Curry and Warriors finalize 5-year deal

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 postseason 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, shot-making 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.