"He can be a Ray Allen" - Lou Williams believes Steph Curry can extend his career until he's 45 because of his ability to shoot

The crew on the "Run it Back" show on FanDuel TV discussed Steph Curry's greatness and his ranking in all-time lists, ultimately debating how long he could continue playing in the NBA.

While making his case for Steph, Chandler Parsons mentioned that because Curry's game is predicated on his ridiculous ability to shoot the basketball, he will outlast his peers and even players younger than him, because of all the skills that basketball players have, it's the shooting touch that is the last one to go.

"His game is going to age really, really good because a lot of these guys are based on athleticism; when they lose a step, they go downhill. The way Steph Curry shoots the ball, it's crazy to say he could play till he's 45 years old if he wants," said Parsons.

Steph is still going strong

Make no mistake, Curry has already completed 16 NBA seasons. And although he is already 37 years old, he is showing no signs of slowing down. After 15 games played in the 2025-26 campaign, Steph is averaging 28.8 points per game, his best scoring output since 2022-23. Even though he's playing two fewer minutes per game this year than last, Curry is taking nearly two more shots in that time, and his current usage rate of 34.1 is his highest since the 2020-21 season.

But as they say, Father Time is undefeated, and eventually, it will catch up with Curry. When that time comes, the non-stop movement to free himself up will be gone, and he will no longer have the quickness to take his man off the dribble. However, Parsons' co-host, Lou Williams, said if, and when that happens, Steph could follow the blueprint of the former NBA all-time 3-point leader whom he surpassed in 2022.

"He can be Ray Allen," Lou-Will jumped in. "He could turn into a third or fourth option on a team and be a spot-up or corner shooter. He could stretch defenses out and give a team an opportunity to get 3-pointers in. Nah, I don't know if he would be able to guard anybody, so that he might be giving up twos for threes. But if you look at his career and you look at how he can shoot the basketball, if Steph Curry is healthy enough, he could play for a number of years."

Related: Larry Bird admitted he never listened to Magic Johnson's advice about coaching in the NBA: "We can't live in the 80s for the rest of our life"

Allen turned into a jumpshooter by circumstance

It can be recalled that young Ray Allen was one of the most dynamic scorers in the league when he played for the Seattle Super Sonics. Ray averaged 24.6 points per game in five years there and was a perennial All-Star. However, when he joined the Boston Celtics, he had to take a backseat to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. It was then that he started becoming a 3-point specialist, a development that was, according to Tracy McGrady, a result of circumstance.

"People forget how good he was before he was with Miami and in Boston because he turned into just a jump shooter by circumstances," McGrady pointed out on ESPN's "The Jump" in 2017. "When he was with Milwaukee, this dude did everything. Shooting, coming off the dribble, shooting, making plays, he did all of that. He was a guy who could score in a variety of ways." 

Ray further moved down the food chain when he joined the Big 3 in Miami as he became the fourth option at best. However, Allen won one championship in Boston and another in Miami in 2013. Who knows if Steph can win more rings if he chooses to stretch his career into his 40s and play the "Ray Allen role?"

Related: Dwyane Wade says the Steph Curry–Under Armour split shows how much the sneaker industry is struggling

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Nov 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.