Steph Curry was named Wednesday to the All-NBA third team, the 10th time in his career his name appeared on a prestigious end-of-season list.
Curry averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game while leading the NBA in total 3-pointers made (357).
The now-positionless All-NBA teams are as follows:
First team: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum
Second team: Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, Kawhi Leonard
Third team: Devin Booker, Tyrese Haliburton, Domantas Sabonis, LeBron James, Curry
The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia All-NBA Team: pic.twitter.com/KrG4Fjc9pW
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 22, 2024
Curry, 36, received zero first-team votes, 13 second-team votes and 78 third-team votes. He has made 10 All-NBA appearances in 15 seasons. He’s one of 28 players to be named to 10 All-league teams, and that list is a snapshot of the most important figures in basketball history.
The list encapsulates the combination of greatness with longevity. It includes James — who became the first player ever with 20 selections — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Julius Erving, Dirk Nowitzki, Jerry West, Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
And now Curry.
“Just to be around those names: Kobe, MJ, Tim Duncan — Hall of Famers — it doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of their team, you respect and appreciate what they’ve done for this game,” said Zaza Pachulia, Curry’s former teammate who never tires of talking about No. 30.
Pachulia played 16 NBA seasons, and Curry is entering his 16th. The two-time league MVP and four-time champion remains one of the NBA’s best players.
He has done so by adding muscle to absorb more contact at the rim and compete more defensively. By using his creativity and 3-point stroke to bend the geometry of basketball to once imaginable places. By not getting complacent despite his accomplishments.
“It shows the personality, shows the character,” Pachulia said. “Shows the intelligence of the person, to first of all identify where you need to get better, and then obviously to put enough time and effort in the gym to make sure you get better.”
Pachulia thinks Curry can play five more seasons to reach 20 years. With modern medicine and training methods, more players are extending their careers. Seven of the 10 players who have played 20 NBA seasons entered the league in 1995 or after.
How many more All-NBA seasons Curry has is the question. To pry open the Warriors’ championship window, he’ll have to maintain his elite level, but the team will also need to prop him up with more shot-creators and playmakers around him.
They can’t ask Curry to carry the organization on his back late in his second NBA decade, because even if longevity is at an all-time high, no one’s an all-world player forever.