As the Golden State Warriors enter the 2025-26 season, all fans know that this could be one of their last opportunities to see franchise legend Stephen Curry lead the team on what is hopefully a deep playoff run.
Yet, despite the fact that Curry is still largely at the height of his offensive powers, fans must begin to accept the truth that the team can no longer fairly expect the superstar guard to drag them to wins in the regular season. They must provide him with additional scoring help in the backcourt.
While numerous names have been floated this offseason as potential targets for the Warriors, they have yet to sign anyone as a result of the lingering Jonathan Kuminga situation, and, the longer this draws on, the more and more trouble Curry is in.
Curry is still a star, but he needs help
Curry, last season, still performed to the superstar standard he has held himself to for the entirety of his career. Through 70 games, he averaged 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and six assists, shooting 39.7% from 3-point range and earning Second Team All-NBA honors.
Yet, when it was just him leading the offense, Golden State was largely mediocre. Prior to Jimmy Butler joining them, the team was 25-27 and on the fringe of the play-in, almost wholly relying on the miraculous shot-making of Curry to keep them in games.
However, the fact of the matter is that, as Curry gets older, there are games where either his performance will take a dip or he will be unavailable entirely due to injury.
This was seen most clearly in the second round of last year's playoffs, as the Warriors were trounced in five games by the Minnesota Timberwolves following Curry's hamstring strain.
Therefore, the team must look toward their other guards, including Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski and whoever they are able to sign this offseason, to become more aggressive and reliable scorers in order to take some of the burden off of Curry even when he is in the game.
Veteran guards such as Malcolm Brogdon, De'Anthony Melton and Seth Curry should be able to do this in their own unique ways, and, as the offseason wears on, it becomes more and more imperative that Golden State is able to bring at least one of them onto the roster.
While Curry is still one of the most magnificent perimeter shooters in NBA history, and can almost always be counted upon to make the clutch shots when it matters, it is unfair of the Warriors to hinge the success of their entire season upon Curry's shoulders. In short, it is even possible they may need to go out and grab another star through a regular season trade.