Stephen Curry Says He Doesn’t Want To End His Career Like Kobe Bryant With The Lakers

It may be hard to believe, but Stephen Curry is nearing the end of his career. When talking about his future retirement plans with the San Francisco Standard, Curry noted that he still wanted to be competitive in his final season in the league. He referenced Kobe Bryant's final years with the Lakers and how the team weren't competitive, and it was the novelty of seeing Bryant's scoring outbursts that made the period memorable.

“Competitive. I’ve seen different scenarios. Like everybody talks about Kobe [Bryant] and his last years. From my vantage point, I’m comparing it to guys that only played for one franchise. Dirk [Nowitzki], Tim [Duncan], Kobe, from our era…"

"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.“My whole thing is, you have to be realistic. There’s probably not a move or a scenario where you’re gonna walk into a season or a playoff series as the perennial favorite."

"There’s just a lot of talent around the league. But to be competitive, where you have a chance — that’s what we want to see. I’m sure that’s what our fans want to see. Playing meaningful games, no matter how it ends. I think that’s what we deserve, and I hope that is the reality I get to live in this last part of my career.”

Kobe's final years in the NBA were marred with injuries, and when he was healthy, the Lakers just didn't have a good enough roster around him to make any serious noise in the playoffs. They used his final years to help mentor the next generation of stars like D'Angelo Russell, Nick Young, and Julius Randle, who were on the team with him.

Stephen Curry On Retirement And Hall Of Fame

In the same interview, Stephen Curry also discussed his plans to stay with the Golden State Warriors for the remainder of his career and how his Hall of Fame speech when he eventually retires will be one of the longest in basketball history. He added that he does think about his limited time in the NBA, even if he does not expect that to end anytime soon.

“That’s the gas in the tank of why personally I want to only play for only one franchise and have made that a goal. And why all my actions are kind of pointed toward that... From my vantage point, I might have the longest Hall of Fame speech ever, because there are so many people that you realize are impactful in this situation to have success for this long.”

“You think about that more and more. 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. Because 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.”

Stephen Curry is currently in his 16th season in the NBA and turns 37 years old in less than a month from now. He may be getting older, but he has shown no signs of slowing down. This season, Curry is averaging 23.4 points, 6.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field, 39.0% from beyond the arc, and 92.4% from the free-throw line.

This season, Curry earned his 11th All-Star nomination and is set to start in the 2025 All-Star game. On Saturday night, seeing him play alongside LeBron James and Kevin Durant, two other stalwarts of the game, will undoubtedly be a sight to behold.