Stephen Curry

Warriors Notes: Curry, Lamb, Iguodala, Wiggins

The Warriors lost to the Lakers Sunday afternoon, but there was optimism in the locker room due to the return of Stephen Curry, writes Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. Playing for the first time since Feb. 4, the two-time MVP had 27 points and six assists in 32 minutes while shooting 5-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Although he was on a minutes restriction, Curry looked fully recovered from the left leg injury that caused him to miss 11 games. He and his teammates are focused on improving their playoff position in the 17 games remaining, hoping to move into the top four in the West and trying to avoid falling into the play-in tournament. Golden State was able to survive for a month without Curry and now has a crucial string of games upcoming against fellow playoff contenders.

“Yeah, especially on the road,” Curry said of the excitement surrounding his comeback. “Brings the best out of you. And like I said, as the game gets deeper into it, you try to meet that intensity and that energy and that level, mentally and physically. It felt great to get thrown back in there right away. … If I get better as the game goes on, it’s always a great sign for me individually. And then our team, even though we lost, there were some bright spots for sure.”

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Sunday’s game was the 50th of the season for Anthony Lamb, which marks his limit as a two-way player, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Lamb has been productive all season, but he won’t be able to play any more unless Golden State converts him to a standard contract. The team currently has a full roster, but a 10-day contract for Lester Quinones will expire March 11. “I’d like to have Lamb on the roster,” coach Steve Kerr said after Sunday’s game. “He plays an important role for us because he connects a lot of lineups with his ability to space the floor and shoot the three, and he just plays the way we’ve always played.”
  • The return of Andre Iguodala could lessen the urgency to work out a new deal with Lamb, Slater adds (Twitter link). The 39-year-old swingman logged 14 minutes Sunday in his first game action since January 13.
  • The Warriors are being patient with Andrew Wiggins, who is away from the team while attending to a “family matter,” according to Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. Team officials haven’t provided any specifics, but general manager Bob Myers said in a radio interview last week that Wiggins is expected to return before the end of the regular season.

Stephen Curry Plans To Return Sunday

Warriors All-Star point guard Stephen Curry is planning to come back from his leg injury on Sunday against the Lakers, reports Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Haynes cautions that a setback could impede this tentative return timeline, but Sunday is the target date.

Curry, 34, has missed 10 games for Golden State thus far. He suffered a lower left leg contusion and partially tore his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane during a 119-113 Warriors victory over the Mavericks on February 4.

The 32-30 Warriors have gone 5-4 through their nine completed contests since Curry’s injury. The 10th, a nationally televised TNT battle against the Clippers, is currently underway as of this writing.

Kendra Andrews of ESPN reports that Curry participated in team scrimmages Wednesday and Thursday while gearing up for his comeback. Per head coach Steve Kerr, however, Curry will miss an 11th straight contest, Friday night against the Pelicans.

Across his healthy 38 games, the reigning NBA Finals MVP has been his typically excellent self, averaging 29.4 PPG on .495/.427/.922 shooting splits. He’s also contributing 6.4 APG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.0 SPG in 34.6 MPG.

Stephen Curry May Return During Warriors’ Upcoming Road Trip

2:29pm: The Warriors’ official update on Curry (via Twitter) states that he’s “making good progress” and has begun scrimmaging. The team doesn’t offer a specific timeline for his return, indicating that it will be based on how he responds to full practices and scrimmages.


1:04pm: There’s optimism that Warriors star Stephen Curry will be able to return to action sometime during the team’s upcoming road trip, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

That three-game trip begins on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles against the Lakers. The Warriors then travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder on Tuesday and to Memphis to face the Grizzlies next Thursday.

Curry has been unavailable since February 4 due to a left leg injury, and it sounds like he’ll miss at least two more games — Golden State hosts the Clippers this Thursday and the Pelicans on Friday.

The Warriors lost four of their first six games after Curry went down, but have perked up in the last week, winning consecutive home contests against Houston, Minnesota, and Portland. The Dubs have actually moved up to No. 5 in the West, though their record (32-30) is modest and there are only 3.5 games separating them from the No. 13 Thunder, so a couple losses could significantly affect the club’s place in the standings.

Curry was putting up his usual All-NBA numbers prior to his injury, averaging 29.4 points, 6.4 assists, and 6.3 rebounds in 38 appearances (34.6 MPG) and making 42.7% of 11.4 three-point attempts per night. It goes without saying that his return would provide a major boost for the Warriors, putting the team in a good position to secure a playoff spot in the final few weeks of the season.

Haynes’ Latest: Suns, Rose, Curry, Lonzo, Kleber, More

Sources tell Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report that the Knicks will not be picking up Derrick Rose‘s $15.6MM team option for 2023/24. While that news is hardly surprising considering the 34-year-old former MVP is out of New York’s rotation, Haynes has also heard that the Suns would be interested in Rose if he reaches a buyout agreement.

There have been mixed reports regarding Rose potentially going for a buyout with the Knicks. While it still seems “unlikely,” sources tell Haynes not to rule it out entirely.

Haynes’ report came before the Suns filled their last remaining standard roster spot with Ish Wainright, who was promoted from a two-way deal. It’s unclear who the team would consider waiving if Rose became available, as there aren’t any obvious candidates.

Here’s more from Haynes:

  • Warriors star Stephen Curry is set to be reevaluated on Wednesday in his recovery from a left knee injury. Curry was optimistic about the injury but said it was frustrating with so few games remaining and the team in a precarious position. “I can’t give a target date because this isn’t an injury I’ve dealt with before. So, I just have to be careful and patient,” Curry told Haynes. “It’s a frustrating process because unlike the other injuries I’ve been through, this is one where games are running out and we need to climb up the standings fast to make these playoffs. That’s the hard part, but I’m going to do what’s right and try to help my team make this push when I return.”
  • Injured Bulls guard Lonzo Ball is planning to receive a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection to help combat the left knee soreness he’s been dealing with following two knee surgeries last year, sources tell Haynes. Chicago recently ruled Ball out for the season; he last played in January 2022.
  • The Mavericks are optimistic about Maxi Kleber returning from his torn hamstring within the next five games, per Haynes, though Kleber already said he’d be out Sunday versus the Lakers. One of the team’s best defenders, the versatile Kleber last played on December 12, having missed the past 34 games with the injury.
  • Serge Ibaka and Will Barton, a couple of veteran free agents, are “waiting for the right opportunities to present themselves,” Haynes writes. Ibaka was released by Indiana after being traded by Milwaukee, while Barton reached a buyout agreement with Washington.

Stephen Curry To Be Reevaluated In One Week

Stephen Curry is making “good progress” in his recovery from a left leg injury and will be reevaluated in a week, the Warriors announced (via Twitter).

The team added that Curry’s condition was recently checked by the medical staff, and he was able to begin some on-court workouts. Those will continue as he prepares for his next examination.

Curry suffered a partial tear of the superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane, along with a lower leg contusion in a February 4 game against Dallas. He has missed five games since then, with Golden State posting a 2-3 record.

The defending champions are seventh in the West at 29-29 and are locked in a tight race for playoff seeding. Curry has played just 38 games so far, but has been putting up typically excellent numbers, averaging 29.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists per night while shooting 42.7% on three-pointers.

Injury Updates: Curry Brothers, LeBron, Kuzma, Robinson

There’s still no target date for Stephen Curry‘s return from a left leg injury, as he told reporters – including Kendra Andrews of ESPN – on Monday. The Warriors announced last week that Curry would be reevaluated after the All-Star break, but even if that assessment goes well, the former MVP won’t be ready to return to action right away.

“Ligaments can heal in all different types of timelines,” Curry said. “So there’s a window for each checkpoint. After the All-Star break, I will hopefully get back on the court, and then depending on how things go from there, we can key in on a specific date to get back.”

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, the Warriors have a busy schedule out of the All-Star break, with six contests in nine days, so Curry’s missed games could add up quickly if he still needs a week or two to get up to speed after his next reevaluation.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

  • A left adductor strain has kept Nets wing Seth Curry on the shelf for the last five games, but he has been cleared to return on Wednesday vs. Miami, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
  • Lakers star LeBron James has missed three straight games with foot and ankle injuries and could get an extra week of rest if he sits out the team’s last game before the All-Star break. However, head coach Darvin Ham said on Monday that “in all likelihood” James will return on Wednesday vs. New Orleans, writes Kyle Goon of The Southern California News Group.
  • Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma will be back in action on Tuesday night in Portland after missing four consecutive games with a left ankle sprain, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
  • Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, who has been sidelined since January 2 due to finger surgery, appears to be on the verge of returning. He has been upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game in Brooklyn, tweets Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Anthony Edwards, De’Aaron Fox, Pascal Siakam Named All-Stars

The NBA has officially named Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox, and Raptors forward Pascal Siakam as injury replacements for next weekend’s All-Star Game in Salt Lake City (Twitter link).

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), who first reported that the trio was expected to make the All-Star Game, notes that Edwards and Fox will replace Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Pelicans forward Zion Williamson in the West, while Siakam will replace star forward Kevin Durant in the East.

Durant, of course, was traded from the Nets to the Suns this week, but was initially named an Eastern Conference All-Star, so his replacement comes from the East.

In his third season with the Timberwolves, Edwards is averaging a career-high 24.7 points per game on .464/.367/.767 shooting to go along with 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per night in 58 games (36.2 MPG). Fox, a sixth-year guard, is putting up similar numbers for Sacramento, with 24.2 PPG, 6.3 APG, and 4.3 RPG on .504/.326/.789 in 49 games (33.7 MPG).

Both Edwards and Fox are first-time All-Stars.

Siakam, meanwhile, will be playing in his second All-Star Game after making the team in 2020. This season, he’s averaging new career highs in points (25.0) and assists (6.2) per game. He has also put up 8.0 rebounds per game with a .475/.326/.767 shooting line in 46 games and is leading the league in minutes per contest (37.5) for the second straight year.

In a full press release announcing the All-Star changes, the NBA announced that Sixers center Joel Embiid, Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant have all been promoted from All-Star reserves to starters, since Durant, Williamson, and Curry were all on track to start.

Stephen Curry To Be Reassessed After All-Star Break

Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry has been out since February 4 after injuring his left leg against the Mavericks. Imaging after the game, a 119-113 Warriors win, revealed that the 6’2″ vet incurred a lower left leg contusion and partial tears to his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane.

Curry will be reevaluated following the league’s All-Star Weekend festivities next week, the Warriors announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Thus, he will not have an opportunity to suit up for his ninth All-Star appearance in Salt Lake City. He had been voted in as a Western Conference starter. A timeline for his return may be established more clearly after All-Star weekend.

The reigning 2022 NBA Finals MVP had been enjoying a stellar 2022/23 campaign. Through his 38 healthy games, the 34-year-old has been averaging 29.4 PPG on .495/.427/.922 shooting splits. He’s also contributing 6.4 APG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.0 SPG.

Golden State could certainly use him sooner rather than later. The club has more or less treaded water across the 17 contests Curry has missed thus far, going 8-9 in those games.

Pacific Notes: Hachimura, Irving, Durant, Fox

Lakers combo forward Rui Hachimura is comfortably slotting in to his new role with the club, writes Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register. The athletic 6’8″ forward has become a solid fast-breaking force for Los Angeles so far.

His length, size and speed are massive attributes for a team desperately bereft of those components.

“[Russell Westbrook and LeBron James] get all the defensive attention so I have a lot of easy looks, in either transition of the half court,” Hachimura said. “So, yeah, I love playing with those guys.” 

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

  • Prior to his eventual move to the Mavericks, the Lakers had conversations with the Nets about a framework for a Kyrie Irving trade, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Woj reveals that Brooklyn prioritized the Dallas trade offer because it gave them better role-player depth than Los Angeles could offer, in addition to similar future draft equity.
  • Now that Irving is off the Brooklyn roster, the Suns are hoping to make a legitimate trade offer for the Nets’ lone remaining All-Star, power forward Kevin Durant, sources inform Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). There’s no indication that Brooklyn is willing to listen on Durant at this point — if that changes, plenty of other suitors figure to join the Suns.
  • With Warriors All-Star guard Stephen Curry likely to be sidelined for multiple weeks due to a leg injury, commissioner Adam Silver may have to select an injury replacement for the All-Star Game. Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee tweets that Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox deserves to receive serious consideration for that spot.

Stephen Curry Out Several Weeks With Partially Torn Ligaments In Leg

2:35pm: Imaging on Curry’s left leg on Saturday night revealed that he partially tore his superior tibiofibular ligaments and interosseous membrane, in addition to incurring a lower leg contusion, the Warriors have announced in a press statement (Twitter link). The team intends to establish a recovery timeline for Curry in the coming days.


12:36pm: Warriors All-Star point guard Stephen Curry will be sidelined for several weeks with a left leg injury, sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Curry departed Golden State’s victory over the Mavericks on Saturday night in the third quarter after incurring the injury. He underwent imaging subsequently that determined the ailment was more serious than his club had hoped.

This is naturally a huge blow for Golden State, currently the seventh seed in the West at 27-26. There are just 29 games left in the 2022/23 regular season and only two-and-a-half games separate the Warriors and the No. 13 seeded-Lakers. If Golden State cannot at least tread water in the absence of Curry, the team could quickly fall out of the play-in tournament bracket.

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets, Curry’s injury means he will likely be sidelined through at least the 2023 All-Star Weekend, so an injury replacement figures to be selected. Slater cautions that the Warriors are continuing to determine exactly how severe the injury is and exactly how long Curry will be shelved.

Per Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link), Golden State is hopeful Curry could come back soon after the All-Star break. The regular season resumes on February 23.

The reigning Finals MVP is having another great individual season, despite his team’s middling record. Curry is averaging 29.4 PPG on .495/.427/.922 shooting splits, along with 6.4 APG, 6.3 RPG and 1.0 SPG across 38 games.

This could also further complicate the Warriors’ approach to the impending league trade deadline, as the club will have to determine what young assets it is willing to surrender – if any – in order to make a playoff push.