Curry signs for US$201 M

OAKLAND, Calif. Stephen Curry has delivered his share of success already to a franchise that desperately needed it. Now, he’s being paid for all he has done — and certainly will do.

Curry finalized his new contract Tuesday, signing a $201 million, five-year deal with the champion Golden State Warriors that initially was the richest ever, until James Harden topped it with a $228 million extension from the Rockets.

Considered overlooked and undersized when he arrived on the NBA scene after being drafted seventh overall out of Davidson College in 2009, Curry has silenced the doubters with every spot-on heave from half-court.

The two-time NBA MVP, who earned $12 million this season as one of the league’s biggest bargains, averaged 28.1 points in the playoffs while also contributing 6.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds. Now, he will earn $40 million per season.

“Just happy to be a leader on this team that can understand the goals that we set out for ourselves and try to get it done the best way we could,” Curry said immediately after the Game 5 title clincher in the NBA Finals last month.

NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant also signed his new contract worth approximately $53 million over the next two years as Golden State announced its deals with returning free agents.

Sure, Durant’s spectacular post-season may have shined brighter as he hoisted his MVP hardware, yet Curry did so much on the way to his second title in three years. From his dazzling dribbling, shotmaking and the way he dishes off, Curry has been brilliant — but what he does for the Warriors as an ambassador in the community is as much a part of what makes him special as anything else.

He is the face of a franchise that has become the standard by which every other organization is measured.

Curry has led the turnaround of a franchise from longtime laughingstock to regular championship contender.

Now, he wants to build a dynasty with KD by his side. Durant accepted less money for the coming season so the Warriors’ core could remain intact.

A year after breaking his own NBA record with 402 3pointers, Curry rarely finished quarters with those jaw-dropping 3s that were so memorable from the previous season — and that was fine, because Golden State kept winning.