Image Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

“Don’t want to be in situation the Lakers were with Kobe”- Stephen Curry reflects upon his future retirement plans

Curry is averaging at 23.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game across 46 fixtures he has played for the Warriors in the 2024-25 season.

Image Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry will turn 37 next month, and while there are no signs of him slowing down, it has already hit Curry that he is nearing the end of a glorious career.

Curry, still in his excellent form, is averaging at 23.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game across 46 fixtures he has played for the Warriors in the 2024-25 season. Having been associated with the Warriors right from the beginning of his career in 2009, Curry has realized that while it is not close, his retirement is inevitable and the day is going to come someday.

In fact, Warriors veteran Draymond Green also revealed his emotional conversation with Curry post Jimmy Butler trade and revealed that it has dawned up on him that the end is near.

Playing his 16th season, Curry shed a light on his future retirement plans and said that he wants to be competitive in the final years of his career, unlike the Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

The 11-time NBA All-Star referenced Bryant’s final years and said he doesn’t want to be in the situation that the Lakers were, not competitive.

Curry spoke to the San Francisco Standard and said, “Competitive. I’ve seen different scenarios. Like everybody talks about Kobe [Bryant] and his last years.”

“You don’t want to be in a situation the Lakers were in those last three years [with Bryant]. I know he came off the Achilles injury, but it was, like, they were a lottery team, and it was more just ‘How many points can Kobe score down the stretch of his career? I don’t want to be in that scenario,” he added.

Notably, Bryant, who pulled down curtains on his two-decade long career at the end of the 2015-16 season, struggled with several injuries in the final leg. Bryant suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the second half of the 2012-13 season, which was beginning of the end his career.

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While he made his return in 2013, Kobe suffered a lateral tibial plateau fracture in his left knee, which forced him to miss a few weeks of action including the All-Star Game, and eventually was ruled out of the season. Bryant made his return in the 2014-15 season, only to undergo a season-ending surgery.

He was expected to be out for nine months, and as he returned in what was set to be his final season, the 18-time NBA All-Star announced his retirement and called it quits at the end of the 2015-16 season. When Kobe was healthy, the Lakers didn’t have a good roster around him to make an impact.

“You need a little bit of fear of what’s coming”- Stephen Curry on end of his career

In the same interview, Curry reflected upon the possible end of his career, and talked about how he looks at things. He also said that a little bit of fear is necessary as it helps with the current decisions that we might make now as well as in appreciating things happening.

“I’m not at the farewell yet. That’s just part of time. If you’re fighting human nature or fighting the inevitable in that, then … I don’t think you’re handling it right,” said the four-time NBA Champion.

“You need a little bit of fear of what’s coming, what an end might look like, to inform decisions that you’re making now and appreciate what’s going on right now,” Curry added.

Notably, the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medallist is set to join forces with stars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant for the Shaq’s OGs at the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.

Golden State Warriors

Kobe Bryant

Stephen Curry

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.