If you hadn’t known Stephen Curry was battling a knee injury, a recent performance against the Houston Rockets proved he came back right where he left off.
Coming off the injury, which sidelined Curry for two months, he scored 29 points in a limited 26 minutes of action against the Houston Rockets, while nailing five of his 10 three-point attempts. Curry’s long-awaited debut provided a glimmer of joy in what has been an underwhelming season for the Golden State Warriors.
The superstar may have shown no signs of rust in his first game back, even though his knee problems aren’t in the rearview.
The Challenges of Curry’s Knee
What made Steph Curry’s knee injury and recovery process difficult was how tricky his injury actually was.
Curry was dealing with what the team described as “runner’s knee” ever since he left a game against the Detroit Pistons early on Jan. 30.
Runner’s knee typically involves pain and swelling around the kneecap area. Though Curry initially expected to be back soon after Jan. 30, his knee continued to flare up. There was no magical remedy that could have fast-forwarded his comeback.
During his absence, the Warriors slipped to the 10th seed. The team also ran out of bodies to suit up while Curry was out, relying primarily on young and sometimes unproven players. The injury has been an invasive thought on his mind. Each day carries a question mark of how his knee will respond.
“Every day I wake up, first thing I think is how this is going to feel. That’s been a struggle throughout this whole process,” he recently told ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
Curry’s knee likely needs to continue being monitored. It will take some time for him to adjust to playing on his knee post-injury.
“There’s nothing structurally wrong with my knee,” he said to Slater. “So it’s not like I’m compromised out there. It is a new normal, though, if that makes sense.”
Curry has the green light to play in NBA games now, but it may still be a recurring issue in the future, given his age.
Adapting to the Injury
If Steph Curry’s performance versus the Rockets is any indication of how his knee will hold up, the Warriors don’t need to worry.
But the Warriors will still play it safe with their MVP the rest of this year. Especially, as he continues to increase his minutes load slowly but surely. He has come off the bench in the first two games since he returned, hovering around the 25-minute mark.
Steve Kerr echoed this sentiment during a recent press conference following Curry’s return to action.
Curry is slowly creeping up on 40 and has already endured a series of injuries, even before the runner’s knee diagnosis.
He knows that his recovery process requires adjustment now to maintain the health of his knee going forward. An extended period of rest without the rush of gearing back up for NBA action would be ideal. That will have to wait until Golden State’s 2025-26 season ends.
“It’s just a matter of understanding what I need to do off the court to make sure everything around my knee is strong and firing the right way,” the 38-year-old told NBC Sports Bay Area this week. “I’ll take full advantage of the offseason, whenever it is, to have a full reset. And then you just figure out what it looks like going into next year.”
It’s Not Yet Over for Curry
The Dubs are locked into the Play-In Tournament. It will likely face the Portland Trail Blazers in the 9/10 game. It is difficult to imagine a world in which the Warriors decide to call his season a wrap unless he or the medical team believes there is an issue. The team will need their franchise hero at his best if it wants to sneak into the playoffs.
Curry’s longevity remains nothing short of amazing over his 17-year career. Advances in sports science have helped athletes bounce back quicker than ever, still play at high levels, and maintain that for a longer period of time.
Steph Curry’s knee injury is by no means the official kickoff of an imminent farewell tour. But it is a reminder that each ailment must be taken seriously as he enters the final chapter of his career.
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