Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry envisions himself having a similar career length to that of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
James, 38, has played 20 seasons in the NBA, and he’s coming back for a 21st season in the 2023-24 campaign.
Curry, a 14-year veteran, would need to play several more seasons to reach where James is right now.
“It’s somewhere in that range, but I never imagined myself being the forty-plus dude trying to hold on for dear life,” Curry said when asked if his projected career length will be on par with James’. “But who knows what my body will look like or feel like at that point? I got three years left on my deal, including at least that, and then kind of figure it out from there.
“I am blessed to know and hope that no matter how many years I do play, playing for one franchise and being a part of that group of the legends that have accomplished that feat and won at the highest level and all that. I don’t ever take that for granted either. You got the Kobe [Bryant]’s, the Magic [Johnson]’s, Dirk [Nowitzki], Tim Duncan, those guys helped establish a culture, won, did it with a lot of different roster combinations and different parts in their career.
“I don’t put too much of a timeline outside of my contract now just knowing that will give me 38 and 17 years in the league. I ain’t skipping out to go play golf just yet.”
Curry is still one of the NBA’s best players even at his current age of 35, and he led the Warriors to an NBA title in the 2021-22 season. That was Curry’s fourth title with Golden State, giving him as many as James has in his storied career.
James and Curry will forever be linked because they faced off in the NBA Finals in four straight seasons earlier in their careers. James and the Cleveland Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA Finals over Golden State – erasing a 3-1 series deficit – but the Warriors came out on top in the other three meetings.
Curry did have the help of Kevin Durant in two of those NBA Finals wins, but regardless, it is impressive that he has four titles to his name at this stage in his career.
Both James and Curry are hoping to add another ring to their respective collections in the 2023-24 season.
Last season, the two players faced off in the second round of the playoffs in the Western Conference. James and the Lakers got the last laugh in that series, winning in six games and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
While Los Angeles’ playoff run ended against the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, the team brought back several key pieces to make another deep run in the 2023-24 season.
Curry and the Warriors are hoping that they can return to their form from the 2021-22 season with the addition of Chris Paul to the roster. Golden State added Paul in a deal with the Washington Wizards this offseason. Washington acquired Jordan Poole in that trade.
A two-time league MVP, Curry averaged 29.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game last season while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 42.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Those are MVP-caliber numbers, and as long as he continues to play at that level, he should be able to stick around in the NBA as long as he wants.
