Steph Curry: Navigating the NBA’s Unyielding Defense and the Warriors’ Quest for Glory
Jan 7, 2025, 07:35 AM ET
There’s something electrifying happening on the basketball court, and it’s all centered around the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry. Picture this: Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels is practically wearing the same jersey as Curry, guarding him so closely that the other players might as well be on another planet. This intense one-on-one battle is a spectacle in itself, with McDaniels’ sole focus being Curry, ignoring the ball unless it’s in Curry’s hands.
Meanwhile, Curry is doing what he does best. He’s maneuvering through the court like a surfer battling waves, trying to break free. He uses his left arm to swim past McDaniels and runs into a screen set by Draymond Green. Suddenly, Curry finds a moment of freedom, a brief respite on the hardwood. He receives a pass and, with a flick of his wrist, sends the ball toward the basket from 28 feet out. It’s not just a shot; it’s a masterpiece, the ball nestling into the net as if it were meant to be there.
This season, every Curry basket feels like a triumph over the odds. He’s always been the focal point, but now, on a Warriors team grappling with its own imperfections, Curry’s role is more crucial than ever. The team is in a paradoxical situation: they want to rely on him less, yet they need him more than ever.
“I want to do this for as long as I can,” Curry admits. “But the clock’s ticking. We all know that.”
Defenders like McDaniels, Dillon Brooks in Houston, and Memphis’ Jaylen Wells are relentless in their pursuit of Curry. Wells, in particular, caught Curry’s attention by crouching next to him before a game, following him around like a shadow. Curry, now 36 and in his 16th season, faces a new generation of defenders, each one taller, heavier, and younger, all trying to make a name for themselves by stopping him.
Despite the constant pressure, Curry embraces the challenge. “It’s fatiguing, but I love it,” he says. “It’s the game within the game, and you have to find some lightheartedness in it to deal with the pressure.” He often finds himself laughing at the absurdity of the situation, wondering if this is really happening again.
His movement on the court is relentless, and defenders track his every move, knowing that losing sight of him for even a second could lead to humiliation. Curry’s ability to change direction without warning, his quick dribbling, and his deceptive pump-fakes make him a nightmare to guard. Warriors guard Gary Payton II sums it up: “He doesn’t need much space. All he needs is a fingernail.”
The Warriors’ season revolves around maximizing what Curry has left. However, the team lacks another scorer to draw attention away from him. There’s no Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, or even the Jordan Poole of the 2022 championship run. Curry is, in many ways, a solo act. If he doesn’t perform, the team struggles.
During a practice day at Chase Center, Curry sits in a folding chair, reflecting on his career. He’s just finished a rigorous body-work session he calls “the full car wash,” a necessary routine to keep his body in peak condition. “At this point, you need one of these days every once in a while,” he says.
After the 2016 Finals, where he felt physically overmatched, Curry dedicated himself to the weight room, transforming his physique. Now, he looks for opportunities to rest and recover, planning his schedule to ensure he’s fresh for the playoffs.
When asked if the season is 82 one-act plays or one long novel, Curry responds, “Oh, man — I love that. I feel like now it’s 82 one-act plays where it used to be the other. You have to give so much attention to preparing yourself for every individual game.”
The Warriors have had a rocky stretch, losing 14 of 20 games, which has dampened the optimism from their 12-3 start. Curry is acutely aware of the challenges, admitting, “It’s tough at times. It’s scary at times. I know there are a lot less days ahead than there were before.”
All those long postseason runs, the four NBA titles, and the constant battles with younger defenders have taken a toll. “The scales have tipped, for sure,” Curry says. “It’s more of a measured approach now. I feel like I can still get to the same peaks, but is that an every-single-night-type thing? Maybe not, but it’s picking and choosing your spots and trying to manage an 82-game schedule and hopefully get to a playoff series where you’re fresh.”
The Warriors are playing a delicate game, balancing Curry’s minutes to preserve him for the playoffs. Coach Steve Kerr is adamant about not overextending Curry, even if it means losing nonvital games. “We’re saving Steph. We’re preserving him for his career,” Kerr says.
But what if there’s not enough Curry to go around? The Western Conference is tightly packed, and a bad week could mean missing the playoffs. The acquisition of Dennis Schroder hasn’t changed the dynamic, and the team still lacks a consistent second scorer.
When the Warriors are firing on all cylinders, with Curry orchestrating the team like a maestro, there’s nothing more beautiful in sports. But when they’re off, it’s a cacophony of mistakes and missed opportunities.
At the start of their losing streak, the Warriors fell to a depleted Brooklyn Nets team at home. It was a game they should have won, but a disastrous stretch in the third and fourth quarters cost them. Curry sat on the bench, watching helplessly as the game slipped away.
“I’m not going to do it,” Kerr says. “For me, it’s more like this: We want to put ourselves in position to give him a chance in the playoffs. We did that when we won the title in ’22; we caught lightning in a bottle and the matchups worked our way and Steph does what Steph does. We want to give him that chance again. We want that at-bat.”
Kerr’s approach is not about punishing Curry or being selfish. It’s about preserving him for the long haul. “Every day,” Kerr says. “We discuss it every day.” And Curry acknowledges, “That’s his job. He saves me from myself a lot.”
The Warriors have been a force in the NBA for nearly all of Curry’s 16 seasons. But now, every game feels like a referendum on the future. A world with Curry is full of possibilities, but what happens when he’s no longer there?
Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy, Jr. understands the urgency. “Our philosophy comes from understanding we have a generational player who is still at or near the peak of his powers. And given his time horizon, it’s different than if he was 25. If he was 25, there would always be a next year, but now you have to approach it like there may not be a next year.”
The Warriors’ strategy is sound, but have they done enough to support Curry in what could be the final stage of his career? “This team has the potential to be a championship team, but we’re not there yet,” Kerr says. “We’re competitive every night, and we feel confident in our ability to be competitive every night. Now, whether we can do that for four rounds in the playoffs remains to be seen.”
The team is trying to balance youth and experience, hoping to transition smoothly from the Curry era to whatever comes next. The “two timelines” concept, which faltered with the selection of James Wiseman, has made the team hesitant to trade young talent for established stars.
“I think the postmortem on some of the two-timeline stuff is not great,” Curry says. “We picked Wiseman, who’s had a rough go. It’s not his fault, but we had an opportunity when we were at the bottom of the standings and had the No. 2 pick, and picked Wise. We thought there was going to be a way to bridge that gap, and it didn’t work out that way.”
Despite the challenges, Curry remains focused on winning. “Until it’s all said and done, we want to have at least one more [title] to speak for. And that’s it. That’s what’s left for me. That’s all of it. I still love to hoop, but I love to win even more.”
The Warriors are trying to maximize Curry’s potential, but they need more support. The clock is ticking, and the team must decide if they need to make a move to bring in another scorer to complement Curry.
Curry’s impact extends beyond the court. He’s a global icon, with his own shoe brand and a bourbon line. Yet, he remains grounded, aware of his place in the world. “It’s a very weird thing,” he says. “I go to my kids’ schools, and my wife [Ayesha] and I are the youngest in the parent group. And then you come here and you got young dudes calling you ‘Yes, sir’ now. It’s very strange.”
Imagine being the best in the world at something, like Curry is with shooting. He’s the best shooter in the world, by every available statistical measurement. He’s made the most 3-pointers, led the league in 3s a record eight times, and has the highest free throw percentage in NBA history.
Warriors forward Trayce Jackson-Davis marvels at Curry’s skills. “The things he does on the court are ridiculous,” he says. “Stuff nobody ever thought of before. It’s his gravity, man. It’s insane.”
Curry’s excellence is a result of years of hard work, but he sometimes wonders why more people can’t do what he does. “There are times,” he admits. “There are times you see people with unorthodox form or guys who haven’t gotten better at shooting the ball year after year.”
Despite his success, Curry remains humble. “The level of adulation is very uncomfortable, honestly, and surreal at the same time,” he says. “I was never the dude who was, ‘I want to be the best player.’ Not that I didn’t want that, but to think you could be the best player in the world or have a skill set that is recognized as the best in the world, it never felt real.”
He plays with freedom and joy, but he also experiences performance anxiety. “Oh, for sure I have anxiety,” he says. “A lot of it is baked into the expectations I’ve set and the level I want to play at.”
As the Warriors continue their season, the burden of maximizing Curry’s potential weighs heavily on the team. They know that every game is an opportunity to make the most of what Curry has left.
“I count it as a blessing,” Curry says. “I’ve been playing for 16 years, and to have an expectation that your best self can be championship-worthy? I believe it. I appreciate it.”
The Warriors are determined to give Curry the chance to add another title to his legacy. But the question remains: will there be enough of him left when they get there?
Originally Written by: ESPN.com
