Three Things to Expect from the Warriors 11-Time All-Star During the Upcoming Season
As the 2025-2026 season looms near, Stephen Curry has a chance to make history this season. At the highest peak of potential accolades, he’s looking to become just the 12th player to have won five rings in their career. Once the season tips off, Curry will also have officially become the 10th player to have played 17 seasons with a single team. As the epitome of longevity, Curry will look to continue to pad the records he already owns, such as most threes in NBA history with 4,058. Here are a few things we should expect from the four-time NBA champion, and how far he can take the Golden State Warriors this season.
Firstly, I don’t expect Curry to slow down in terms of his usage. He played 30 minutes in the Warriors’ loss to the Clippers in the last preseason game, showing that his body is as well-conditioned as ever. For coach Kerr to trust his superstar with that many minutes, in what some may consider a meaningless game outside of the regular season, speaks volumes by itself. I’d expect to see a slight uptick from his 32.2 minutes played last season to a number closer to 35. After all, the Warriors will need his offensive output to reliably lead them for yet another season.
Typically, when it comes to Curry, high volume usually yields high results. That’s why, for a third year in a row, I expect Curry to finish with 300+ threes in a season. The standard to which we hold the greatest shooter of all time sometimes exceeds comprehension. While it may not seem ridiculous for Curry to hit that benchmark, since he’s done it in back-to-back seasons, no other player has scored that many threes more than once in their career. The two-time MVP didn’t have great efficiency from beyond the arc last year by his standards, as he shot just under 40%. However, Curry has the keys to this offense, and can get hotter than a microwave, so I don’t anticipate him slowing down.
Lastly, I can imagine Curry’s assist numbers leading the team once again. His backcourt partner, Brandin Podziemski, is a player known more for his shot creation than his passing ability. Only Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler posted more than five assists per game last season, but with their offseason additions, both forwards should have a bigger scoring freedom. Green should also see more time away from the low post, where he has made a living from assists, since Al Horford will allow coach Kerr to play five-out more often. This leaves Curry as the lone constant facilitator, and since teams may look to blitz him on screens, he can trust this new-look Golden State team to put away those odd-man chances more so than last year.
