Stephen Curry has been in the NBA for nearly two decades, with every single season played with one team, one franchise, in one city (technically two cities, but let’s move past it). Over that time, Stephen Curry has managed to become perhaps the greatest player in Golden State Warriors history.
Throughout this time, Stephen Curry has become one of the highest-paid players in all of sports, being the top-paid player in basketball for the last 10 consecutive seasons, the most in NBA history. This obviously has cost the Warriors a lot of money, approximately $532.7 million in salary alone, and even at 38 Years-old, he is not done yet.
The Golden State Warriors have been rumoured to offer Stephen Curry another, potentially final extension, and this one is going to not only be massive for Curry, but also saddening for NBA fans who grew up in the last 20 years. Stephen Curry has revolutionised the way we play basketball, and to see him retire is truly heartbreaking.
Before Steph Curry can begin a potential farewell tour, he has to re-sign his contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the 2027 offseason. Curry has been widely expected to sign a 2-year, $136.7 million maximum contract extension with the Golden State Warriors that will keep him with the franchise through the 2028–29 season.
This would pay him roughly $68-$71 million annually, keeping him under contract until 40 years old. Curry has expressed time and time again that he has a few more years in him, desiring to play a legendary 20th NBA season, which is in 2029. Another interesting fact is that Curry has expressed interest in playing for Team USA for a historic 2028 Olympics finale, which, coincidentally, is in Los Angeles.
The most fascinating thing is that Warriors General Manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr are positive that Curry will re-sign. Being so confident in something that will happen in a whole year is slightly brash, but the loyalty that Curry has expressed in the last 18 years proves something.
Even though Curry has gotten older, the natural decline through load management and injury recovery has not truly affected Steph’s gameplay, still maintaining elite performance as one of the league’s oldest superstars. Despite his age, Curry managed to average 26.6 Points, leading the Warriors to a play-in spot despite a major injury to Jimmy Butler.
A disappointing aspect of Steph Curry’s age, and perhaps the only evidence Curry has left that he truly is nearly 40, is the injury list. Steph only played 43 games during the 2025-26 season, missing 39 games due to a significant right knee injury, sidelining him for 27 consecutive games from late January to April.
Steve Kerr, the Warriors’ long-time coach and Steph Curry’s friend, capped his game time at around 29-32 minutes for the Play-In Tournament to prevent a potential re-injury. This not only forced Kerr to adjust his strategy, which eventually led to the Warriors being eliminated by the Phoenix Suns, despite beating the Clippers to advance to the finals.
This single loss has spiralled the front office, finally realising that the Steph Curry era in the Bay will not last forever, and they are now hit with 2 realities. Golden State is going for one last run, signing Kristaps Porzingis and resigning Draymond Green, but even this might not be enough.
Golden State is heavily intertwined in the race to sign LeBron James, Curry’s long-time rival and friend, for the last dance of the 2010s. This would make the Warriors the most viewed team of all time, but even this is not enough to beat the superteams in the West, such as the Spurs and Thunder.
The other factor you must take into account is the fact that the Warriors are also trying to build for the future, and unless you are the Thunder or Spurs, you can not build for the future and go for a championship at the same time. With an aging roster and a dwindling supply of draft capital, the Warriors might be in trouble for the next decade.