How a steal of a Steph Curry contract paved way for a Golden State Warriors dynasty

The key to the Golden State Warriors dynasty was Steph Curry renewing his contract at the time. When Steph Curry signed his first extension in 2012, he agreed to play for $44 million over four years. The deal was crucial to how the team built its roster in the aftermath. At the time of the deal, it was considered a risky investment for the Warriors.

Steph Curry had just finished his third season and had only played in 26 games that season. He had just had ankle surgery for the second time, and it was unclear if his ankles would hold up for the rest of his career. He averaged 14.7 points per game, along with 5.3 assists, for a team that did not make the playoffs in coach Mark Jackson’s first season.

The very next season, Curry appeared to have turned it all around. He was averaging 22.9 PPG and 6.9 APG, and the team won 47 games and made the playoffs.

Due to Steph Curry getting a deal that was so favorable to the team, it allowed the organization to sign Klay Thompson to a $70 million extension. These numbers seem small compared to the extensions the team hands out now.

The team was also able to get Draymond Green an extension to keep the new young core they built intact. The Warriors would go on to win the 2014-15 NBA Championship, and Curry won his first of two league MVP awards. Perhaps the biggest achievement of that contract for the Warriors was that it allowed them to sign Kevin Durant when he was a free agent.

With the adjustment in the league salary cap after a new TV deal and Steph Curry’s cap hit only being $12 million, it allowed the Warriors to add one of the greatest players of all time in their prime.

The Warriors only added him to a team that won 73 regular-season games the previous year. Durant and Curry won back-to-back championships and went to the NBA Finals in 2019. If Durant does not get injured, they might have 3-peated.

The Warriors won three championships in a four-year span, and much of it was made possible by a superstar taking a pay cut and sacrificing for the team.

Curry has more than made for that one low-ball deal. He is currently under a supermax contract, being paid $215 million over four years. He now makes more annually than he did over the course of that first extension.