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March 14, 2024
On the occasion of Stephen Curry's 36th birthday today, it also reminds us that the former "Baby-faced Assassin" has entered the twilight of his career. Let's use this article to predict how much longer he will continue playing.
Stephen Curry, with 4 NBA championships, 2 MVPs (including one unanimous MVP), 1 Finals MVP, 1 Western Conference Finals MVP, 1 All-Star Game MVP, 10 All-Star appearances, the record for most three-pointers in NBA history (continuously advancing), the record for most three-pointers in a single season with 402, 2 Olympic gold medals, and holding multiple Golden State Warriors franchise records...
Before the 2021-2022 season, the only thing missing from Stephen Curry's resume was the Finals MVP award. For a historical superstar, winning 3 NBA championships without winning a single Finals MVP made some people perceive him as unable to perform on the big stage. However, after leading his team to win the championship in the 2021-2022 season, and subsequently winning the Finals MVP, all those perceptions disappeared. The only achievement left to enhance his historical status at the end of his career may be an Olympic gold medal.
It's challenging to elevate his historical status at the age of 36. One could argue that his peak started too late, he was hampered by ankle injuries early in his career, and he was already an older rookie, entering the league at the age of 21, which put him at a disadvantage in accumulating statistics compared to other players.
For example, he currently ranks 30th in career points with 23,302 points. With his current contract, he has two more seasons left. Assuming he can maintain an average of 25 points per game and play 70 games per season, Curry would score a total of 3,500 points over these two seasons. His career total would then be around 26,802 points, placing him around 14th in NBA history. Comparatively, Durant, who is the same age, is currently ranked 9th, Harden, who entered the league around the same time, is ranked 20th, and Westbrook is ranked 25th. LeBron James, who has dominated the league for longer, is ahead of them all. If Curry can avoid major injuries and significant decline, he would finish his career with a total score close to the historical 15th place after retiring at the age of 38.
As for the Olympic gold medal, this summer is his last chance to win one. With the opportunity for Curry, LeBron, and Durant to play together at the Olympics this year, hopefully, they can win the gold medal together. This might also be Curry's first and last time participating in the Olympics. The next Olympics in Los Angeles will see him at the age of 40. Considering his current difficulty even making it to the All-Star Game starting lineup, it's unlikely he'll play in four years. Therefore, let's hope he can complete his career honors this summer.
Talking about having no desires, if LeBron James continues playing to fulfill his dream of playing in the NBA with his son, Curry probably doesn't have such thoughts. His two daughters are 12 and 9 years old, his eldest son is 6 years old, and he also has a baby with the same due date as July. Let's not even talk about the possibility of his daughters joining the NBA in the future. Even if his son were to enter the NBA, Curry would be 49 by then. Well, I hope he can play until then, but that's indeed somewhat unrealistic.
Therefore, except for surpassing the record for the longest time spent with a single team with the Warriors or accumulating some additional career statistics, from the above perspectives, I don't think Curry will continue playing for too long. |
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