The unprecedented nature of how superstars are aging in the NBA is a double-edged sword. While the likes of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James thrive deep into their 30s and even 40s, what's known about the limitations of the human experience is being challenged on an annual basis.
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers are a cautionary tale in how building everything around an aging superstar can prevent the team from growing beyond its limitations.
Los Angeles has spent the past year-and-a-half preparing for a 2026 offseason in which it can begin to build around Luka Doncic. Its mid-season trade for Doncic in 2024-25 was a generational move, but it revealed how flawed the roster was—and not just because it was built to complement a different player.
In treating every season like it could be James' last, Los Angeles had abandoned the NBA Draft, handed out multiple max and near max-level salaries, and prioritized veterans over developable talent. The result was a lack of sustainable growth.
Unfortunately, the Warriors are in a similar position. Golden State has relied on low-cost veterans to round out an aging roster. It traded its first-round selections in 2024 and 2025 and took questionable paths to developing the talent it previously drafted, with an apparent prioritization of creating complementary pieces rather than players with a noticeable degree of autonomy.
If the Warriors hope to give Curry a shot at winning another championship, then they'll need to pivot before it's too late and build a team that doesn't necessarily rely on him to succeed.
Warriors must learn from Lakers to not treat every year like the last
Curry is still an otherworldly talent capable of putting together performances that defy what many thought to be a veteran's limitations. In 2025-26, he averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 4.4 three-point field goals made per game on .468/.393/.923 shooting.
For as impressive as those numbers may be, the harsh reality is that the 38-year-old missed 39 games—marking the second time in four seasons that he's missed at least 26.
Even if one were to put the injuries aside, asking a 38-year-old guard to expend the same amount of energy that he had to at 28 is simply unsustainable. 2025-26 was already the third consecutive season during which his minutes declined, yet the Warriors didn't necessarily position themselves to win the 17.1 minutes per game he was off the court for.
A dropoff is inevitable when a player as great as Curry comes off the court, but the Warriors' glaring lack of shot creators beyond he and Jimmy Butler was plain to see.
Warriors need to build as though there's a future beyond Stephen Curry
Considering Butler will turn 37 in September and is coming off of a torn ACL, that's made the Warriors' predicament even more precarious. Thankfully, there is a way out of their current situation—if they're willing to invest in more than just supplementary talent.
With the No. 11 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and whatever resources they can scrounge up in free agency and on the trade market, the Warriors must find on-ball talent and position them to excel.
Counterintuitive as it may seem, building a team that doesn't rely on Curry is the exact way the Warriors can help him win. They need players who can thrive outside of their complementary roles and thus enable a player who will turn 39 during the 2026-27 season to pick his spots.
The Lakers may be on the road to recovery, but the Warriors can't expect a once-in-a-generation trade like the polarizing Doncic deal to come their way. They must be proactive.
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