Very few players in their late 30s still make the game look this effortless, and Stephen Curry is one of the rare ones. Over the last three seasons, he’s averaged 29.4, 26.4, and 24.4 points, proving his touch hasn’t faded one bit. Add to that his 74 and 70 appearances in the past two years, and it’s clear his fitness is aging better than ever. His legs still move like clockwork, his shot remains poetry in motion, and now Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy has given fans reason to exhale.

So when Golden State Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. was asked about the inevitable day Stephen Curry hangs it up, he didn’t pay heed. Joining 95.7 The Game, Dunleavy brushed off any talk of decline, saying, “What’s to say he’s going to slow down? People have been predicting a fall-off for the last three or four seasons—and he hasn’t done that.” His words echo the sentiment around the Bay: as long as Curry’s on the floor, time seems to move a little slower.

Dunleavy Jr. went on to add that the organization wouldn’t count on saying goodbye anytime soon: “We’re expecting more of the same. We don’t take it for granted, but the way this guy takes care of himself… We think he’s got at least another year, two, three, whatever it may be, in him. Certainly this year, though.” Dunleavy’s observation isn’t just optimism.

Few athletes usually maintain a peak this high through the second half of their careers, but Curry‘s commitment to maintaining his body and conditioning has bordered on obsessive. All of it has resulted in a star who can still explode off the dribble. outrun defenders 10 years younger, and the headline of the most well-run systems in the league. Yet, the Warriors know this won’t last forever. Even with whispers of decline circling him, the numbers tell a different story.

Sure, Curry’s shooting percentages in the past two seasons: 45.0% from the field and 40.8% from the three-point line in 2023–24, followed by 44.8% and 39.7% this year, sit just below his career marks of 47.1% and 42.3%. But let’s be honest: those are still elite by any standard. In a league where most players would kill for those splits, Curry’s “dip” only reinforces how impossibly high he’s set the bar.

Also, Dunleavy made it clear that he doesn’t expect more than a handful of years from Curry. Even his own prediction of “two, three” years would put Curry at the ripe old age of 40 at the end of the 2028-29 season, which means that the dynasty is on its last legs right now. Each coming game must be viewed as a last hurrah, because the Warriors’ future depends on a player who, despite his performance, might not have much longer left in him.

However, the league might’ve given Curry a quiet assist, one that might extend the Warriors’ window.

‘High Five Defense’ Rule Could Quietly Extend Stephen Curry’s Prime

This offseason, the NBA formally introduced a new kind of shooting foul: the “high-five” rule. The point of focus is a move that allowed defenders to get away with slapping or swiping at a shooter’s hand or wrist during a follow-through without penalty, and something that contributed to the Warriors’ postseason troubles last year.

The change was brought to prominence last year, when, in the Rockets-Warriors series, forward Dillon Brooks repeatedly used the tactic to target Curry’s thumb, which was injured at the time of the contests. Warriors announcers called out the behavior, and after Game 5, head coach Steve Kerr called out the league for allowing it to happen, calling it “the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

For a player who led the league in free-throw percentage, Curry ranked just 49th for fouls drawn per game at 3.5, behind non-superstars like the Jazz‘s Colin Sexton and the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III. Kerr told reporters that, “It’s a good change for him… Everybody’s been hammering him on the arm for years. It’s just a foul that got away from everybody.”

The proof came quickly when the first basket during a preseason game against the Blazers was an and-one three from Curry on a “high-five” foul. The NBA’s new ruling on contact might give him one more edge, and sometimes, the smallest rule shift can stretch greatness just a little longer.