Stephen Curry is elite at 37 years old, but veteran sports analyst Bill Simmons wonders how he can keep it up with the nightly burden he is carrying. For Simmons, Curry's heavy responsibility and usage for the current Golden State Warriors squad could take a toll, even on a player known for his conditioning.
"It's interesting to see how many years he can be this good," Simmons told Zach Lowe on "The Bill Simmons Podcast." "There are moments during these games where he just looks exhausted. Those two games, the recent two where he was exploding, they'll cut to him in the fourth quarter and he's just like, he's almost exasperated how hard his job is."
"He knows he's great at it. I just don't know how sustainable that is," added The Ringer founder.
As Simmons hinted, Chef Curry's usage rate is sky high at 33.1 percent, just behind Luka Doncic , Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jaylen Brown among players who appeared in at least 17 games this season.
It isn't supposed to be this way, especially since the Golden State has Jimmy Butler on the team.
At 13 wins and 14 losses, the Warriors have a laundry list of issues this season. Draymond Green believes it's the team's collective bad habits that are showing up at crucial stretches in games, including a penchant for turnovers and poor defense.
The Athletic's Nick Friedell thought this year's version of the Dub Nation lacked the continuity needed to be successful. He pointed out that the Warriors had used nine different starting lineups over the past nine games, a statistic that surprised even Curry.
If anything, the lack of consistency in that regard explains the "bad habits" Green mentioned.
Whatever the case, the Warriors needed teams to worry about somebody other than Steph. Over the last three games, Butler took only 10.3 shots per game. That's in line with his season average of 11.4 and not far from his Miami usage, which peaked at 14.5, but it still is not enough for what this roster needs.
Sure, getting your teammates involved is a great idea, but a near-20-PPG scorer over his career should not let guys like Quinten Post and Pat Spencer chuck more attempts than he does. So far, Jimmy Buckets is anything but. As Simmons reiterated, letting Curry do all the heavy lifting is a recipe for disaster, even for someone as good as the two-time MVP is.
Simmons' concern is not about whether Curry can rise to the moment. It's about how he's being asked to recreate one in every game they play this season because the help is nonexistent.
Bill pointed to Game 4 of the 2022 NBA finals, the one he dubbed the "most important game" of Steph's career. He dropped 43 against Simmons' hometown team, the Boston Celtics , and finished the series in six games.
The Baby-Faced Assassin averaged 31.2 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals en route to winning his first-ever finals MVP, the hardware that erased all doubts about his legacy.
"It's crazy how much he needed it as the years passed now where if that doesn't happen, there's a lot of, 'Yeah, but' with his career and that just took away the 'Yeah, but,'" Simmons opined.
Fast forward three years and Curry is just as good as he was when he destroyed the Celtics in the finals. He is still dropping 40-plus points casually and is averaging 29.6 per game over the season, his highest since the 2020-21 season.
The difference now is the frequency. Back in 2022, Curry had guys who were more than happy to fire away to keep the pressure off his shoulders. Now, he often had to take matters into his own hands, and that's where it becomes a cause for concern. It's a formula that asks too much too often, even for an all-timer like Curry.
Related: Stephen Curry calls out the Warriors' biggest problem this season
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
