At 36 years old and playing in his 16th NBA season, Steph Curry isn't hiding from the fact that he only has so many years left before he retires. Curry has not announced an exact date or timeline for his retirement yet, but he acknowledges the end is nearing.
“You think about that more and more,” Curry told Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard. “I’m not at the farewell yet. That’s just part of time. If you’re fighting human nature or fighting the inevitable in that, then … I don’t think you’re handling it right. Because you need a little bit of fear of what’s coming, what an end might look like, to inform decisions that you’re making now and appreciate what’s going on right now.”
As his career winds now, Curry has been realistic when envisioning how he wants to go out, comparing his career to other superstars that played for only one team, including Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant. Though Curry knows there is no guarantee that they will be able to win another championship, he primarily wants him and the Warriors to remain competitive throughout these final seasons.
“Competitive,” Curry said to Kawakami. “I’ve seen different scenarios. Like everybody talks about Kobe [Bryant] and his last years. … You don’t want to be in a situation the Lakers were in those last three years [with Bryant]. I know he came off the Achilles injury, but it was, like, they were a lottery team, and it was more just how many points can Kobe score down the stretch of his career. I don’t want to be in that scenario."
"To be competitive, where you have a chance—that’s what we want to see. I’m sure that’s what our fans want to see. Playing meaningful games, no matter how it ends. I think that’s what we deserve, and I hope that is the reality I get to live in this last part of my career.”
The Warriors have also shown they want to capitalize on their remaining time with their greatest star in franchise history by trading for Jimmy Butler, a move they have already seen bring a renewed energy to the team. The Warriors core is no longer the same as the previous Curry-era dynasty teams that won four championships and reveled at the heights of the NBA, but it's clear that until he hangs it up, Curry wants to remain in the thick of contention
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Stephen Curry Gets Candid On Upcoming Final Seasons With Warriors.
