Would Steph Curry stay with a non-competitive Warriors team?

Apr 5, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) warms up before the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen Curry has long said he wants to remain with the Golden State Warriors for the rest of his career. However, it is fair to ask if that would remain the case even if the Warriors were not competitive.

In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Curry was asked how determined he was to see out his career with the Warriors. Spears noted that the likes of Dirk Nowitzki and Kobe Bryant finished their one-team careers on non-competitive rosters, and whether Curry would be content to do the same.

“It’s tough, right? I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life. At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible,” Curry said. “And you can still be a competitive, it doesn’t mean you guaranteed the championship. It doesn’t mean winning. Winning is always a priority, but obviously you’re realistic. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep reimagining what it looks like to evolve with what league is at right now, with where some of these talented teams are now.

“Let’s put it this way, it’s a longwinded way of saying that it if it is a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and it’s just because you want to stay there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality.”

Curry turned 36 in March, though his shooting remains as sharp as ever. What is changing, however, is the team around him. Klay Thompson departed for the Dallas Mavericks this offseason, leaving Curry and Draymond Green as the lone remaining pieces of the team’s championship core. Even with Thompson, the team narrowly made the play-in tournament and got no further than that.

The Warriors are very clearly trying to remain competitive as long as possible. Curry is under contract for two more seasons, and his deal is clearly tied to coach Steve Kerr’s. That means things could get interesting in 2026 depending on where the Warriors are as a franchise, but for now, the future Hall-of-Famer is happy with how things are going.