Stephen Curry gave the Golden State Warriors a vote of confidence that they would do him right in the final years of a historic career by signing the richest one-year extension in the NBA.
Curry inked a $62.6 million extension tucked into his current deal that locks him up through the 2026-27 season. He’ll be 39 at the end of the contract.
Curry could have waited until after next season to sign a more lucrative two-year extension that will run until he’s 40 and put more pressure on the Warriors front office to surround him with more talent. But he wanted a drama-free season opposite of what transpired last year.
“I’ve always said I wanted to play for one team my whole career,” Curry told The Athletic. “So it’s good to get (the extension) question out of the way and give complete focus to basketball and the season.”
Curry thus became the first NBA player who will make at least $60 million in a season.
Vote of Confidence
But by locking up early, Curry also does not want to give the impression that he’s perfectly fine with what the Warriors just did in the offseason after Klay Thompson left for Dallas and missed out on star trade targets Paul George and Lauri Markkanen.
“It’s still about winning,” Curry told The Athletic, “and taking the steps necessary to give ourselves a chance. The standard hasn’t changed. The expectation hasn’t changed.”
According to The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson, Curry said “The decision to sign now was a vote of confidence and a seizing of the moment. A commitment that promises patience while increasing the pressure.”
The Warriors have replaced Thompson and Chris Paul, who signed with the San Antonio Spurs after getting waived, with three veterans.
They acquired Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield in the Thompson sign-and-trade deal that was expanded to six teams. They also signed De’Anthony Melton to a one-year deal using their $12.8 million full mid-level exception.
But those veteran additions did not catapult the Warriors back to title contention.
They remain far from the contenders, sitting at +4000, the seventh-best odds tied with three more teams, per betrivers.com, one of the top eight online casinos in the U.S.
Steph Curry and Draymond Green’s Swan Song?
Curry’s extension is in line with the final three years of Draymond Green‘s $100 million contract.
“It’s not different from my perspective,” Curry told The Athletic. “You have an appreciation for the position and the opportunity and the support from people who’ve been with you on the journey.”
After Thompson’s exit, Curry and Green are the only remaining players from the team’s first of four NBA titles over the last decade.
Green, however, also contributed heavily to the drama that torpedoed the Warriors last season. The mercurial power forward missed 21 games last season due to league suspension for a variety of on-court misconducts.
Thompson’s lack of extension which led to his departure in this offseason was the other major drama that derailed them.
Meanwhile, the coach of their four NBA titles, Steve Kerr, is under contract until the 2025-26 season, one year short of Curry and Green’s current deals.
Alder Almo is a basketball journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 15 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo
