It’s Monday and the globally thunderous bravos of the previous two days are now a lingering buzz of euphoria. Stephen Curry’s daring rescue in Paris has been ceaselessly relived, its glory certain to resonate for as long as there is life on earth.
On a team of certified stars and superstars, the shortest among them, Curry, stood tallest when the threat was most imminent. He showed the basketball world – did you see the reverential reactions from dozens of NBA players? – that he still can lift a talented group out of danger and into jubilation.
When Steph is on a team, it has an excellent chance to do marvelous things when the challenge looms largest.
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The Warriors, of course, already knew that, experiencing this in the 2022 playoffs. They were in danger of going down 3-1 in the ’22 NBA Finals when Curry carried them to a victory, in Boston, that hijacked all optimism from the Celtics and their fans.
Team France and its fans got the same treatment on Saturday. Curry’s feats in Team USA’s gold-medal win spared Americans a generous slice of humility. It also sent an ancillary message to the Warriors:
Please, let this not be the last time I have a chance to take my team to the top.
For even now, at age 36, Curry deserves to have his magnificence exploited to the fullest. After missing the playoffs for the first time with Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and Curry all healthy, the Warriors went into this offseason vowing to chase that goal. Steph’s “prime” window eventually will close, but in 2024 it’s still very open.
Golden State Warriors
One day after Golden State’s season ended in April with a lopsided Play-in game loss to the Kings in Sacramento, general manager Mike Dunleavy said he was disappointed that Curry, as well as Green and Thompson, would not be on the postseason stage.
“That's what everybody wants to see, not only here in the Bay Area, but frankly, around the world,” Dunleavy said. “To see those guys compete at the highest level.”
Moreover, Dunleavy conceded that he and the rest of the front office needed to better support the franchise player.
“A lot fell on Steph's shoulders,” Dunleavy said. “He would probably tell you that. And you could notice it in the wear it took on him, really with some of his decision-making at times too. And it's just a lot for him to burden. We've got to find a way to help him out on that.
“I think we've got some talent on the roster that can do that, and maybe we’ve got to just be a little bit better about bringing that out. Maybe there's some improvements from externally, but I think we have some ways internally to do that.”
Almost four months later, Thompson is a Dallas Maverick. The external improvements are in the form of incoming veterans Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton. Internally, there is a belief that Trayce Jackson-Davis, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski will be not just a year older but also a year better.
What did not happen was the high-impact trade that would have vaulted the Warriors from a playoff-caliber team to one built for a deep playoff run. That was lost with the inability to secure Paul George or Lauri Markkanen, the All-Stars at the top of Golden State’s shopping list.
Either of those two would have, on paper, given Curry an additional thoroughbred with a track record of high production. Surely no guarantees, but either George or Markkanen would have been the second name on the scouting report of every opponent.
Who, exactly, is Golden State’s No. 2? Andrew Wiggins has been reliably inconsistent over the past two seasons. Hield’s offensive metrics tell us he’s a solid replacement for Klay’s production, but he’s never been an All-Star and would have to play at that level. Kuminga showed appreciable improvement last season but remains more future potential than proven star.
After Curry poured in 30 points to pull Team USA from the edge of the cliff against Serbia in the semifinal round of the Olympics, he re-established his No. 1 status on a team that had, among others, Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Indeed, Curry’s "nuit-nuit" 3-pointer inside the final minute against France came over two defenders – with both KD and LeBron wide open.
Should Golden State enter next season with its current roster, the hope is that someone seizes the No. 2 role. Having a bona fide No. 2 is, in today’s NBA, more advantageous than having several No. 3s.
What the Warriors cannot do, for the sake of all that is fair, of their fans and of Curry – and what he has meant for the franchise and the region – is allow his remaining seasons to be spent trying to avoid the fate of last season.
It would be a crime if Steph spends another April fighting to reach the play-in tournament. If his Olympic heroics are his farewell to the biggest stage he’ll ever again reach.