The Golden State Warriors will begin the regular season next week against the Los Angeles Lakers, and in doing so legendary point guard Stephen will join illustrious company entering his 17th years with the franchise.
There are only nine other players in NBA history who have spent 17 or more consecutive seasons with one team: Hakeem Olajuwon had 17 straight seasons with the Houston Rockets, Tony Parker had 17 with the San Antonio Spurs, Karl Malone had 18 with the Utah Jazz, Reggie Miller had 18 with the Indiana Pacers, John Stockton had 19 with the Utah Jazz, Tim Duncan had 19 with the Spurs, Udonis Haslem had 20 with the Miami Heat, Kobe Bryant had 20 with the Lakers, and Dirk Nowitzki had 21 with the Dallas Mavericks.
Steph Curry has joined pantheon of NBA greats by staying with one team
That is not a bad list to be part of at all. To have the sort of longevity required to last 17 seasons in the NBA alone is remarkable, but to stay for that long with one franchise is a truly special thing not just in basketball but in professional sports.
There are not many comparisons in other sports. In baseball Derek Jeter spent his entire career with the New York Yankees. Fellow Bay Area legend Buster Posey spent his entire career with the San Francisco Giants just as a couple of examples.
The point is, it is just exceedingly rare to see what Curry has done with one team in professional sports. He has become one of the greatest players in NBA history and has completely transformed the Warriors franchise by delivering four titles during his time with the team.
Not only that, but at the age of 37, he is still an elite player in the league. It is conceivable that he could sneak into the MVP conversation again this season. This is not a Haslem situation where he lasted on the team that long but was a bench player providing only veteran experience by the end.
It is hard to think of a scenario in which Curry plays for any other team. Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. certainly wants Curry to retire with the Warriors, and being under contract for the next two seasons provides the 2x MVP with a nice opportunity to call it quits if he wants to.
Curry talked recently about how he does not want to play for any other coach than Steve Kerr, so it would make a lot of sense for those two guys to retire and leave the stage at the same time. Even though Kerr is only under contract for this season, things seem to be trending that way as well.
Plus, in an era where players have bounced around much more often, and have called the shots more in terms of trades, Curry's consistency in remaining with Golden State all of these years is even more remarkable.
It is easy to take Curry's career for granted, but he probably only has a few years left which is why it is so important to recognize his unique greatness before he chooses to retire.