This NBA season has been defined by an interesting paradox for the Golden State Warriors: as their roster struggles and their championship window narrows, Stephen Curry is being asked to carry more weight than ever before. His status as one of the best players in NBA history is undisputed, yet as the league shifts toward youth, Curry is now 36 years old, and the clock is ticking on what remains of his career. But despite the pressure mounting around him, Curry is still fighting. In fact, he’s fighting harder than ever before.
Curry’s offense has always been a thing of beauty—an art form. His movement is constant and often dizzying to watch, especially when he’s being guarded by elite defenders. The task of slowing down Curry seems impossible for most, yet defenders like Jaden McDaniels of the Minnesota Timberwolves are doing their best to try. It’s becoming almost a battle of attrition, where defenders are forced to chase Curry everywhere on the floor, sometimes more than 40 feet from the basket, with no space between them and no opportunity to relax. In this scenario, Curry doesn’t just make basketball look effortless; he makes it look like a dance between predator and prey.
Jaden McDaniels isn’t the only one to take on Curry this season. He’s been shadowed by multiple defenders across the league, all of them intent on trying to stop him from putting up his trademark shots. In a game against Memphis, a young player named Jaylen Wells, almost a foot taller than Curry and significantly heavier, took it upon himself to shadow Curry from the moment the ball was tipped. Curry’s reaction to the challenge was telling. There was something in his face—perhaps the recognition of a new threat, something he hadn’t quite seen before.
Despite the size and youth advantages of defenders like McDaniels and Wells, Curry finds a way. His dribbling remains a masterclass in balance and dexterity. At times, it looks as if the basketball is an extension of his body, responding to his will and shifting in every direction as if it’s merely an afterthought. And then there’s his shot, the one that leaves defenders in disbelief. He might pump-fake to make a defender jump, or he might decide that’s not the best move, flicking the ball into the air as if he can read the defense’s mind. The precision of his shots—often made from deep, often when defenders are in his face—remains one of the most impressive feats in modern basketball. As Warriors guard Gary Payton II succinctly put it, “He doesn’t need much space. All he needs is a fingernail.”
However, for all of Curry’s individual brilliance, his situation with the Warriors is becoming more complex. The Warriors are no longer the dominant team they once were, and the absence of a second scorer like Klay Thompson or Kevin Durant is felt every night. Curry is carrying a team that is lacking the kind of all-around talent that would allow them to compete at the highest level. In years past, when Curry had help from elite scorers, he was able to operate more freely, knowing that he didn’t have to do it all. Now, it feels as if Curry’s success is entirely tied to whether or not he has a good game. If he does, the Warriors have a chance. If he doesn’t, they’re in trouble.
Curry’s ability to adapt to whatever defense is thrown his way is nothing short of remarkable, but even he can’t do it alone. The Warriors have become a team that lives and dies by Curry’s performance. When Curry is hot, the Warriors are a formidable team. But when Curry is cold or facing extraordinary defensive pressure, the team often falters. This season, there isn’t the same kind of second-tier scoring threat that existed during their championship runs, leaving Curry with the overwhelming task of being the sole focal point of the offense.
What’s even more concerning for the Warriors is that as Curry gets older, the physical toll of the constant defensive attention begins to add up. Curry has always been the player who gets hit the hardest, his quick movements and off-ball screens wearing down defenders and wearing him out in return. The grueling pressure of playing against an ever-increasing number of defenders determined to stop him takes its toll on his body. With each game, there’s the looming question: how many more seasons can Curry keep this up? How much longer can he continue to perform at such a high level with this much attention on him?
And yet, Curry continues to fight. He’s learned to find lightness in the midst of the pressure, laughing to himself when the second defender arrives at half-court, just in time to meet him as he crosses. The pressure doesn’t just come from defenders; it comes from the weight of the Warriors’ success. For the team to be competitive, Curry has to be more than just a scorer—he has to be everything. His leadership, his ability to make plays for his teammates, his scoring, and his intangible presence on the court have all become central to the team’s hopes.
It’s a strange paradox, then. The Warriors need Curry to carry them, but they also need to find a way to lighten the load. Curry is the engine that makes the Warriors go, but as the season progresses, it becomes clear that relying on him too heavily might be their downfall. The Warriors have shown flashes of brilliance, but without consistent second-tier scoring, they are heavily dependent on Curry to generate every ounce of offense.
For Curry, it’s not just about playing to win; it’s about playing for longevity. He wants to continue performing at the highest level for as long as he can. “I want to do this for as long as I can,” Curry says, recognizing that every game, every season, brings him closer to the end of his career. The question for the Warriors is whether they can find a way to maximize what’s left of Curry’s prime, or if his age and the ever-present pressure will finally catch up with him.
As the Warriors continue to struggle and Curry faces more intense defensive pressure than ever before, one thing is clear: every shot he makes is a testament to his greatness. But for the Warriors, the road ahead is uncertain. Will Curry’s brilliance be enough to carry them back to contention, or will the weight of being the lone star on a flawed team eventually prove too much? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: as long as Curry is on the floor, the game within the game will be one of the greatest spectacles in the NBA.
