Davidson Professional Athletes

The Clutch King Has a New Title to Go With It

Davidson's lone NBA alumni may be 38 years old and heading into his 18th season, but Stephen Curry is still the player every GM in the league wants with the ball in his hands when everything is on the line.

Curry was voted No. 1 in the annual NBA GM clutch-time poll — a distinction he has captured multiple times throughout his career with the Golden State Warriors. That kind of peer respect doesn't come with a shelf life, apparently. It comes with a Davidson degree and a wrist flick that no one in the world has been able to replicate.

Preseason Production, With an Asterisk

On the court, Curry looked every bit the part. He paced the Warriors with 20 points, four rebounds, and five assists in a 128-118 preseason win over the Portland Trail Blazers, with Brandin Podziemski and Yaxel Lendeborg each adding 17 off a supporting cast desperate to show it can carry some weight. Golden State also beat the Los Angeles Lakers 101-89 in a Las Vegas preseason tilt — and yes, Podziemski went viral in that one for mimicking Curry's signature shimmy. Imitation, they say, is the sincerest form of flattery.

But there's a harder truth baked into all the highlight-reel optimism: Curry is not going to play 82 games. Head coach Steve Kerr made that explicitly clear this preseason, issuing a direct warning to fans before they spend money on tickets. Golden State is managing Curry's workload carefully after recent knee issues, restructuring how they build him up across the schedule. Kerr's message was candid — check the game listing before you buy.

Embracing the Challenge

What makes Curry's situation compelling isn't just the workload math. It's the context surrounding it. Jimmy Butler is still recovering from a torn ACL, Kristaps Porzingis is out indefinitely, and Draymond Green arrived at training camp out of shape. The Warriors are a flawed roster leaning on an aging superstar — and Curry, by all accounts, knows it and isn't flinching.

Curry has publicly stated he's embracing the challenge of trying to win with Golden State's current group. He also addressed the offseason noise around LeBron James, noting he's "happy" for his friend after the King chose the Philadelphia 76ers over Golden State — a chase the Warriors ultimately couldn't close despite conversations between Curry, Green, and James.

Kerr, meanwhile, has made another internal adjustment: holding veterans — Curry included — more accountable for turnovers in a way he hasn't in past seasons. Curry's response? He's bought in.

The Big Picture

For Davidson fans, the story entering 2026-27 is familiar and still thrilling: their most famous alumnus remains the gravitational center of one of the NBA's marquee franchises, respected universally, driven internally, and playing with something to prove. The window may be narrowing. The standards have not moved an inch.

The Deal That Defines a Legacy

Stephen Curry isn't going anywhere. The Davidson alum agreed to a two-year, $116 million extension with the Golden State Warriors before training camp opened — a deal that, by most accounts, left $20 million on the table. Warriors owner Joe Lacob was candid about it: the organization would have paid every dollar of the full market value had Curry demanded it. He didn't. For a franchise that has ridden Curry's coattails to four championships and a $14.5 billion valuation — the highest in the NBA for the sixth straight year — the gesture was something between loyalty and a parting gift.

Curry's response to the noise around the discount was characteristically direct. When asked about his awareness of the Warriors' roster limitations and front office decisions, he pushed back on the notion that he's been kept in the dark. "I'm not an idiot," Curry said, acknowledging the team's missed opportunities while signaling he remains clear-eyed about where Golden State stands heading into 2026-27.

The Roster Around Him

Where it stands is complicated. Jimmy Butler is recovering from a torn ACL, with head coach Steve Kerr floating February as a possible return window — a timeline that would wipe out roughly half the regular season. Draymond Green arrived at training camp overweight. Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with a lingering illness. The Warriors finished 10th in the West last season and enter this year without serious playoff expectations.

Lacob has defended the quiet offseason, framing roster continuity as a deliberate strategy rather than inaction. Trade speculation has swirled regardless — one widely discussed pitch would send Porzingis, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, and a 2028 first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for a $44 million All-Star upgrade — but nothing has materialized.

Curry on the Court, and in the Locker Room

On the preseason floor, Curry has looked sharp. In Golden State's 124-98 blowout of the Lakers, he posted 16 points — including two four-point plays — two rebounds, and five assists in just 14 minutes. The performance was a reminder that, at 18 years into his career, he remains the engine.

Off the court, he's already shaping the next wave. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, the Warriors' 11th overall pick, has leaned on Curry throughout camp — though Lendeborg admitted he's still "scared" to approach veterans like Curry and Green unprompted. Curry has been proactive anyway, pushing Lendeborg to play more aggressively after the rookie's preseason debut, a 104-101 loss to the Clippers in which Lendeborg posted four points and nine rebounds.

The bigger picture for Davidson fans is this: Curry, now in what could be the final two seasons of his career, is choosing to see it through in Golden State rather than chase a final payday elsewhere. Whether the Warriors can build a competitive roster around him in that window remains the open question — but his commitment to the only franchise he's ever known is no longer in doubt.

The Contract That Rewrote the Record Books

Stephen Curry isn't just staying in Golden State — he's doing it on his own terms, and those terms happen to be historically unprecedented.

The Davidson product signed a two-year, $116 million extension with the Warriors last week, a deal that includes a player option for the 2028-29 season and, per ESPN's Shams Charania, makes NBA history. The remarkable wrinkle: Curry left an estimated $20 million on the table voluntarily, choosing to give the franchise cap flexibility rather than command his full market value.

Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy was effusive in response, and head coach Steve Kerr called the paycut "rare" — an understatement bordering on understatement. Kerr, speaking with ESPN's Anthony Slater from the team's training camp in Oahu, Hawaii, was direct about what Curry's sacrifice unlocks: meaningful room to pursue additional talent around their franchise cornerstone.

Ayesha Curry, for her part, was reportedly not thrilled about the $20 million concession — a reaction her husband disclosed publicly with characteristic candor. The couple's exchange quickly became one of the more human footnotes to an otherwise seismic business story.

Some observers have pushed back on the narrative of pure altruism. Analysis from Heavy Sports flagged that the "give back" may be less dramatic than headlines suggest when factoring in luxury tax implications and roster construction realities. FanSided took a harder line, arguing that locking in an extension now actually limits the Warriors' long-term flexibility rather than expanding it. The debate over whether Curry helped or handcuffed Golden State will likely persist into the season.

Year 18, Knee and All

The contract news arrived alongside an injury update that Warriors fans had been waiting months to hear.

Curry missed roughly half of the 2025-26 season with a knee injury. Entering training camp in Hawaii, he left little room for concern. "Knee's feeling great. Ready to go. No issues," Curry told reporters, per ESPN's Anthony Slater. Bleacher Report confirmed he appeared optimistic following Golden State's first training camp practice, and The Sporting News reported that Curry and the coaching staff have developed a new load-management philosophy designed to sustain him through his 18th NBA season at age 38 heading into 39.

Part of that recovery regimen, per ClutchPoints, involved Curry leaning heavily into aquatic therapy to manage the wear on his knees — earning him the unofficial training camp nickname of "Aquaman" from the coverage cycle. The image of a four-time champion doing pool work to stay on the floor for one more run is equal parts pragmatic and quietly remarkable.

Camp Clarity

Kerr confirmed Curry and Draymond Green as the only two locked-in starters heading into preseason, with three roster spots remaining open competition. Curry is also slated to start Golden State's first preseason game against the LA Clippers on October 4, alongside Brandin Podziemski, Green, rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, and Al Horford.

Curry himself offered an early endorsement of Lendeborg at media day, citing the rookie's basketball IQ as the standout quality so far — a co-sign that carries considerable weight in a locker room that has always taken its cultural cues from No. 30.

For Davidson alumni watching from afar, the week offered a familiar sight: their most famous export, still rewriting history, still on his own terms.

Stephen Curry just did something no NBA player has ever done — and the Davidson alum did it on his own terms.

The Golden State Warriors and Curry agreed Friday to a two-year, $116 million contract extension that will keep the 12-time All-Star in San Francisco through the 2028-29 season, with a player option on that final year. The deal pushes Curry's career on-court earnings past $652 million, making him the first player in NBA history to surpass the $600 million threshold, according to ESPN front-office insider Bobby Marks cited by ClutchPoints.

The extension doesn't just rewrite the record books — it closes the book on any speculation about Curry ever wearing another jersey. At 20 seasons with one franchise, he will have spent his entire professional career with the team that drafted him out of Davidson in 2009. No detours. No drama. Just Curry and Golden State, from start to finish.

Leaving Money on the Table — Intentionally

The headline number is massive, but the more telling detail is what Curry didn't take. According to multiple reports, the extension comes in roughly $20 million below the maximum he was eligible to receive. That discount isn't charity — it's strategy. Per ClutchPoints, the below-max structure gives the Warriors valuable financial flexibility heading into the more restrictive environment of the NBA's new Collective Bargaining Agreement, particularly as the 2027 offseason approaches.

The Warriors reportedly made a thorough formal presentation to convince Curry to sign, per Bleacher Report — a remarkable gesture given that this is a player who has spent nearly two decades transforming the franchise. That he ultimately accepted less than max value speaks to both his buy-in on Golden State's championship ambitions and his understanding of what the team needs to build around him in what figures to be the final chapter of his career.

What Comes Next for the Warriors

Curry's extension immediately reshapes the Warriors' offseason calculus. With their cornerstone locked in, attention turns to Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler, both of whose contract situations remain unresolved. Reports from Heavy Sports suggest Curry's deal makes a Draymond Green move more likely, while there is also positive noise emerging around Butler's situation.

Golden State has faced criticism for not being aggressive enough in roster construction around an aging Curry. The Warriors, however, appear to believe their current core — when healthy — is capable of replicating their 2022 title run. Former NBA head coach PJ Carlesimo has publicly pushed back on the closing-window narrative, per Heavy Sports, arguing Golden State still has the pieces to contend.

Whether that optimism proves justified will play out over the next two seasons. But for Davidson fans, the contract story is complete in the most satisfying way possible: the kid from a small liberal arts school in North Carolina became the greatest shooter in NBA history, rewrote the league's earnings record, and never once left the city that embraced him first.