Stephen Curry’s Ex-Teammate Teases Return to College Basketball After 10 NBA Seasons and Warriors Championship

Stephen Curry's former teammate, Marreese "Mo" Speights, has made it seem like he's making his return to basketball. Particularly, he teased a return to his college team, the Florida Gators. Speights was a member of the Gators from 2006 to 2008, before getting drafted in the NBA as the 16th pick.

Given how Speights never finished his remaining two years in college, he announced a return to the Gators lineup on social media.

"After 18 seasons, I will be returning to Florida with two years left to play. Man, after having a great conversation with @CoachToddGolden, I’m excited to be back and have the opportunity to play again for the Florida Gators. After a long NBA career, with the new rules in place, I’ll be back on the court for the next two years," Speights wrote.

While fans on social media couldn't decipher whether he was joking or not, this was Speights' way of poking fun at the modern college basketball transfer rules. College teams now allow players returning to school after professional stints.

For clarity, the Polk State Eagles basketball team recently named Speights its new head coach last Wednesday. He will officially assume his new position on June 1. Over the summer, Mo will help his new team prepare for the upcoming 2026-27 NJCAA season, which starts in November.

Speights had a two-year college career at Florida, including a national title in 2007. He arrived as a freshman on a loaded roster and played a limited role behind stars like Horford and Noah.

His sophomore season (2007-08) marked a major jump: he started all 36 games and averaged 14.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game as one of the Gators’ top interior threats.

Across his two seasons, he averaged 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting an outstanding 63.3% from the field (.624 as a sophomore). A physical, efficient big man who excelled in post scoring and rebounding without needing heavy touches, Speights combined production, efficiency, and championship experience that made him a first-round pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

His game translated smoothly to the pros: size, soft touch around the rim, and the ability to score effectively within a system - traits that later made him a valuable high-impact bench scorer, particularly with Golden State.

Mo Speights Helped Stephen Curry Notch His First NBA Championship

The 2014-15 NBA season was a historic year for Stephen Curry. After LeBron James' legendary run with the Miami Heat came to a close, came the rise of a new legend. Curry, who averaged 23.8 points, 7.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.0 steals that year, won his first MVP award.

To add the icing to the cake, Curry and the Golden State Warriors would move on to win the NBA title in 2015. Mo Speights was also part of the roster at the time, allowing him to notch his only championship in his 10-year career.

What made this historic run more impressive was that the Warriors took down the King, who had already established himself as the biggest threat in the Eastern Conference. At that point, it was James' fifth consecutive NBA Finals appearance.

However, it's worth noting that James was without his star players. Both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were injured, making the Warriors' championship victory arguably easy. Though James gave Curry and the Dubs a run for their money, forcing six games in that series.

Unfortunately for Speights, his last year with the Warriors, in the 2015-16 season, resulted in a loss in the finals. King James brought home the Cavaliers' first championship in franchise history. At the same time, Speights moved on to the LA Clippers in the following year, missing out on Golden State's next two championship wins during the Kevin Durant era.