Stephen Curry is joining a long list of current NBA icons that are extending their careers by adapting their styles of play and fitness regimens. We are seeing LeBron James defy the odds of aging by averaging 30 points in Year 19. Kevin Durant came back from a year off with an Achilles injury and played some of the best basketball of his career at age 35.
Curry just won an NBA Championship and his first Finals MVP at the age of 33, and he is looking like a favorite to continue playing in the Finals for the foreseeable future. His skill-set is aging gracefully as the electric shooter seems to become more valuable in the modern NBA with every passing season.
Kendrick Perkins has recognized that Curry’s style of play is good for longevity in the league and compared him to Tom Brady, saying Steph could play in his prime for the next decade.
"Steph Curry longevity-wise, he could actually be the Tom Brady of the NBA… He's a guy that beats you with craftiness, skillset, and most importantly his shooting!"
Kendrick Perkins believes Steph Curry can play another 8-10 years 🤯
(via @ESPNNBA)pic.twitter.com/DvLkfcLKBe
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 19, 2022
“In his prime, I would say another 8 to 10 years. When I look at Steph Curry, I think longevity-wise, he could be the next Tom Brady of the NBA. When you look at Steph Curry, he is not a guy who has to rely on athleticism. He doesn’t need to dunk the ball and he is not the guy that’ll beat you with speed. He will beat you with craftiness, his skillset, and most importantly, his shooting. His shooting is not going anywhere anytime soon. Shooting is a skill that is needed in the NBA. When I look at it, Steph Curry would play this style of play for 9 to 10 years. He could be 44 years of age playing this style of basketball.
Curry has had great health in his late NBA career outside a wrist fracture that sidelined him in the unfortunate 2019-20 season for the Warriors. Considering his injury woes at the start of his career, it is a testament to Curry’s strength and conditioning for being able to play this long at the apex of basketball.
Age hits everyone eventually, and it’ll hit Curry too. To say he will be in his prime at the age of 44 is incredulous, but there is a chance he continues playing in the NBA as a productive player till his late-30s and perhaps, into his 40s.
