Steph Curry finally got the contract he deserves from the Warriors

One of the biggest financial moments in NBA history came when Stephen Curry signed a five-year deal worth $201 million with the Golden State Warriors in 2017. It was the first deal worth more than $200 million in league history at the time, a statement of the unbelievable turnaround of Curry’s career and his importance to Golden State.

Timing was important. Curry already has two NBA MVP awards and has led the Warriors to titles in 2015 and 2017. In the 2016–17 regular season he averaged 25.3 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.5 rebounds and led the league in three-pointers for the fifth consecutive season. His production picked up in the playoffs as Golden State went on to win another championship.

The new deal was especially notable because Curry’s previous deal became very team-friendly rather quickly as his influence and production grew. That 2017 deal changed that financial picture in a huge way. He wasn’t getting paid for the player he was when he signed his last deal, the new deal was for the superstar he had become.

But the number was only part of the story. Curry had helped change the way the Warriors played and the way they were defended. Golden State was known for his shooting range, his mobility, his ball skills, and his ability to create space.

The re-signing was announced in July 2017, along with new deals for a number of other key players, by the Warriors.

Whether “deserved” is the right word for Curry’s contract is a matter of opinion, but the size of his deal and the time at which it was signed (2017) sent a message about his outsized value to the Warriors at that point of his career. It was a defining deal for a player whose impact had already changed the team and the modern NBA.