OAKLAND – Stephen Curry knew he'd almost certainly reach the 15,000-point milestone Monday night, but he didn't know exactly when until history spoke up.
"I was kind of frustrated," Curry said. "I had missed two or three open 3's to begin with and I wanted to get myself going. I forgot about the 10 points I needed and when they called timeout right afterward and I heard the announcement.
"It was a pretty cool moment."
The moment came with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter of the Warriors' 110-93 win over Memphis at Oracle Arena.
Needing 10 points reach 15,000, Curry re-entered the game in the second quarter having scored seven points on a layup and five free throws. He missed his only shot from beyond the arc in the first quarter and his first two attempts in the second.
The third attempt of the quarter was the charm. Curry rebounded a miss by Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and galloped up the court in transition, running into a 31-foot triple left of the arc.
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And with that came the announcement over the public address system, as well as acknowledgement on the video screen.
"It's just beyond my wildest imagination from when I was first drafted here and what this could all mean," Curry said.
What it means is that he has been a highly productive scorer over his nine-plus seasons with the Warriors. It means he is in the midst of a very successful NBA career; he is among only six active players to play his entire career of at least 10 seasons with one franchise.
It also means Curry joins Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, Paul Arizin and Chris Mullin on the list of Warriors to score at least 15,000 points with the franchise. Curry scored 20 points and ended the night with 15,010 points for his career.
"I heard the names of the other four guys, three of whom are in the rafters," Curry said, referring to Chamberlain, Barry and Mullin. "It's just a pretty humbling experience in terms of how long I've been here and the success that we've had in recent years. Individual accolades and milestones come out of that.
"It's hard to really put it into perspective because we're still in the moment, still grinding, still on the journey. Eventually, when it's all said and done, hopefully a long time from now, I'll be able to really reflect on what that means."
Curry, 30, is in the second season of a five-year contract that will keep him with the Warriors through 2022. Given what he has meant to the franchise, he has earned the right to stay about as long as he wants.
In the minds of the nouveau Warriors fan, the organization didn't exist until a few years after Curry arrived in the 2009 draft. With him as the leader, the team is on a run of success unprecedented in its 72-year history.
Indeed, the Warriors would have had no chance of ascending to their current lofty status without Curry, who not only is a two-time MVP but also the only unanimous MVP in league history.
Curry, health permitting, is on a trajectory to become the No. 1 scorer in franchise history as early as next season. Chamberlain is at the top, with 17,783 points. Mullin is next on the list to pass, in fourth place with 16,235 points.
Curry, however, is not counting points. He's counting championships.
As he indicated, individual glory is a natural by-product of such success. It'll come when it comes. If he doesn't know about it immediately, he'll be told about it.