Dub Hub, Daily Warriors Links for 3/14/23: Steph Curry reflects on his career as he celebrates 35th birthday

Good Morning Dub Nation,

The Golden State Warriors ended their brief two-game homestand with a resounding 123-112 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. Unlike many Warriors games as of late, the team got off to a fast start, outscoring the Suns 43-21 in the first quarter. Although the Suns slowly crawled back to start the second half, Golden State was able to put the game away thanks to the help of 61 combined points from the Splash Brothers.

Klay Thompson was Golden State’s leading scorer with 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the field. Thompson also scorched the Suns from deep, converting eight of his 14 three-point attempts during his 34 minutes on the court. After the game, Thompson discussed if previous down games against Phoenix were responsible for his big scoring output on Monday night.

Of course, the star of today is none other than Stephen Curry, who celebrates his 35^th birthday on Tuesday. In an article by Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, Curry reflects on his career while discussing how much longer he see himself playing at an elite level.

Via Andscape:

“My real but fake goal was reaching my dad, who played 16 years in the league,” Curry told Andscape following the Warriors’ overtime win over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 11. “But now, you get to this point where you realize that at 16 years, he was 37. I remember the last three years of his career he had a back spasm problem in Milwaukee. I just remember all the work he had to do to play those last three years. Times have changed in terms of what your prime is.

“How I feel right now is not how I thought I’d feel at 35. That number sounds crazy, but in my head, I feel like I got a lot left. The work I put into this I still enjoy. Who knows how [the future] looks? I talked to Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and other guys who have been on the other side of the halfway point. I know quarterbacking is different, but you can check yourself [mentally] into not fast-forwarding too far. They really did a good job of disciplining themselves for what is happening in real time. They’re 40 feeling like they can still play. I’m trying to stay in that mode. Thirty-five is a big milestone, but the next one is 40. The way I feel right now, who knows?”

As for Monday’s game itself, Curry graded out nicely as he efficiently and unselfishly ran the offense to allow Thompson and Jordan Poole to shine. After he was done reminding Suns guard Chris Paul what year it was, Curry took to the podium with his fellow Splash Brother who shared a wholesome moment with the birthday boy in a way only Klay would ever be able to do.

Here are the rest of today’s stories:

In case you missed it from Golden State of Mind:

• Excellence of Execution: How well-executed set plays ignited the Klay Thompson explosion against the Suns
• Player grades: Warriors vs. Suns
• Klay Thompson’s electric first quarter leads Warriors to 123-112 win over Suns
• Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks’ fresh beef, explained
• Donte DiVincenzo thrives in Warriors’ closing lineup

Other Warriors News:

• Stephen Curry at 35: ‘I feel like I got a lot left’ (Andscape)
• Warriors’ season-best start keys win vs. Suns before five-game road trip (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Klay Thompson finally reminds Suns what he and Warriors are capable of (The Athletic)
• Warriors’ Gary Payton II making ‘good progress,’ will be reevaluated in 10 days (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Warriors star Stephen Curry drops fiery Chris Paul trash talk that will make you feel old (ClutchPoints)

NBA News:

• Sources: Morant in counseling program; no return to NBA date set (ESPN)
• Brook Lopez, Trey Lyles ejected after late scuffle in Bucks-Kings (ESPN)
• Blazers’ Damian Lillard: Brilliant, patient and running out of time (NBA)
• Domantas Sabonis, Joel Embiid named NBA Players of the Week (NBA)
• NBA, Players Association in advanced talks to add games minimum for major awards: Sources (The Athletic)