Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors kept evolving

August 01, 2024

The end doesn’t have to be a sad goodbye, forcing you to divert your eyes from the unpleasantness of it all. Instead, it can look like the aging yet youthful Golden State Warriors.

The way they’re transitioning from one era without staying stubbornly locked to their past makes it seem as if we’re experiencing a second act rather than the reboot that nobody asked for. Though the Warriors are hanging on to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference — they were four games clear of the Utah Jazz entering Thursday night — their chase feels fresh and inviting. Not too many 10th seeds can still make you imagine a path to the conference finals. Yet these old men in gold and blue can — well, these old men and their understudies.

The final scene of Golden State’s dynasty will play out in the most enjoyable way, with relevance and resurgence. And also a refusal. While others can see the end is coming, the Warriors, the NBA’s maestros of joy, are still evolving.

Their core remains, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. However, 21-year-old rookie Brandin Podziemski, the Splash Stepbrother, has replaced Thompson in the starting unit. Thompson might still be considered one of the greatest shooters the game has ever produced, but he’s 34 and adjusting to being a mortal after a string of significant injuries disrupted his prime. Along with Podziemski, the Warriors’ next era is emerging, with more 21-year-olds in Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody as well as springy rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis. With Curry, Thompson and Green, the Warriors are still the Warriors. But the Warriors would be a fading relic without the injection of this new core.

“It almost feels like you’re still in school, development-wise. It’s like you’re in Golden State University,” Moody said, explaining what it’s like to be a young player surrounded by Hall of Famers. “That’s a crazy thing to say: being inserted into a dynasty. They got big goals, and I do, too. Just figuring out how I can help them. They’re older, and there’s stuff they don’t want to do or whatever. I’m ready to do whatever. I bring something to the table, too. Skill-wise, knocking down shots. Just being able to get in there and help everybody accomplish the ultimate goal.”

While Golden State is shepherding in the new and keeping lofty goals, it might make an awkward fit for a veteran such as Thompson. But rather than grumbling his way off the bench, Thompson shows grace and maturity as well as his humanity. There is some measure of angst here because Thompson is a competitor and champion — “multiple times,” he will remind you. But by accepting his new role, Thompson keeps peace in the locker room. The only disruption on a recent night happens when Thompson gets asked in a postgame media scrum about coming off the bench, and teammate Gary Payton II pipes in, affecting a faux accent while trying to be funny: “Tell her it don’t matter, Klay!”

Thompson, keeping it professional, talks through the noise and explains … that it truly doesn’t matter to him.

“When you’re playing 25 to 30 minutes a night, it doesn’t make that big of a difference,” Thompson said. He then addressed possible quagmires when certain players close the game while others sit: “There’s going to be emotions throughout the season. It’s just leaving it on the floor when it’s all over. You don’t want to carry it into your personal life. You can be frustrated, you can be upset because you’re a competitor. As long as you leave everything on the court, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day.”

If this is indeed the end, then let’s savor moments when Curry can still enchant a crowd and when a pair of future Hall of Famers, Thompson and Chris Paul, come off the bench and turn back the clock.

One of the best things about Curry is that he gets it. He understands the responsibility in being the road show. So although he arrived in D.C. for a Tuesday night matchup against one of the worst teams in the NBA, he didn’t take the night off, even when it would have made sense. Curry, 35, was fresh from his all-star duties, and it’s hard to call that a “break” for the superstars who spend the weekend promoting their brands and the league, while also headlining events as Curry did in the shootout vs. Sabrina Ionescu — the only salvageable part of the Feb. 16-18 weekend.

Though Golden State Coach Steve Kerr had suggested that Curry might be “tired” and thought a rest day could help, Curry played on in Washington. A scoreless first half that included three air balls suggested maybe Kerr was right. By the fourth quarter, however, when Golden State pulled away, Curry nailed one of his vintage pull-up threes, to the appreciation of the Capital One Arena crowd. When Curry comes to town, you would swear D.C. was an enclave in Northern California, soaking in a night when Thompson led the team in scoring and Paul returned after missing 21 games because of surgery on his left hand.

“It’s a great balance, but it’s also a good blend of guys. Unbelievable talent, guys with strong personalities but everybody with the same common goal, especially the vets,” Paul said about the mix between the older core and the younger players. “So I think we do a good job of trying to teach the young guys and making sure they understand how much we need them. It’s a perfect balance.”

And a perfect passage from one era to the next. This doesn’t have to be an agonizing goodbye for the Golden State Warriors. But rather a to-be-continued.

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