The Steph Curry injury that silenced Chase Center on Sunday turned out to be a sprained right ankle, not the knee that cost him months last season.
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Curry went down during the Warriors’ open practice in front of thousands of fans. He went to make a move on De’Anthony Melton when his sneakers squeaked on the court and his body got stuck. Curry stopped to catch his breath, then limped down the hallway and into the locker room as the building went quiet.
The first fear was his right knee. Curry missed 27 straight games last season with runner’s knee, a painful condition around the kneecap that flares up from repeated stress on the joint. In total he missed 39 regular season games, and Golden State missed the playoffs.
The Warriors quickly cleared that up. The team said Curry has a sprained right ankle and did not injure his knee. Steve Kerr said he spoke with Curry in the training room afterward and that he was in good spirits, and Curry told his coach he was fine.
The timing still has Warriors fans holding their breath. Golden State opens the regular season Wednesday in Los Angeles against Luka Doncic and the Lakers, and the team has not said whether Curry will play. At 38 and heading into his 18th season, the Warriors have already been careful with how much he does in the lead up to the opener.
They have good reason to be. Jimmy Butler is out for months after tearing his ACL, Moses Moody is also out for months, and Kristaps Porzingis is out indefinitely. Without Curry on top of that, Golden State would be thin in a big way.
For now, the Steph Curry injury looks like a scare more than a setback, and the next update on his status for Wednesday will tell Warriors fans how close he is to being ready.
