Stephen Curry feels 'wild' facing his former youth camp talents in upcoming series vs. Houston Rockets (2025)

The Golden State Warriors are ready to go for the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

It was a season filled with highs and lows for the Golden State Warriors. Yet in the end, they are here and in the mix amongst the league’s elite contenders.

After struggling for the first half of the season, they struck gold by acquiring Jimmy Butler, sparking a major confidence at their side that they can win it all and clinch the NBA title.

And despite a few bumps late this year, they were able to survive the Play-In Tournament by beating the Memphis Grizzlies and set up a seven-game meeting with the No. 2 Houston Rockets.

Stephen Curry facing his former youth camp participants Amen Thompson and Jalen Green

The upcoming Western Conference duel of both the Warriors and the Rockets features an intriguing clash of styles between experience and youthfulness.

Parading a plethora of several seasoned stars and veterans, the Dubs are armed with the familiarity of high-stakes NBA action. Meanwhile, the Rockets are an up and coming team, ready for a take-off to prove themselves.

Interestingly, when Stephen Curry and the Warriors won the 2015 NBA championship, the majority of the Rockets’ current roster were still in middle school.

The Golden State superstar witnessed some of them even participating to his youth hoop camps from the past, most notably Amen Thompson and Jalen Green.

“He was exactly the same type of player — just obviously he’s way better now. And the idea that he’s made Houston [better], he’s a big part of who they are. You can kind of see it,” Curry said about Thompson during his media availability ahead of upcoming series against the Rockets.

“He’s an ultimate competitor, obviously a supreme athlete. He figured out how to impact the game consistently, whether he’s shooting it or not. That’s been fun to watch.

“It’s kind of cool having him as an alumni. Jalen Green was part of that camp, too. So it is wild now going into a playoff battle against those two guys who I once coached on the sidelines for a weekend in the Bay.”

Curry ready for full-circle moment

Curry had plenty of battles already with these two Rockets youngsters. And this postseason, their face-off couldn’t be more compelling.

The two-time NBA MVP is mindful enough of what he can expect from Thompson, considering the 22-year-old defensive stud locked him up during their previous encounter from the regular season.

Meanwhile, the former No. 2 overall pick in Green is slated to be Curry’s offensive matchup who averaged an explosive 21.0 points along with 4.6 boards and 3.4 assists to help Houston reach the postseason stage.

From mentees to opponents, Curry’s full-circle moment is about to arrive on April 20 as he will face both Thompson and Green for Game 1 of the electrifying Warriors-Rockets opening round series.

“It used to until I got asked that question a lot now,” a smiling Curry said when asked if he feels old as he is about to face his former youth camp talents.

“It’s just, you know, I take it as a badge of honor.”