{"id":102543,"date":"2024-10-23T10:22:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T14:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=102543"},"modified":"2024-10-23T10:22:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T14:22:22","slug":"warriors-stephen-curry-only-has-1-goal-in-mind-before-retiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/23\/warriors-stephen-curry-only-has-1-goal-in-mind-before-retiring\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors\u2019 Stephen Curry Only Has 1 Goal In Mind Before Retiring"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Golden State Warriors have won four championships during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/c\/curryst01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stephen Curry<\/a> saga.<\/p>\n<p>Structuring their offense around Curry\u2019s unparalleled combination of range, precision, and endurance, they\u2019ve become perhaps the most unlikely dynasty in NBA history. Nobody expected the Davidson product to play so well coming out of college. It\u2019s not like they thought he was chopped liver; he was the seventh overall pick for a reason. It\u2019s just that Curry entered the NBA at a time when the most important players were usually wings.<\/p>\n<p>Now, the NBA is referred to as a guard\u2019s league.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for the Warriors, that may not be completely correct though. The last six MVPs have been split between Milwaukee Bucks forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/a\/antetgi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> (2), Denver Nuggets center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a> (3), and Philadelphia 76ers center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/e\/embiijo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joel Embiid<\/a> (1). In that time, the Warriors (1), Bucks (1), Nuggets (1), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kawhi Leonard<\/a>-led Toronto Raptors (1), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LeBron James<\/a>-led Los Angeles Lakers (1), and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/tatumja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jayson Tatum<\/a>-led Boston Celtics (1) have all won a title.<\/p>\n<h2>Warriors\u2019 Stephen Curry Only Has One Goal In Mind Before Retirement<\/h2>\n<p>As Curry enters his 16th season, championships are \u201cliterally the only thing\u201d that he\u2019s \u201cplaying for,\u201d he tells SiriusXM NBA Radio.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\u201c[A championship] is literally the only thing I\u2019m playing for at this point\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steph Curry tells <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WorldWideWob?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@WorldWideWob<\/a> &amp; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sarahkustok?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SarahKustok<\/a> what still drives him in year 16<\/p>\n<p>Hear the Warriors Season Preview special on the SiriusXM App: <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4dHfwOTVg4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/4dHfwOTVg4<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/x2StX5hNka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/x2StX5hNka<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SiriusXMNBA\/status\/1848785932662804812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>If that\u2019s the case, he may have to continue to buck the trend. Or, maybe just maybe, the Warriors need to surf the wave. Rather than relying on Curry to go supernova, Golden State should invest into their frontcourt.<\/p>\n<p>Curry\u2019s longtime sidekick, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompkl01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Klay Thompson<\/a>, is gone. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/greendr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Draymond Green<\/a>, though a two-way playmaker, doesn\u2019t present nearly enough challenges for a defense. Perhaps that\u2019s why Golden State <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/22\/golden-state-warriors-planned-on-2-blockbuster-trades-paul-george-lauri-markkanen\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">made (unsuccessful) moves<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/markkla01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lauri Markkanen<\/a> in the offseason.<\/p>\n<p>However, neither the Los Angeles Clippers nor Utah Jazz were too interested in helping the Warriors get back on their feet. So, Golden State must now turn to 2014 No. 1 pick <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/wiggian01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Wiggins<\/a> and 2021 No. 7 pick <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuminjo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Kuminga<\/a>. Unless they have another trade lined up, that is, which doesn\u2019t seem to be the case.<\/p>\n<h3>Maximizing Offensive Potential<\/h3>\n<p>Wiggins hasn\u2019t consistently been asked to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/09\/27\/warriors-andrew-wiggins-verge-career-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">be more than the third option<\/a> since they traded for him. Kuminga doesn\u2019t even know whether he\u2019ll start or come off the bench. To that point, the Congolese baller\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/08\/warriors-jonathan-kuminga-wants-first-time-all-star-in-2024-25\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">potential has been stifled<\/a> by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. Yet, both players are either in or approaching the prime of their career.<\/p>\n<p>With that being said, Golden State\u2019s offense caters to Curry\u2019s three-point prowess, but they need to diversify their attack. That doesn\u2019t mean that they have to change their overall philosophy. Nonetheless, in an ever-changing league, they have to adapt.<\/p>\n<p>Kerr has struggled to do that thus far, but it\u2019s time.<\/p>\n<p>With two athletic forwards who can score from three levels but are at their best when pressuring the rim in the open court or halfcourt, he should be using their interior gravity as much as Curry\u2019s outside gravity. How he does it so far as the Xs and Os is up to him. However, there should be no debate about whether he should play Curry, Wiggins, and Kuminga off of each other to maximize their offensive potential.<\/p>\n<p>All that matters to Curry at this point is winning a title, not being the team\u2019s highest scorer. If Kerr is unwilling to adjust his strategy, the Warriors need to consider hiring a coaching consultant who does.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Golden State Warriors have won four championships during the Stephen Curry saga. Structuring their offense around Curry\u2019s unparalleled combination of range, precision, and endurance, they\u2019ve become perhaps the most unlikely dynasty in NBA history. Nobody expected the Davidson product to play so well coming out of college. It\u2019s not like they thought he was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":102674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25,1608,62,3],"tags":[212,4297,48,528],"class_list":["post-102543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-warriors","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-andrew-wiggins","tag-jonathan-kuminga","tag-stephen-curry","tag-steve-kerr"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}