When Stephen Curry is on the court, he remains one of the most dangerous players in the NBA. What the Golden State Warriors have failed to do for Curry, however, is permit him to pace himself through games in a way that aligns with the inevitable limitations of a player at war with Father Time.
Much as Kevin Durant and LeBron James have sustained their greatness but battled injuries, Curry has done the same—and the Warriors won't contend again until they lessen the wear and tear.
Curry, who will turn 38 on Mar. 14, is in his 17th season with the Warriors. He played 74 games in 2023-24 and 70 in 2024-25, thus proving that he's still capable of grinding out an 82-game campaign with an impressive level of availability.
Unfortunately, Curry has already missed 23 games in 2025-26—thus marking the fifth time in seven seasons that he's missed at least 18 games.
Even if that weren't true, however, the Warriors need to be realistic about what the human body can endure as it ages. Curry is still more than capable of dominating games and willing Golden State to wins, but asking him to do so on a regular basis is tantamount to closing the door on his title dreams.
Rather than asking Curry to be the same player he was at 28 and build a rotation around him, the Warriors must build a rotation within which he can excel.
Warriors must take pressure off of Stephen Curry to win again
Golden State did well to acquire Jimmy Butler and create a three-headed monster with Curry and Draymond Green that has an abundance of postseason experience. What it failed to do before and after the trade, however, was create a roster that could both support the 35-and-over stars and generally stand on its own two feet.
By comparison, contending teams such as the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder have players who are willing and able to create offense and defend at a high level.
Denver plays through Nikola Jokic, but it also has players who can generate consistent offense in the likes of Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cameron Johnson, Jamal Murray, and Peyton Watson. Minnesota works through Edwards, but it also trusts the likes of Donte DiVincenzo, Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden McDaniels, Julius Randle, and Naz Reid.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, supports Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a deep enough cast of scorers and shooters that it'd take this entire article to list them all.
Golden State has talent, but it continues to restrict who's utilized to how they directly complement Curry. Rather than restricting the internal development of players who could operate outside of the confines of the system and thus simplify the game for the soon-to-be 38-year-old legend, however, the Warriors must give younger players a chance to evolve into self-sufficient offensive talent.
Curry can still be the focal point, but the Warriors must evolve with the times and surround their near-40 superstar with talent that can grow beyond him and thus win games both with and for him.