Stephen Curry does not want a farewell tour through other franchises. The 38-year-old Golden State Warriors guard, now entering his 18th season in the Bay Area, told SiriusXM NBA Radio in an interview published on Friday that staying put is the entire point of what comes next.

“That is why I’m playing. It’s why, especially to do it in the same place that I’ve been doing it for the last 17 years. I feel like that’s the ultimate challenge, and I’m embracing that challenge.”

The reference is to Brady’s two decades in New England and Jeter’s full career with the New York Yankees, careers that stretched deep into their late thirties and were defined by one jersey.

Getting there means staying healthy, something Curry could not do last season. He went down in a second-round playoff defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and never fully got back.

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“Yeah, it’s been frustrating for a lot of reasons, knowing we had a really good run until I went down in a second-round appearance against Minnesota, and then trying to double back through 82 games and knowing we had the pieces to hopefully pick up where we left off.”

“And then I missed almost half the season, Jimmy gets hurt, Moses gets hurt, and you know you need health and availability in this league to do anything.”

Butler and Moody also went down

Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody both lost significant time around Curry’s absence, and the Warriors never recovered their rhythm.

Head coach Steve Kerr, who signed a new two-year deal to return, has told reporters the staff is overhauling the approach heading into 2026-27.

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“We’re reimagining the way we practice, the way we’re teaching, what we’re teaching,” Kerr said earlier this month.

Curry describes the process in less tidy terms.

“And so it’s been an emotional roller coaster, for sure, just trying to figure out how to maintain the identity of what we do.”

A $116m extension signed in September

On September 25, Curry agreed to a two-year, $116 million extension that kicks in for the 2027-28 season, with a player option in year two. He took a reported $20 million below the maximum to give the front office room to build around him.

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“We couldn’t be more excited about reaching an agreement with Stephen and extending his historic career with the Warriors,” general manager Mike Dunleavy said in the team’s announcement.

Curry’s own tone was more measured about where he is in his career.

“Oh, I’m close to it. Look, Father Time is undefeated. We know that.”

Asked by SiriusXM whether one more title push was realistic, he kept the answer conditional.

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“Of course I want to win, and you’re hoping that you can be in the mix…if we have one more run at it, that would be ideal.”

Golden State tips off the new season on Wednesday, October 21 at Crypto.com Arena against the Los Angeles Lakers, at 7pm local time, before the home opener against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chase Center two nights later.

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