When Steph Curry entered the NBA as a scrawny 21-year-old out of Davidson in 2009, future Hall of Famers like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and the late, great Kobe Bryant still reigned supreme.
They all watched over the years as Curry developed into the greatest shooter — and arguably the greatest point guard — the game of basketball has ever seen.
Now, as Curry enters his 15th NBA season at age 35, he’s looking around for the next star to rise and take over the league for the next decade. He listed a few names during his interview on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast with Gilbert Arenas — including Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards — but one stuck out more than the others.
“Luka is the guy that’s right on the precipice of accomplishing all those accolades,” Curry told Arenas. “What he’s all about as a player. That threshold of how you just crack through — I hope it’s not now — but when you play against him, you can feel it.”
Dončić already is entering his sixth NBA season but he’s only 24 years old. He’s been an All-Star and All-NBA selection the last four seasons. Dončić hasn’t reached the second round of the playoffs in three of those years, but he did lead the Dallas Mavericks to the 2022 Western Conference finals, where they were handled by the Warriors in five games.
Dončić averaged 32 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game over that series.
The Mavericks have plenty to sort out with Dončić and Kyrie Irving currently pegged to be their one-two punch for at least the next two years. But no matter if it’s with Irving or not, Curry believes the Western Conference will run through Dončić down the road.
“There’s a lot of young talent, man,” Curry said. “The league is in good hands in that respect.
“I just hope it’s not too soon because we still got a lot to do.