When Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant teamed up a decade ago, their union created perhaps the most lethal scoring duo in NBA history and threatened to serve as the foundation of a dynasty that might have rivaled Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.
Curry and Durant were both former MVPs and scoring champions in their primes at 28 years old when they began their first title chase together in 2016-17. As the Golden State Warriors raced out to a 20-3 start that fall, they were so thoroughly dominant that critics quickly deemed the pairing "unfair."
There have been two key developments since those halcyon early days: The Curry and Durant partnership disbanded quicker than anyone could have expected, while Curry and Durant (both now 38) have managed to sustain elite play much longer than anyone anticipated.
The first point is well-worn. After two championships and a torn Achilles, the nomadic Durant left the Bay Area to start fresh with the Brooklyn Nets. Meanwhile, Curry has become one of the NBA's all-time single-franchise icons.
The second point has been obscured by LeBron James' record-setting longevity. As James has rewritten the record books and kept playing into his 40s, Curry and Durant have prospered late in their respective careers like few superstars before them.
With Curry's Warriors and Durant's Houston Rockets set to face off Wednesday for the first time this season (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) let's take a moment to appreciate their remarkable staying power a full decade after they started torching the league as teammates.
Steph is rivaling his unanimous MVP season -- 10 years later
Curry enters Wednesday averaging 30.6 points per game and shooting 45.6% on 3-pointers, making him a prime example of the adage that "shooting helps you age well." The two-time MVP is making more 3s per game and shooting a higher percentage this season than he did during the 2016-17 campaign, his first alongside Durant.
Put another way, there has been only one player in NBA history to match Curry's current 3-point volume (4.7 per game) and efficiency (45%) for an entire season. That was Curry himself during his 2015-16 unanimous MVP season.
Curry's status as the best shooter ever is hardly the only part of his game that has aided his staying power. His physical fitness, ballhandling ability, poise and comfort in Golden State's offense have all helped him continue to produce like clockwork.
"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 important change to Curry's shot profile is how few of his 3-pointers are now self-created. During his 2016 MVP season, 55% of Curry's 3s were assisted by his teammates. That figure has steadily risen over the past five years to a career-high 74% this season.
Slowly but surely, Curry has exchanged some of his most grandiose shots -- off-the-dribble 3s or transition bombs -- for catch-and-shoot attempts. Of course, Curry still must work awfully hard before the catch to free himself from attentive defenses.
Curry's continued hot shooting and Golden State's ability to support him have him bending the typical age curve in a never-before-seen fashion. The following chart shows Curry's progression through his 30s compared to Hall of Fame point guards John Stockton and Steve Nash as well as future Hall of Famers Chris Paul and James Harden:
Though Curry's player efficiency rating (PER) has tended to outperform the group by a narrow margin for much of his 30s, his start to the season has left him in a class by himself. As another point of comparison, Curry's 33.9 PER to date easily surpasses the age-38 figures for James (23.9), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (22.7), Tim Duncan (22.6) and Michael Jordan (20.7).
It's reasonable to expect regression -- perhaps significant regression -- as this season unfolds, so Curry's performance to date must not be taken for granted. Though next-generation stars Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama have earned most of the early MVP buzz, Curry deserves mention in the conversation because of his electric start and Golden State's winning record despite serious injury issues.
Curry's value to the Warriors extends well beyond his on-court production, but the franchise couldn't ask for a better return on the two-year, $116 million extension they granted him in September. That deal will carry Curry through his age-40 season, and Golden State should have every reason to believe he will surpass Stockton as the most productive guard to play past that midlife milestone.
Durant's steady scoring prowess -- 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 bolstered his status as a Bay Area legend and led the Warriors to the 2022 championship, Durant bounced from the Nets to the Phoenix Suns and now to the Rockets. Since tearing his Achilles during the 2019 Finals in his last game with the Warriors, the 16-time All-Star forward hasn't been back to the conference finals.
Durant's 30s have still been remarkable: He easily has had 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, Durant's scoring craftsmanship has been essential to his late-career success, and he nearly achieved a hallowed 50/40/90 shooting season in 2025-26. Add it all up, and 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).
The following chart shows Durant's PER curve since he returned from his Achilles injury compared to James, Malone and Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who represent the gold standard for late-career productivity among forwards.
Durant's arc compares favorably with James and Malone, and it clearly outpaces Nowitzki. That relatively gradual decline suggests Durant still has several more years of high-level basketball ahead of him.
Though Houston has sharply reduced his role to start this season in hopes of creating a more balanced offense, Durant is averaging 21.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists, and remains on track to pass Kobe Bryant for fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list later this season.
What's more, Durant is now 5,559 points shy of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's No. 2 all-time scorer behind James. To make up that ground, Durant would need to score 20 points per game and play about 280 more games. Difficult, but not impossible.
At his current scoring pace with reasonably good health, Durant would be poised to move past Abdul-Jabbar during his age-42 season. As a point of comparison, James is currently in his age-42 season with the Philadelphia 76ers. Even if Durant winds up falling short of Abdul-Jabbar, he should be closing in on Malone for third place by the time his current contract is set to expire after the 2027-28 season.
When Curry's Warriors visit Durant's Rockets on Wednesday, the meeting will serve as a de facto 10-year anniversary of their 2016 partnership. After all these years, Curry's Warriors are still dreaming of another deep playoff run, and Durant's Rockets have assembled enough young talent around him to chase their own. So, though the end is getting closer for these former teammates, it's not yet in sight.
