In a press‑style interview, Warriors guard De'Anthony Melton discusses his mindset heading into the upcoming free‑agency period, emphasizing personal improvement and a desire to return to Golden State while leaving final decisions to his agent and the organization. He reflects on the 2025‑26 season, describing the challenges of returning from an ACL tear, coping with multiple teammates’ injuries, and the mental fatigue that accompanied a grueling schedule. Melton asserts that his on‑court contributions often go beyond the stat sheet, noting a dip in shooting but reaffirming his confidence as a shooter. He weighs loyalty to the Warriors against testing the open market, indicating he will let the dust settle before making concrete choices. The guard praises head coach Steve Kerr’s approach, highlighting lessons about confidence, playing to strengths, and understanding player perspectives. Physically, Melton feels his knee and back held up well, though lingering issues prevented him from reaching his desired minutes. He expresses gratitude for Steph Curry’s public praise, describing it as validation of his style of play. Melton shares that the organization’s end‑of‑season review focused on his health and perseverance, with staff emphasizing personal interests and the importance of finishing the season healthy. He acknowledges that Steve Kerr’s future decisions could influence his own player‑option considerations, but stresses patience and letting outcomes unfold. Finally, he comments on his experience working with the team’s medical staff, led by Rick, throughout the year.
Chapters
De'anthony, what's your approach going to be into this coming off-season with the contract and whatnot?
My approach, I would say, just getting better at everything. Like, you know what I mean? Just coming into this year, it was just so much up in the air that, you know, we didn't know, or I didn't know that could happen, you know? So now that I know that type of stuff, it's just about working on myself and then whatever happens kind of happens after that.
Do you want to come back?
Most definitely. I mean, I would love to come back. You know, I kind of leave that type of stuff up to, you know, my agent and upstairs, but, you know, I would love to.
How would you summarize this off the seat this season in which you came back from the ACL injury and kind of, you know, got back in the flow of things and made it a season of it?
I think this season it was, I think it was a lot. You know what I mean? We had a lot to deal with just in terms of me, man, me being out to start the year to, you know, me coming back to seeing Jimmy go down, to seeing Moses go down, to seeing like, you know, almost every guy at some point or another, you know, kind of go down. So, but at the same time, I mean, I commend everybody that was out there because, you know, that's not easy. And we battled and we fought every game. We, you know, we tried our best no matter what. And that's all you can hope for when going into a season.
Do you feel like your body's like back to 100%?
Yeah, for the most part, I think, you know, the bumps and bruises that come with the season, I think anybody's going to have those. And I think those kind of crept up more so for me, which kind of led to my, you know, mental fatigue of, you know, playing this long at the same time too.
De'anthony, do you feel like your numbers reflect who you are as a player?
Not necessarily, because I think sometimes I do kind of stuff that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. And I also think, you know, I didn't shoot the ball as well as I wanted to this year, but, you know, I think I know, and we know that I'm a great shooter. And so that type of stuff is, you know, you never really know, but I think I still just do stuff that doesn't really show up on a stat sheet.
You said that you'd like to be back here. You could see what a good fit you are here, both as a player and with the culture too in the locker room. But also with that, do you feel like you owe it to yourself to test the open market and just to see what else is out there for you as well? Just to give yourself that opportunity?
I mean, I think that type of stuff is just, you know, is in my mind. But I think that's why also like, you know, you gotta give yourself time to kind of decompress and see everything that's going on, kind of let the dust settle. So I think that type of stuff is what I'm gonna worry about, you know, next week and stuff like that and kind of, you know, get with my agent and, you know, let Mike and Steve and Rick decide, you know what I mean? What they have going on as well too.
So.
Yeah.
Yeah. Steve's future is obviously uncertain right now. Just how has it been him coaching you this season? And like, what have you kind of learned from him coaching you?
I love Steve. I love Steve. I just think I love the way, you know, he approaches the game. And also, you know, being a player, you know, he kind of understands what you're going through sometimes with having a season, you know, particularly like we had. But, you know, with Steve, I just, I just learned so much about just, you know, playing with confidence, playing with confidence and kind of, you know, learning the game and knowing your tendencies and playing to your strengths too.
Well, you came into this season, couldn't, wasn't ready to play at the start. You had to do some, still some rehab work, but once you got going, you got yourself up to where almost at the end of the season you were playing back-to-backs. Physically, did you ever get to the way you, to the level you wanted to get to?
Physically, I would say not necessarily, just because, you know, obviously you would love to put more minutes, but I just think when it comes to like my knee or my back, you know what I mean? That, that held up great, but it was just kind of other stuff that kind of lingered to me.— that necessarily I didn't really like. But in terms of, you know, the major things, which is, like I said, my knee and my back, I mean, that held up pretty perfectly fine. And so that's what I can, you know, hope for. And that's what is what I love.
And how much does it matter to you that Steph has said that he likes playing alongside you?
I mean, it means a lot. It means a lot, you know, somebody of his caliber, of his stature to say, you know, things that, you know, compliment you and compliment him as well is important. Cause that means you're doing also, you're doing something right. And you know, your style of play is, can translate to a lot of different players and, you know, a player like him, he's so special that, you know, being on the court at the same time with him is surreal sometimes.
What can you share about what Steve and Mike's message was to you in your, you know, end of season review?
We made it through. We made it through. I just think everybody was just so— that's one thing I love about this organization. Like, you know, they put your personal interests, you know what I mean, in there and they put their personal interests sometimes first. So like, I know we kind of ended the season shorter than we wanted to. And, you know, we had aspirations to, you know, play all the way to the end. But at the same time, they understood my circumstances, my situation. They just, they, they was so excited for me just to be able to make it through, you know what I mean? Just to, to finish the season, finish the season healthy. And you know, the year I had, you know, they felt like it was amazing. So that's all I can hope for.
Would Steve's decision affect your decision when it comes to your future and the player option?
I think, I think that type of stuff is just, you know, just to handle when it's, when it's there. You know what I mean? Cause we never know what could happen before. We never know what could happen right after. So whenever he makes his decision, I know, you know, he should take his time and figure it out. But I think after that, you kind of got to let the dominoes fall just to, you know, let everybody see what's going on, what, whatever decision his is and give that a little bit of time just to see where you're going next to.
You mentioned getting through this season. What was, what was your experience working with Rick and the medical staff after a full year?
Top tier. I mean, I don't think, I don't think there's nobody better out there. Like I was saying, I haven't been to every team, but just the way they handle everything, the way they, you know, do their due diligence on you and make sure you're okay. And they put so much emphasis on every player, you know, in every aspect that it's amazing. You know what I mean? It's definitely amazing.
