Warriors’ Stephen Curry Makes Statement on Retirement

Truth be told, the Golden State Warriors and star guard Stephen Curry had very little reason, back when he first joined the team in 2009 out of Davidson, to think he would still be playing in the NBA at all here in 2026, let alone still playing with the team that drafted him. Curry is 37 years old, after all, and when he was a potential lottery pick at age 21, he was considered by many to be too slight, too frail to last ni the league very long.

That’s the only reason the Warriors were still able to pluck Curry with the No. 7 overall pick in that year’s draft.

But here is Curry, a sure Hall of Fame guard, still playing in the NBA and still among the best in the league. He is averaging 27.2 points and, for the third straight season, is leading the NBA in 3-pointers made (4.5) and attempted (11.5). He is also leading the NBA is free-throw shooting (93.1%) for the second straight year.

Curry, though, is dealing with a frustrating knee injury–“runner’s knee”–that has bothered him since the end of January and has kept him out the past five games.

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Stephen Curry: ‘It’ll Declare Itself’

Despite all that, Curry says he is not currently contemplating retirement, and insisted that his body will determine when it is time to hang up his high tops. In fact, he is not even thinking about closing up his career. Given the way he shoots, that is very good news for the Warriors.

“It’ll declare itself, whenever the time comes to call it quits, which I don’t think is anytime soon,” Curry told People.com. “I’m not really putting too much pressure on that. … Thinking about the end robs you of the now. I’m enjoying the journey of competing and all the work that goes into it. Hopefully that carries me a long way.”

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Stephen Curry Keeps Putting Up Records for Warriors

But Curry does note that, every time he does something positive for the Warriors, it seems, he gains a star as the “oldest” player to ever reach this or that milestone. In October, he became the oldest player to score 35 points in consecutive nights. He is the oldest player to score 25 points in eight straight games,  and the oldest to average more than 25.0 points in a season.

He is also the oldest guard to be voted in as as starter to the All-Star Game.

“It is a badge of honor to now be the oldest player doing all of these great things,” Curry said. “To redefine what greatness looks like at this age. …

“Every time you do something cool, it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re the oldest to do such and such’ or ‘You’re the oldest point guard to fill in the blank.’ So I wear all of those things like a badge of honor, because I know how much work goes into it— to play this game that I love.”

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Warriors Hoping for Return

We do know, too, that the Warriors will certainly have Curry back in uniform next season. He announced over the weekend that he intends to participate in the 2027 All-Star 3-point contest and he wants old friend and teammate Klay Thompson to join him.

But we don’t know when Curry will be back on the court here during the stretch run of this season.

“I think there’s a good chance that he doesn’t play ‘til after the break,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters last week. We are, of course, after the break. But when Curry will be back remains uncertain.

 

 

Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney