The Golden State Warriors have been the most dominant force in the NBA for the last decade. They’ve won four of the last eight championships, and all with the same core. Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green have led the way for Golden State.
At 35 years old, it’s safe to say that he’s entering the final chapter of his career. Despite that, he’s played at an MVP level when healthy this season. Curry recently spoke with Marc J. Spears of Andscape about how he’s maintained his ability to play at his age, as well as his plans moving forward. Two key components to his success? Talking with Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
“How I feel right now is not how I thought I’d feel at 35,” Curry told Spears. “That number sounds crazy, but in my head, I feel like I got a lot left. The work I put into this I still enjoy. Who knows how [the future] looks? I talked to Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, and other guys who have been on the other side of the halfway point. I know quarterbacking is different, but you can check yourself [mentally] into not fast-forwarding too far. They really did a good job of disciplining themselves for what is happening in real time. They’re 40 feeling like they can still play. I’m trying to stay in that mode. Thirty-five is a big milestone, but the next one is 40. The way I feel right now, who knows?”
Two MVPs, four championships, and a Finals MVP later, Curry has carved out one of the most impressive careers in the history of the league. That includes bringing home the title last year at the age of 34.
So far this year, Curry has continued to play at an extremely high level. He has appeared in 43 of the team’s 69 games this year and is playing 34.7 minutes per contest. The superstar point guard is averaging 29.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game on 49.7% shooting from the field and 43.6% shooting from behind the three-point line.
Warriors Trade Helped Satisfy Curry & Thompson
While Curry may still be in his prime, the Warriors have struggled to maintain their dominance this year. They have hovered around the .500 mark all year, and before the trade deadline, it seemed as though they were content with riding the line of contention and youth development. However, according to sources who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, the James Wiseman deal satisfied Curry and Thompson.
“And getting Payton back was a good move,” a Western Conference executive told Deveney. “The players really liked Gary Payton. The coaches really liked him. No one wanted to see them lose him to Portland and not really even be in the mix on re-signing him. The injury thing really screwed them. But guys like Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson), that was a good signal that they’re trying to win now, that they don’t want to give away this season to develop young guys. That’s important. There’s no question those guys were frustrated with the team and the way they were approaching everything.”
Draymond Green Discusses Stephen Curry Trash Talk
In the Warriors’ recent win over the Phoenix Suns, Curry talked trash to Chris Paul, proclaiming that “this ain’t 2014 no more.” After the game, Green explained Curry’s trash talk.
“Steph had [Paul] below the break; he hit him with a couple of moves and got an amazing and-1,” Green said on the “The Draymond Green Show.” “And if you read his lips, he got up and he said, ‘This ain’t 2014 no more.’ And I appreciated the bar by Steph Curry because you gotta dig into that comment. That’s pretty much saying that ‘the last time you were better than me since 2014.’ That was nine years ago. Like this haven’t been a debate since 2014. Nine years ago? That’s almost a decade. That’s a bar. So I just hope that those that enjoy that part of the game, which I do, that you appreciated that bar.”
