Matt Barnes Predicts Stephen Curry Will “Ride The Ship Until It Sinks” Like Kobe Bryant

Stephen Curry's future has been a big talking point this summer, but his former teammate Matt Barnes expects him to ride and die with the Golden State Warriors . On the latest episode of the All The Smoke podcast, Barnes compared Curry to the late great Kobe Bryant .

"I kind of feel like Steph is on that Kobe train, though, respectfully," Barnes said. "… I think Steph is going to ride the ship until it sinks. Similar to what Kobe did."

Bryant enjoyed tremendous success with the Los Angeles Lakers , whom he spent his entire 20-year career with. He won five titles in his first 14 years with the Lakers, but the last few were nothing to write home about.

Bryant tore his Achilles tendon in 2013, and it was all downhill from there. He was never the same after that and struggled to stay healthy. That, in turn, led to the Lakers missing the playoffs in each of Bryant's last three seasons. The 2015-16 campaign was his last in the NBA, and nobody even cared about the results.

It was a pretty mediocre team around Bryant, and all anyone was interested in was seeing how many points he could score. He, of course, famously scored 60 points in his final NBA game against the Utah Jazz , and that was some way to bow out.

Now, Curry recently said he wants to be with the Warriors for the rest of his career . The 38-year-old is also confident that will happen.

Curry, whom the Warriors selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, has always expressed a desire to be a one-team player. The 12-time All-Star is eligible to sign a two-year, $136.7 million extension now, and said that will happen at the right time.

The Warriors haven't had a great offseason, but Curry, who averaged 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, still intends to stick around.

Stephen Curry Does Not Want His Career To End The Way Kobe Bryant's Did

While Curry wants to remain a Warrior, he does not want to finish his career like Bryant. He was once asked how he wants his career to end .

"Competitive," Curry said. "I've seen different scenarios. Like everybody talks about Kobe [Bryant] and his last years. From my vantage point, I'm comparing it to guys that only played for one franchise. Dirk [Nowitzki], Tim [Duncan], Kobe, from our era… You don't want to be in a situation the Lakers were in those last three years [with Bryant].

"I know he came off the Achilles injury, but it was, like, they were a lottery team, and it was more just 'How many points can Kobe score down the stretch of his career?'" Curry continued. "I don't want to be in that scenario. My whole thing is, you have to be realistic. There's probably not a move or a scenario where you're gonna walk into a season or a playoff series as the perennial favorite.

"There's just a lot of talent around the league," Curry added. "But to be competitive, where you have a chance — that's what we want to see. I'm sure that's what our fans want to see. Playing meaningful games, no matter how it ends. I think that's what we deserve, and I hope that is the reality I get to live in this last part of my career."

The Warriors finished 37-45 last season and missed the playoffs. That was the second time in three seasons that they had failed to make it in, and you don't love their chances moving forward either. Curry's final years might not end up being quite as brutal as Bryant's, but it doesn't look like he'll have much success.