At 32-years-old, one has to think Steph Curry’s inevitable decline is around the corner. After 11 years in the NBA, 5 Finals appearances, and 3 NBA Championships, Curry has racked up a ton of mileage on his body, and it may only be for a few more seasons that he’ll be able to play at an MVP level.
But, according to Curry’s long-time trainer (Brandon Payne), the opposite might actually be true. Even now, the 2x MVP is continuing to work on his game — which is apparently improving at a pace that will have him dominating the game for a very long time.
“He’s continuing to get better, and he’s going to continue to get better for a while,” Payne told Scott Osler of the San Francisco Chronicle. “That (progress) isn’t slowing down any time soon. Stephen is, at 32 and 33, where a lot of guys are at age 27, 28. He’s still getting bigger, he’s still getting stronger, he’s still getting faster, so his improvement’s going to continue.
A lot of guys, they just get to that peak physical level a little bit earlier, then they kind of top out. Stephen hasn’t topped out yet.”
If this is true, and not some attempt to build up the hype-train, this could be huge for both the NBA and the Warriors.
For the league, having Curry for 5 or more years at this level means hanging onto one of their most popular players and one of the sport’s biggest draws.
For the Warriors, it means staying competitive and within striking distance of the title. So long as they have Curry, they have the justification to continue to build for the present. The draw of having Steph should be enough to make some good acquisitions.
Regardless, the other teams should consider this a warning. If Steph gets better over these next few years, we could see Golden State re-claim their place atop the NBA’s hierarchy.
