Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, once teammates on a Golden State Warriors team that looked nearly unbeatable, are both still producing elite basketball at age 38, a decade after their partnership began. Curry’s Warriors visit Durant’s Houston Rockets on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET in their first meeting of the season, which doubles as a de facto 10-year anniversary of their union.
When Curry and Durant teamed up in 2016, they created what may be the most lethal scoring duo in NBA history. Their combination threatened to anchor a dynasty that could have rivaled Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Both were former MVPs and scoring champions in their primes, and both were 28 when they began their first title chase together in 2016-17. That fall, the Warriors raced to a 20-3 start, so dominant that critics quickly labeled the pairing “unfair.”
The partnership ended far sooner than anyone expected. Yet Curry and Durant have also sustained elite play much longer than anyone anticipated. The first development is well-known. After two championships and a torn Achilles, the nomadic Durant left the Bay Area to start fresh with the Brooklyn Nets. Curry, meanwhile, has become one of the NBA’s all-time single-franchise icons.
The second development has received less attention, partly because of LeBron James’ record-setting longevity. As James has rewritten the record books and kept playing into his 40s, Curry and Durant have thrived late in their careers in ways few superstars have before.
Curry is rivaling his unanimous MVP season, a decade later
Curry enters Wednesday averaging 30.6 points per game and shooting 45.6% on 3-pointers, a prime example of the adage that shooting helps players age well. The two-time MVP is making more 3-pointers per game and shooting a higher percentage this season than he did during 2016-17, his first year alongside Durant.
Only one player in NBA history has matched Curry’s current 3-point volume (4.7 per game) and efficiency (45%) over an entire season. That player was Curry himself, during his 2015-16 unanimous MVP campaign.
Curry’s mastery of the 3-pointer is not the only reason for his staying power. His physical fitness, ballhandling, poise and comfort within Golden State’s offense have all helped him continue to produce with remarkable consistency.
“Work ethic and good genes,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said earlier this week. “[Curry] has been blessed with a body that has held up. But he’s also earned that through his strength training, his conditioning, [and] his fitness level is just off the charts. It’s so remarkable at 38 to watch him still do what he does.”
Perhaps the most significant change in Curry’s shot profile is how few of his 3-pointers he now creates himself. During his 2016 MVP season, 55% of his 3-pointers were assisted by teammates. That figure has climbed steadily over the past five years to a career-high 74% this season.
Curry has gradually traded some of his most spectacular shots, such as off-the-dribble 3-pointers and transition bombs, for catch-and-shoot attempts. He still must work hard before the catch to free himself from attentive defenses, however.
Curry’s hot shooting, combined with Golden State’s ability to support him, has allowed him to bend the typical aging curve in a way the league has never seen. His start this season has left his 33.9 player efficiency rating (PER) in a class of its own. For comparison, that figure easily surpasses the age-38 marks of James (23.9), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22.7), Tim Duncan (22.6) and Michael Jordan (20.7).
Regression is likely, perhaps significantly, as the season unfolds, so Curry’s current production should not be taken for granted. Next-generation stars Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama have earned most of the early MVP buzz. Curry still deserves a place in that conversation because of his electric start and Golden State’s winning record despite serious injury issues.
Curry’s value to the Warriors goes well beyond his on-court production. The franchise could not ask for a better return on the two-year, $116 million extension it granted him in September. That deal will carry him through his age-40 season, and Golden State has good reason to believe he could surpass Stockton as the most productive guard to play past that midlife milestone.
Durant’s steady scoring and how high he could climb
By the most basic measures, Durant’s career has been less charmed than Curry’s since their split. While Curry became a Bay Area legend and led the Warriors to the 2022 championship, Durant moved from the Nets to the Phoenix Suns and now to the Rockets. Since tearing his Achilles during the 2019 Finals in his final game with Golden State, the 16-time All-Star forward has not returned to the conference finals.
Durant’s 30s have still been remarkable. He has arguably produced the most successful comeback from an Achilles tear in NBA history, and he continues to rank among the league’s most productive forwards for his age as he approaches 40.
“I was just hoping to get to 10 years,” Durant said earlier this season. “You just hear the statistics of how short your life is as an NBA player. I took heed to all that information early on, and I just wanted to approach every day like it was my last. … After 10 years, I just wanted to keep it going as long as I can.”
Last season, Durant earned All-NBA second-team honors by averaging 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists for the Rockets. Like Curry, his scoring craftsmanship has been central to his late-career success, and he nearly reached the rare 50/40/90 shooting mark in 2025-26. His 21.1 PER last season ranked third all time among forwards at age 37, trailing only James (26.2) and Karl Malone (24.7).
Durant’s PER curve since his return from the Achilles injury compares favorably with James, Malone and Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who set the gold standard for late-career productivity among forwards. Durant’s trajectory tracks closely with James and Malone and clearly outpaces Nowitzki. That gradual decline suggests Durant has several more years of high-level basketball ahead.
Houston has sharply reduced Durant’s role this season in hopes of creating a more balanced offense, but he is still averaging 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He remains on track to pass Kobe Bryant for fourth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list later this season.
Durant is also 5,559 points shy of passing Abdul-Jabbar to become the league’s No. 2 all-time scorer behind James. To close that gap, he would need to average 20 points per game and play about 280 more games. That is a difficult task, but not an impossible one.
At his current scoring pace and with reasonably good health, Durant would be poised to pass Abdul-Jabbar during his age-42 season. For context, James is currently in his age-42 season with the Philadelphia 76ers. Even if Durant falls short of Abdul-Jabbar, he should be closing in on Malone for third place by the time his current contract expires after the 2027-28 season.
The end is getting closer, but it is not yet in sight
When Curry’s Warriors visit Durant’s Rockets on Wednesday, the game will mark a decade since their 2016 partnership began. Curry’s Warriors still dream of another deep playoff run, and Durant’s Rockets have assembled enough young talent around him to chase their own. For these former teammates, the end is getting closer, but it is not yet in sight.