faith in is America’s willingness to cut back on a few profits here and there in the name of quality. I don’t think that’s in our nature in America.” Hot take? Maybe. But when Kerr is spitting truth like Rasheed Wallace in a postgame presser, someone’s got to listen.

At this point, Kerr and Curry are the NBA’s version of a buddy cop duo trying to clean up a corrupt precinct. Curry’s body is wearing down, and he just wants to retire on his own terms. Steve Kerr, meanwhile, is sprinting into windmills with a spreadsheet full of injury stats and a very long “I told you so” waiting for the league’s next superstar to break down mid-March.

Steph’s hoping he gets through these next two seasons in one piece. Kerr’s hoping someone—anyone—will finally listen before the game becomes a race of which elite player collapses first.

And the league? It’s hoping the TNT Thursday Night ratings stay strong while everyone quietly limps into the playoffs.

Whether you side with Silver, Stephen Curry, or Steve Kerr, one thing’s for sure: if the NBA doesn’t figure out how to protect its stars and prioritize their longevity, the next generation might never make it to year ten without looking like 2016 Joakim Noah trying to run the fast break.

And by then, Steve Kerr will have already sent 47 more emails—and probably coached 82 more games he wishes he hadn’t.