Stephen Curry turns 38 today, and while typically at an age when most guards are relegated to the bench or spot-up roles, the Golden State Warriors point guard is averaging 27.2 points and 4.8 assists per game on 46.8% shooting from the field and 39.1% from deep. Injuries have slowed his game time this season, but he is still consistent, as he has been over the last 17 seasons in the Bay Area. 

He has won four titles in that span and, in any era, that would feel like a full stop to a successful career. However, in this era, which has no team that has dominated beyond a couple of seasons since the Warriors themselves, it is criminal that the greatest shooter in the history of the sport hasn’t sniffed a fifth title.

Not for the want of trying, the Warriors are 32-34 and ninth in the Western Conference, have lost six of their last seven and are scraping for a play-in spot while dealing with a parade of injuries. 

Jimmy Butler is sidelined for the entire season, and Curry is nursing knee concerns that have already cost him games and counting.

It is not looking good by every metric this season, and the next as well is looking bleak. For a guy who changed the NBA and made everyone adjust to the space and pace era, the Warriors owe him a realistic shot at another ring. 

A fifth championship with the Warriors is possible — but only if the front office stops treating the next 18 months like a soft landing and starts focusing on the “win-now” window it claims to be preaching. 

What the Golden State can do to give Curry another chance at a title 

This season has already exposed some of the cracks in the Warriors organization. 

Butler’s injury was an unfortunate circumstance, which is starting to come full circle from a year ago when Golden State traded for him to provide Curry with a superstar partner with playoff pedigree. 

They pulled some weight, battling through the play-in and shocking the West’s No. 2, Houston Rockets in the first round. 

Less than one year from that, it is looking like the same play-in scenario, only this time without Butler and a helping core. 

They doubled down at the 2026 deadline by sending Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis while flipping Trayce Jackson-Davis for a second-rounder. Porzingis is another player walking on the thin line of staying healthy and missing significant time out, having played only four games for Golden State since his trade.

But all hope is not lost for a ring for Curry and the Dubs. The first step is the most realistic one, which is to have Curry remain. 

The one-year $62.6 million extension he signed in the summer of 2024 locks him in through next season, and he’s already hinted he wants to “outplay” that deal. Meaning he will still most likely remain with the Warriors and play into his 40s.

Another piece on the board they have to keep in play is head coach Steve Kerr. 

He is in the last year of his contract and, despite facing huge criticisms for how he handles young developing players, he is Golden State’s best bet to engineer another title run. He knows what it takes to win as a player and coach, and with this franchise as well. 

With the Warriors’ two main franchise cornerstones in the books, the organisation cannot proceed thinking that injury magically disappears, especially when it is filling the roster with veterans. 

Golden State must manage the time of its key stars to be fresh for the postseason. That means it has to trade for younger players who can step up and play when the veterans are unavailable. The Warriors have lacked that this season, and if not for a decent start, they may be well out of the play-in spot at this stage.

Their trading pattern should shift from a developmental gamble. 

Porzingis helps with spacing and size, but he has a documented injury record. Golden State still owns its 2026-28 first-round draft selection, and the front office, led by Mike Dunleavy, must swing this offseason aggressively. Rumors suggest that they may consider swinging all that first-round leverage to land Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

There are no indications that the Milwaukee Bucks are open to such; however, they are on the verge of missing out on the postseason this year. 

Antetokounmpo has always maintained that he wants to win championships and compete, and the Bucks are not giving him that at the moment. 

If the Warriors pitch their offer for a title with Curry, Antetokounmpo may decide to move to the Bay Area. 

The entire organization must stop hedging and restart the win-now clock by trading whatever remaining assets are necessary if a difference-maker becomes available.