Steph Curry played 35 minutes — including the entire fourth quarter — in the Warriors’ win Monday night over the Rockets to snap a six-game losing streak.
It wasn’t until he was told of his latest historical milestone at the end of his postgame radio interview that the 35-year-old guard began begging for an ice bath.
Tim Roye, the longtime voice of the Warriors, told Curry that he had passed Nate Thurmond for the most minutes played in franchise history.
“I’m tired, I gotta go get in the cold tub,” Curry exclaimed in response, “Good gracious. Don’t tell me that — that’s the stuff you don’t tell me.”
Midway through that final quarter, Curry surpassed Thurmond’s total of 30,729 minutes over 11 seasons with Golden State. He now has played 30,735 minutes for the Warriors since being drafted in 2009.
“I don’t know if anyone at his position, at his size, has played as effectively as Steph has at this age,” coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday. “I’m sure there are some names. I watched Steve Nash play at a high level into his late 30s. It feels like what Steph is doing is just at a different level. He feels better than he has ever looked before.”
It’s inspiring to watch Curry’s longevity up close, third-year guard Moses Moody said.
“You know how they say never meet your idol? He’s the opposite of that,” Moody said. “He’s a role model and kind of shows what’s possible and what it takes to be on top. You work to become the king of the hill, but once you become the king of the hill, a lot of people rest. That’s when somebody else takes over the thrown. Well, he’s somebody that’s on top that’s the king of the hill and works harder than he did when he first got here.”
Kerr took Curry out a bit early in the third quarter after a turnover from the two-time MVP and sent him back out to start the fourth with a chance to extend an 11-point lead.
“I was going to try to get him out for a couple minutes in the middle of the quarter but that opportunity didn’t present itself,” Kerr said postgame as the Warriors’ lead topped out at 14. “We needed to get this one obviously, so I stayed with him the whole fourth.”
Curry hinted that he might have welcomed the aggressive fourth-quarter rotation when he was younger and the Warriors were dominating opponents.
“I might have (passed Thurmond) like three years ago had Coach played us a couple more fourth quarters back in the day,” he joked.
Staff writer Evan Webeck contributed to this report.