In Year 17, Steph Curry Continues to Redefine The Standard
The Warriors may be searching for answers on how to recover from a middling start to the season, but at least the anchor of the franchise hasn’t been one of the questions.
Despite a number of disappointing losses recently, Stephen Curry has continued to dazzle in ways that were maybe unexpected so late into his career. The closing chapter of the 2000s-2010s NBA era has been highlighted by its stars maintaining elite play and longevity, with Curry, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and James Harden continuing to be focal points of their teams as other former stars keep contributing at high levels long since they were projected to regress.
The most impressive, however you want to argue it, is 30: In his 18 games played this season, he’s averaging just under 30 points a game on 31 minutes a night, slashing 48/41/90 and canning 5 threes per outing with defenders draped all over him as usual. His most recent firework show came in a loss over the weekend to the Portland Trail Blazers, a game in which he put up 48 points to officially surpass Michael Jordan for the most 40-point games in NBA history after turning 30 years old.
While it’s debatable on how far the Warriors can go with their 37-year-old point guard having to put up miracles every night, what’s not debatable is that the NBA’s most prominent game-changer has continued to be box office despite injuries and expected limitations the older he gets. There’s certainly been times this season where Curry’s looked human, though they’re few and far between, and largely come with the caveat that he’s still battling against coverages that are keying in on him and him alone.
His dominance at the 3-point line is naturally no surprise: It’s an aspect of the game which tends to be consistent despite age, and when you’re the best shooter to ever play the sport, that fall-off will be projected to have a lower probability of happening. What is unexpected is that he’s converting 70% of his shots in the restricted area and 58% in the paint, which make up just below a third of his total shots taken this season… And he’s doing that while standing tall at 6’2, which at his age for a guard that was never described as an athletic driver is remarkable. It’s well-documented statistically that he’s one of the best under-the-rim finishers ever (if not the best), but even for someone with as much craft and capability as he has, Curry’s driving remains an under-looked part of his arsenal and one he’s weaponized to great effect.
Steph continues to be the engine to the Warriors’ offense as always, clocking in a usage rate of 34%, his highest mark since the 2020-2021 season where he won the scoring title. He’s matching his true shooting percentage of 65% and setting a player efficiency rating of 24.5, his best since 2021 (measuring his per-minute productivity primarily on offense as an amalgamation factoring both positive and negative counting stats) to a year where, with a better record, he would’ve been an MVP frontrunner. We’re largely seeing a similar story play out this season, where a few more pluses in the wins column might have him as an early season contender for a 3rd piece of Most Valuable hardware; It’d be a lofty expectation, but that’s just how good Curry has been this season despite his team’s middling 13-14 record.
The questions surrounding his place in the NBA pantheon have been less and less frequent, instead prompting him to be a part of conversations closer to the top the longer his prime extends and the more he sets the gap between him and Jordan in terms of his late-career 40-point games. With no serious indicators that he’s ‘washed’, 30’s continuing to set the standard for what guards are capable of even if they aren’t athletic freaks of nature: He’s certainly a God-given talent, but his ability to stay amongst the elite in his 17th season has been as much a product of his unmatched work ethic and preparation to always stay at the head of the pack as it has his natural coordination and ability.
For the Golden State Warriors, he’s setting the standard once more for everyone else to step up to, proving that it’s still worth it for this team to try and compete despite the hole they've dug into now. It’ll be on the rest of the squad to try and maintain a higher level, and on front office management to build a competitive team with some new faces if they aren’t up to par. Nobody perhaps in the league can do what Steph Curry does, but if you aren’t bought in after seeing the lengths he’s going to try and keep winning for as long as he’s on the court, then there’s only so many adjustments that can be made before it’s time for others to get a shot.
(Photo credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant / Getty Images)