Stephen Curry is heading into his 18th NBA season with no need to prove anything, but the reality around him has shifted fast. At 38, the Warriors star already owns four championships, two MVPs, two scoring titles and 12 All-Star nods, all with one franchise.
That kind of résumé puts him in rare company. It also makes the current version of Golden State look even more stark by comparison.
The bigger story now is what the Warriors are not: a team anyone is talking about as a real contender. That’s a tough turn for a group that, not long ago, sat at the center of the league and drew top free agents with ease. Curry knows the perception has changed, and he didn’t try to dress it up when he spoke with the media.
“All the conversations internally are addressing the fact that we didn’t hit our goal last year,” said Curry, via Dubs Talk. “I know availability was a big part of it, but that’s also a challenge for this team too, as well as getting young guys incorporated, allowing them to take the next step, and figuring out what this team needs to be successful.
So, you’re embracing all of it. It’s just funny, more entertaining of the external conversations and chatter about us because we want to be relevant, we want to be competitive, we all know that.
And when we’re not, it’s loud. So, embrace it.”
That’s the tone of the moment in Golden State: no denial, no spin, just a clear-eyed look at where things stand. The Warriors have been candid about their recent failures, and Curry is owning the challenge of trying to pull them back toward relevance. The decline has been real, and the simplest read is that this roster no longer has the kind of build that screams playoff success.
Still, Curry isn’t fading into the background. Last season, he averaged 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.4 blocks per game while shooting 46.8% from the field, proof that he can still perform at his usual level. If the Warriors are going to make noise, it starts with him carrying a heavy load again.
The problem is that the runway looks bumpy. Golden State missed out on the premium free agents it went after this summer, leaving the team to lean on a roster that is thin and aging.
Jimmy Butler remains sidelined, and Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with an injury that could affect his availability on opening night. That leaves Curry waiting for help that may not be there right away.
So for now, the Warriors are stuck in a different role than the one they used to own. In the Western Conference, they’ll have to live with being seen as underdogs. They may not match the Thunder, Spurs or Timberwolves in firepower, but they do have a star who has been here before and knows exactly what winning at the highest level looks like.
In Other News...
Warriors Just Kept Podziemski Without Closing Off A Bigger Move
Brandin Podziemski is staying in Golden State for the long haul after the Warriors signed the young guard to an extension that secures him through at least the 2030-31 season. It is the kind of move that fits the teams bigger picture, locking in a promising piece while signaling that the front office still sees him as part of what comes next.
The details matter here because the Warriors did more than simply reward Podziemski. The structure of the deal was built to preserve some financial room as they keep sorting through future roster plans, leaving the door open for bigger moves rather than shutting it. That balance, between keeping a homegrown guard and maintaining flexibility, may end up being the most important part of the story. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Simmons Gets An Early Shot To Haunt The Warriors
Ben Simmons is lined up to make his Sacramento Kings debut against the Warriors, a tidy little preseason wrinkle for a team that had at least some offseason interest in him. Simmons had been held out of the Kings' first two preseason games, so his first chance to get on the floor in a Sacramento uniform is arriving against a familiar opponent that spent part of the summer weighing whether he fit into its plans.
For Golden State, the matchup adds another layer to a game already being watched closely because Simmons has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2024-25 season. There is intrigue both in how the Kings plan to use him positionally and in how the Warriors will look back on their decision to pass, especially with a player of Simmons' profile now returning to action in a uniform that is not theirs. [Read more 🡒]
Stephen Curry Just Put Pressure On The Warriors Front Office
Stephen Currys latest extension keeps him tied to Golden State, but it also sharpened the focus on what has changed around him. Since the Warriors 2022 championship run, the roster has seen only limited reshaping, and the club heads toward the 2026-27 season with modest outside expectations, shaped as much by health concerns as by the lack of major additions. The clock is already ticking toward an Oct. 21 opener on the road against the Lakers, a setting that tends to expose where a team really stands.
Currys comments about the state of the roster landed with extra weight because he is no longer speaking like a star simply enjoying the ride. By signing on again, he effectively doubled down on Golden States direction, but his remarks also underscored the pressure on the front office to keep pace with the realities of an aging core and a thin margin for error. However the season starts, the Warriors are carrying more than familiar championship expectations now, and Curry made sure that point is hard to miss. [Read more 🡒]