Stephen Curry is one of the few players left in the league who have only played for one team throughout their career. But that loyalty seemingly came at a price. He endured the highs and lows of playing for the Warriors, but now, if he wants to maintain the integrity of his legacy, he will have to retire as a Warriors player. At least that is what the former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas believes.
On the most recent episode of his podcast, Arenas was discussing ESPN’s most recent poll that crowned Curry as the best American player in the league at the moment. Subsequently, Arenas spoke about how Stephen Curry is “forced” to stay with the Warriors to maintain his NBA legacy. He believes that if Curry leaves the Warriors now, it would tarnish the past 16 years of his NBA career.
“He’s like a tiger in the zoo. The zoo looks open, but there are boundaries, right?” said Arenas on his show.
“We got to, you know what I mean, with his legacy. His legacy, for it to compete with the Kobes, Michael Jordan’s, right? Because they don’t count the Wizards, they don’t count the Wizard years because that was a business move, right?” Arenas further added in a subtle dig at Michael Jordan and his fans.
“So Jordan, Magic, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, he has to stay there. And he knows from what the media has done, if he puts on another jersey, it’s going to wash away his legacy and loyalty away, and he understands that,” concluded Arenas.
Drafted by the Warriors in 2009, Curry has spent all 16 years of his NBA career in Golden State. The 11-time All-Star averaged 24.7 points, 6.4 assists, and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 42.3% from beyond the arc for his entire career. When he became the face of the franchise four or five years into his career, one would never imagine he would play for them his whole career, even a decade later from then.
It is very hard to find loyal players like Curry in the modern generation. He is in rare company alongside American players like Draymond Green, Devin Booker, and international players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, who have only played for one team in their entire NBA careers.
Curry has previously admitted that it is his goal to retire with the Warriors and eventually follow Michael Jordan’s footsteps to become an NBA team owner someday when he retires. But for now, the 37-year-old is planning his career two years at a time. Do you think that if Curry ever decides to leave the Warriors for another team, he will tarnish his legacy? Let us know your opinions in the comments section.
