Stephen Curry’s name is already etched in basketball history. The four-time NBA Champion has revolutionized the sport and has secured his place on the Mt. Rushmore of most influential athletes. While he remains at the top of his game, it’s the chase for more championships or individual records that’s keeping him motivated at age 37.
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Steph is ranked number seven on the recently updated KIA MVP Ladder. He is still playing at an elite level and is holding the fort down for the Warriors. However, how much longer can he continue to play the game? And what will push Steph into retirement?
During a recent appearance on Dubs Talk, Draymond Green was asked by Kerith Burke if winning the fifth ring would make Steph hang up his boots. Green said, “The problem [Steph] has, we win number 5 this year, he got a strong chance to get number six next year. And he’s not going to screw me out of six. So, he has no chance of retiring, because if we got a chance to win six, I’ll be at his house every day to make sure he ain’t retiring.”
It’s not the tiring process of preparing for a long season or playing back-to-back games that’ll draw Steph away. Green said that Steph can play at this level until he’s 40, believing he still has “too much left to give at this game to let go now… He could 1,000 percent play this game at the level he’s playing at for another three [years] until 40. I wholeheartedly believe that… I don’t see it [retirement] happening this year.”
But it’s the family and his love for his kids that’ll make the decision to stay in the league difficult. Green said, “It’s missing Riley’s volleyball game… Cannon does something for the first time, you miss that, or Ryan has a dance competition or Caius just walked for the first time… these are the type of things that you realize you start missing.”
Steph might’ve missed a lot of those moments with Riley, Ryan, and even Cannon, so the thought of repeating the same mistakes with his youngest might make him stop playing. The superstar has been vocal about his retirement and why he wants to leave the game on a high note.
Stephen Curry wants to leave the game before it’s too late
A scary subject for the fans of the superstar and Golden State, but Steph has started talking more about his retirement in recent years. The life of an athlete is difficult to navigate as the fear of not doing what they love often eclipses good judgment. But Steph is not going to have that issue. He’s clear about his wish to leave the game.
Ahead of the 2025 All-Star Games, he said, “I’ve seen different scenarios. Like everybody talks about Kobe [Bryant] and his last years. From my vantage point, I’m comparing it to guys that only played for one franchise. Dirk [Nowitzki], Tim [Duncan], Kobe, from our era. … You don’t want to be in a situation the Lakers were in those last three years [with Bryant].”
“I know he came off the Achilles injury, but it was, like, they were a lottery team, and it was more just how many points can Kobe score down the stretch of his career. I don’t want to be in that scenario.”
Steph is clear about only playing “meaningful games” in the last stretch of his career. He doesn’t want to be on the floor for the sake of it. When it’s his time, and he’ll know it better than anyone else, the 37-year-old will bid farewell to the game.
