Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has spent his entire career with the franchise that picked him with the No. 7 overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The two-time league MVP has enjoyed a ton of success with the franchise, winning four NBA titles, a Finals MVP and earning 10 All-Star selections.
Even with all of the success he’s had in Golden State, Curry made it clear in a recent interview that he wants to win no matter what stage he’s in during his career. He hopes that’s with Golden State, but he did share that he’d “have a hard time” playing for a bottom feeder if things go downhill.
“It’s tough, right?” Curry told Andscape. “I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life. At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible. And you can still be a competitive, it doesn’t mean you guaranteed the championship. It doesn’t mean winning. Winning is always a priority, but obviously you’re realistic. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep reimagining what it looks like to evolve with what league is at right now, with where some of these talented teams are now.
“I’m taking it one step at a time to be honest. I think that’s the only way that will protect my happiness. Also, it allows me to enjoy being myself when I’m out there playing. And I’ll continue to make the decisions that are best for me and for my career at the end of the day when it comes to just the imagination. I want to win. Let’s put it this way, it’s a longwinded way of saying that it if it is a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and it’s just because you want to stay there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality.”
It makes sense that Curry wants to have a chance to compete and win since the Warriors have become one of the most esteemed franchises in the NBA because of what he has accomplished there.
With his former running mate Klay Thompson leaving Golden State this offseason in a sign-and-trade deal that sent him to the Dallas Mavericks, it’s natural that Curry takes a step back to look at the totality of his situation in Golden State.
The Warriors made the play-in tournament in the 2023-24 season, but they did not make the playoffs for the third time in the last five seasons.
Curry and Thompson were both injured when Golden State missed the playoffs in the 2019-20 season, but it also failed to get through the play-in and into the playoffs in the 2020-21 campaign.
However, the Warriors also won a title in the 2021-22 season, so it’s safe to say that they aren’t a “bottom feeder” in the NBA at this current point in time.
With Thompson gone, the Warriors now need to build a strong core around Curry, who is still one of the game’s best players.
Last season, the 10-time All-Star averaged 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from 3. He was also an All-NBA selection for the 10th time in his career.
The Warriors added some new pieces to their roster this offseason including Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton. It will be interesting to see if those moves help the team improve its standing in the Western Conference in the 2024-25 season.
Obviously, the Warriors would love to get back to the playoffs to make sure that Curry is still happy with the state of the franchise.
