The wait continues for Steph Curry’s return from right patellofemoral pain syndrome.
“It’s going to be a little longer,” Curry told ESPN’s Malika Andrews during the Warriors’ blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night. The Warriors provided the latest update on Curry on Sunday, saying he will be re-evaluated in the next 10 days.
According to the Warriors, Curry is “making progress” and will miss at least five more games before the next update.
He did not play throughout February, a month where the Warriors played 10 games, and last played on January 30 in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. Curry had to leave the game with four minutes remaining in the third quarter due to persistent pain known as “runner’s knee”. The Warriors went 4-6 in February and are now 8-13 without Curry during the 2025-26 NBA season.
Predicting when Curry will return is a waste of everyone’s time. After missing five consecutive games leading up to the NBA All-Star break, Curry was expected to return for the Warriors’ first game against the Boston Celtics on February 19. But a setback during a break workout put a stop to that and reset Curry’s clock.
The way the season has gone, caution is the only answer for Curry and the Warriors. When healthy, Curry has played at an elite level and was named to his 12th NBA All-Star Game and 11th starter. Had he not been ineligible because he did not reach the 65-game minimum requirements, he likely would have made an All-NBA team.
The Warriors are 31-29 after a 28-point loss to the Lakers and have been the No. 8 seed for nearly three months now. At this point, the real question is, should the Warriors keep Curry out until their inevitable date with the NBA Play-In Tournament?
Golden State’s preseason goal of a top-six seed in the Western Conference is gone. Warriors coach Steve Kerr admitted Saturday night that it’s something he and his team don’t even talk about anymore. There’s no need for it, and he knows it.
“There’s still 22 games left and a lot of work to do. …It’s not something to discuss because we’ve just got to go out and try to win and see what happens,” Kerr said.
Before Sunday, the Warriors are 4.5 games behind the Lakers for the No. 6 seed. The gap could expand to five games by the end of the season Sunday night after the Lakers’ game in Los Angeles against the Sacramento Kings. The Warriors are three games behind the No. 7-seed Phoenix Suns, who currently trail Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks. As difficult as it will be for the Warriors to finish in the top six and fall out of the play-in tournament, it is almost impossible for them to fall out of the top 10.
The No. 10-seeded Los Angeles Clippers play the 19-win New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night. They are four games behind the Warriors in the win column before that game, and the Clippers are also Golden State’s next opponent on Monday night. More importantly, no one below the Clippers or the No. 9-seeded Portland Trail Blazers is going to surpass them.
Although Curry says he is feeling better, he is also aware of the unpredictability of his injury. Curry still hasn’t been on the court. She’s found other ways to stay in shape, but this one makes a big difference. He still has hurdles to overcome and the biggest hurdle once he gets back on the court will be pain tolerance.
“It’s something you don’t want to keep for a long time because it could get worse,” Curry said.
Curry badly wants to re-join the Warriors and help them reach the NBA playoffs. The weight of risk and reward should be tenfold toward the latter.
His co-star, Jimmy Butler, is out for the remainder of the season, and the Warriors have not won consecutive games since tearing his ACL on January 19. Draymond Green has been dealing with lower back problems, and his production has declined dramatically. The Warriors acquired 7-foot-3 big man Kristaps Porzingis at the NBA trade deadline, and he made his team debut in the first game after the All-Star break. He has not played since due to what the Warriors are listing as an illness.
Several young role players like Moses Moody, Gui Santos and Brandin Podziemski, as well as veterans De’Anthony Melton and Al Horford have turned in some solid performances in Curry’s absence. But the Warriors are also devoid of top-tier talent without Curry and Butler. They’re not competing and they’re not tanking, instead staying in the mediocrity lane.
Shutting Curry out completely is not an option, and he won’t allow it unless he’s cornered. The next game Curry could return to is March 13 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which will be less than a month until the end of the regular season. It would not be wise to peg that as a return date.
Curry will have to take at least one harsh criticism before the Warriors even think about releasing him. The Warriors will have 17 games left in the regular season, which begins March 13. The best guess is that Curry ramps up and plays a handful of games, but the Warriors have never dropped either side of four back-to-backs since their next update.
So, should the Warriors keep him on the ice until the play-in tournament? It is not in his character to push the limits of caution. Yet the Warriors need to preach the importance of making next season a bigger priority while remaining present and being the competitive team that best suits Curry.
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