Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is without a doubt one of the greatest players ever to play in the NBA. A four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP along with the rest of his accolades give him a resume that can stack up against anyone. But where does he see himself in terms of his career? On a recent episode of ‘Heat Check’ alongside his father Dell, Stephen Curry revealed who he believes are the top five players from his era.
Curry’s list obviously included himself alongside LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. It’s not a bad list. With the exception of Harden, all have won multiple championships. With the exception of Leonard, all have won MVP awards.
Curry also said that although he played against Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan for the first four years of his career, that he wasn’t including them in the discussion as he was setting the parameters from 2009 to 2023. That time period was when the players on Curry’s list all hit their primes while Bryant and Duncan had accomplished most of their work in the years prior.
While Curry may be in the twilight of his NBA career, when it’s all said and done he might retire having an argument as the best player in Warriors franchise history.
It’s just two seasons removed from the Warriors last championship, but they’re a far cry from that team. The Warriors slogged and struggled through most of the 2023-24 regular season only to be eliminated in the first round of the play-in by the Sacramento Kings.
They now face a very important offseason that could drastically alter their trajectory. At the forefront of their issues is the question of what to do with Klay Thompson. Thompson and the Warriors could still technically agree to a contract extension, but it seems that in all likelihood he is headed for unrestricted free agency.
Thompson will definitely have suitors on the open market. The Warriors will have to decide at what cost do they want to have one of their franchise cornerstones back on the roster. As currently constructed, the Warriors are not a championship caliber team, nowhere near it.
Stephen Curry’s current contract runs through the 2025-26 season. At that point, Curry will be age 37. He’s still playing at an elite level. This past season, he appeared in 74 games at a little over 32 minutes per game. He averaged 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists with splits of 45 percent from the field, 40.8 percent shooting from the three-point line and 92.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Curry arguably has a few more good seasons such as that left in him. The Warriors face the dilemma of wasting Curry’s last good years on a non-contender or trying for a quick fix to get back to title contention that may or may not include Thompson. It is also important to note that head coach Steve Kerr’s two-year contract extension runs through the duration of Curry’s current contract.