Stephen Curry has cemented himself as the greatest player in Golden State Warriors history. The 36-year-old point guard has spent his entire career in the Bay Area and is currently in his 16th season with the team. Although Curry is under contract through the 2026-27 NBA season, even he is uncertain about what the future holds beyond that.
After Wednesday’s practice, Curry spoke with 95.7 The Game’s “Steiny & Guru” and gave a down-to-earth response when asked how much longer he plans to play. “Man, I don’t know,“ Curry admitted. “I’ve tried to answer that question before and I’ve said a lot of different things just based on how I feel that day, but I think it’s all kind of measured on the style of, can I get to that level that I expect for myself”.
“That’s not really attached to like a points per game or stats thing,” he continued. “It’s just a feeling, like, can I dominate a game? Can I play my style for 30-plus minutes? And then you kind of reevaluate every year. I know how my contract’s lined up, and I would like to outplay that for sure. But how long that goes? I have no idea”.
Curry has shown no signs of slowing down, even with the addition of Jimmy Butler to the Warriors’ roster. Since the former Miami Heat star joined the team, Curry has averaged 30.9 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.4 rebounds after the trade deadline, propelling Golden State from the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference to No. 6 in 14 games.
“Nobody wants to be naïve to think, ‘Oh, I’m still that guy,’ and you’re not, and you have a system built around you and you have expectations built around that type of team,” Curry added. “To that point, we’re not there. What it looks like down the road, I’ll figure that out. But I love the game, and I think the fact that I still show up and still have as much fun as I do every single night, that to me is the blessing and the beauty of where I’m at”.
Curry still feels like a kid on the court
The four-time NBA champion is set to turn 37, placing him among the league’s oldest players. Despite that, Curry says he still feels youthful whenever he steps onto the court.
“About to turn 37, I feel the exact same, like a kid when I’m out there playing,” he added. “It does take me a little longer to get there, the pre-warmup stuff and the recovery days and all that, but I still can get there“.
Curry’s drive for a fifth championship
During the same interview, Curry revealed that his sole motivation for continuing to play at an elite level is to secure his fifth NBA championship. While the two-time MVP appreciates the current state of the team, he acknowledges there’s still work to be done.
“Somebody asked me this summer, ‘Why are you still playing for?’” Curry said. “That’s literally the only thing I’m playing for (fifth championship). I like where we’re at right now. I think we have what it takes to do it. But I’m not fast-forwarding to saying, ‘Oh, we’re a championship team right now’ because we have another level to get to”.