Steph Curry will start his long road in the search for a fifth NBA title when the season begins for the Golden State Warriors against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

For the future Hall of Fame guard, it will be a relief to be on the court rather than have to stick to the sidelines and watch in pain as has been the case this season in his support of the Carolina Panthers.

Curry is looking to add more trophies to his cabinetGetty

A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Curry grew up as a passionate Panthers fan and has frequently been spotted cheering on his team, most recently in September.

Curry even took to the NBA court in 2016 with blue and white shoes, representing his home-city team.

But it hasn’t been a happy year for Curry’s Panthers thus far, losing 40-10 on Sunday against the Washington Commanders to leave them at 1-6.

Head coach Dave Canales has already benched 2023 first overall pick Bryce Young and despite a brief offensive uptick under the stewardship of Andy Dalton, the Panthers continue to struggle.

That hasn’t deterred Curry’s loyalty. Interviewed by ESPN broadcaster Scott Van Pelt at half-time of the Baltimore Ravens meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football, Curry made sure to mention his beloved – but flailing – Panthers.

“Let’s go Panthers,” he proudly exclaimed as he signed off.

The response from Van Pelt was rapid and brutal.

“Yeah…good luck with that.”

The sarcasm was lost on no one and to Curry’s credit, he took it well, laughing as the picture cut away.

Now 36 years old, Curry is embarking on something of a new era for himself and his team as long-time co-star Klay Thompson left for the Dallas Mavericks this off-season.

Curry took the cheeky joke well

Young and Dalton have both struggled this seasonGetty

Regardless, the Warriors still have Curry and even in his advanced age, that fact alone likely gives them a better chance of making waves than his very own Panthers.

The Bryce Young experiment already seems over and after missing out on Caleb Williams thanks to the trade with the Bears that got them last year’s first overall selection, the future looks rather bleak for the Panthers.

Following Sunday’s disastrous defeat to the Commanders – who didn’t even have Jayden Daniels for the majority of the contest after the quarterback suffered a rib injury – Canales reaffirmed the team’s commitment to Dalton.

At 1-6, the Panthers have the joint-worst record in the NFL with only the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns proving equally terrible thus far. 

That in itself could provide some comfort to Curry and his fellow Panthers fans as it should yield a high draft pick this April.

They’ll have to use it a lot better than their last one.