Golden State Warriors: Why Stephen Curry won’t age like other superstars
Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has been unique his whole career. As he becomes older, he may age better than most superstars.
The Golden State Warriors had a high squad turnover rate this offseason, retaining less than half of their roster that made the NBA finals last season. They need to look to their core players, like Stephen Curry, more than ever now to lead the team in the absence of key players they lost this summer.
Stephen Curry is now the oldest player on the Warriors since the departures of key veterans Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. The three oldest players on the team are now Curry (31), Draymond Green (29), and Klay Thompson (29).
These three are used to running the team on the floor and creating much of the offense. However, what’s different now is that they won’t have the wisdom of people like Iguodala and Livingston in the locker room.
These players were key off the court as their vast experience helped the team keep their feet on the ground. As well as that, they were also useful in close game situations when the Warriors needed to remain calm and execute on both ends of the floor.
They provided all that on top of what they actually brought to the team as basketball players in their own right.
1. How is Curry Different?
Curry is unlike any other point guard we’ve seen in NBA history, with his unique shooting ability combined with his tight handle and sky-high basketball IQ.
Curry’s game isn’t based on pure athleticism like Russell Westbrook.
He has one of the absolute worst contracts in the entire NBA right now. Westbrook’s only going to get worse with age as he will find it more and more difficult to get to the rim, which is the only thing he thrives at.
He will settle for more and more mid-range jumpers and three-point shots. As everyone knows, Westbrook has been terrible shooting the ball for the last few seasons. This is extremely worrying as it will be a skill he relies on much more as he reaches the twilight of his career.
Even a player as great as Chris Paul has not aged gracefully. His game is not based on pure athleticism but more his intelligence and ability to get to his midrange spots where he will make good decisions.
He has become slower and more unable to get to his spots in recent years. This is partly due to the system he was playing in at the Houston Rockets. The other reason why he is ineffective now is that he no longer has the burst of pace he needs to get to his spots.
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For Curry, this will be different.
Curry has shown no signs of worsening shooting, averaging 43.7% from three-point range last season. With shooting like that, defenders must stay tight to Curry and they almost have to overplay him in order to guard him correctly.
This allows him to go by his man with relative ease as the defender is so close to him, he needs only a step to get past.