Is Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors’ glory days done? There’s reason to believe Curry’s chances of winning a fifth championship are looking more distant than ever at this point in his career.
The past few seasons have been a rollercoaster for both Curry and the Warriors. Golden State has suffered two second-round exits and missed the playoffs twice over the last four years. While Warriors fans may be disappointed with this core’s inability to make another deep playoff run, even the addition of game-changing talent Jimmy Butler hasn’t done much to change the direction of the franchise.
At this point, it feels like the question is no longer if the Warriors’ championship window is closing, but whether Curry’s chances of winning that elusive fifth title are already gone.
Warriors insider Nick Friedell believes those hopes are fading fast, making a comparison to the late stages of Kobe Bryant’s career.
“We’re about to veer into the Kobe zone with Steph Curry,” Friedell said Monday on Willard & Dibs. “[The Warriors] are not built with him as the centerpiece right now, with enough talent around him to really think they can do much beyond that.”
One could easily make that case. The Warriors have spent the past several seasons operating in pure win-now mode. They emptied much of their draft-pick supply in pursuit of more championships, and while they may no longer be an elite team, they still have Steph Curry, who continues to play at an elite level.
In his 17th season, Curry averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. He also earned his 12th All-Star selection and helped keep the Warriors in the playoff picture despite dealing with nagging knee injuries that caused him to miss stretches of action late in the season. The Warriors finished the season 37-45, good for 10th place in the Western Conference.
What’s next for Steph Curry and the Warriors?
While Steph Curry remains an elite NBA star, his supporting cast is beginning to show its age. Jimmy Butler has slipped into the tier below the league’s superstars, while Draymond Green is now in his mid-30s and the rest of the roster also isn’t quite at the The rest of the roster also isn’t quite at the level it once was. The system collapses because the support players aren’t talented enough to pick up the slack. That’s why we’ve seen Golden State go from playoff appearances to consecutive second-round exits to out of the playoffs altogether over the past four seasons.
The Warriors have also largely punted on the idea of developing high-end prospects during this stretch. Next week will mark their first first-round pick since 2023. They currently hold the No. 11 selection, but it’s unclear whether they’ll use it on a young prospect or flip it in a trade for more immediate support around Curry. Whatever they do, Curry, at 38 years old, and Warriors fans know the window to compete for a championship aren’t getting any better.
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