I know that Steph Curry isn’t going to retire if he wins the NBA Finals.
The first reason is that he is still playing at a high level at the age of 34. The second reason, and maybe the most important one, is he is still owed $167 million on his contract.
When Steph is 37, he will be making $60 million. No one is walking away from that.
Lastly, this isn’t even the best Warriors team they could field in the future. James Wiseman was out the entire season. Klay Thompson is probably only at 80% and will be better next season. Andre Iguodala, who is always helpful, especially in the postseason, has been sidelined.
The potential to make another run at multiple titles is there, but if Curry wins this title, he has nothing else to prove in the game of basketball and could walk off into the sunset with his legacy secured.
The only missing thing is that signature Finals moment and that Finals MVP. He should have gotten the MVP in 2015 when he averaged 26, 5, and 6. In any other year, that gets you the MVP, but for whatever reason, the voters gave it to Iguodala for slowing down LeBron somewhat.
In 2016 a hobbled Curry had a terrible finals, and we all know what happened when the Warriors got up 3-1.
In 2017 once again, Curry was outstanding, averaging 26, 8, and 9, but Kevin Durant was insane.
In 2018 Curry averaged 27, 6, and 7, but KD once again trumped those numbers,
In 2019, without KD and Klay for long parts of the series, Curry still managed to drag the series to six games by averaging 30, 5, and 6.
Curry, in his career, has been excellent in playoffs, often with the entire teams’ defense set up to stop him. KD’s game was so smooth and effortless with the Warriors because he had the space to work, thanks to Curry and Klay. It made them almost unbeatable.
In 2022 there is no KD, Game 6 Klay is always lurking, but the consistency isn’t quite there yet, coming off two devastating injuries; Draymond is great but not a scorer, and Jordan Poole is amazing but young.
Steph can’t just have a good series if the Warriors are to beat the Celtics. He needs to have a great series against a very good defensive team that will be looking to stop him any way they can.
If Steph can step up to that challenge, the Finals MVP he has long been seeking will be in his hands, and his legacy at 34 will be secured for life. He will continue playing, but he wouldn’t have to.
- 4-time NBA Champion
- 2-time NBA MVP
- Finals MVP
- All-time 3 point leader
- 8-time All-Star
- All-Star Game MVP
- 8-Time All-NBA (4-Time First Team)
- 2- Time Scoring Champ
- 2-Time All-Star 3 Point Shooting Champ
- 50-40-30 club
There is nothing left to achieve. If anything, Steph might be a little underrated in the grand scheme of things, and this isn’t even touching on how every teammate has stated he is one of the best teammates and leaders they have ever encountered and one of the best people off the court.
Steph, if you are reading this, and I know you are, if you take home that Finals Trophy. Feel free to hang them up and rest because you have secured your spot as one of the best that ever did it and changed the game of basketball forever.
