The Golden State Warriors have been without All-Star guard Stephen Curry since Jan. 30, but Curry’s presence is still strong in the Bay.
Curry has been sidelined with what is commonly known as “runner’s knee” for 27 consecutive games, but according to ESPN’s Anthony Slater and Shams Charania, Curry is “expected to get official clearance” and return against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
Ahead of the game, Curry got some shots up and swished a corner three. The four-time NBA champion walked over to greet a man sitting courtside, and the toddler seated beside him did Curry’s famous “Night Night” celebration. Curry obliged and hit the “Night Night,” too.
Curry popularized the “Night Night” in Game 3 of the Warriors’ first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets in April 2022. That playoff run ended in Golden State’s fourth championship since 2015.
“I didn’t say, ‘night night’ at the time,” Curry told Nick DePaula in September 2022. “I was just telling myself, ‘Put ’em to sleep. Fast forward to Game 5, when I made the last layup to go up five with 19 seconds left. That was the official, ‘Put them to sleep.’ The camera didn’t get me on that one, but I actually said it.”
This season, the Warriors have had little to celebrate due to unspeakable injury luck.
Curry told reporters on Saturday that he initially thought he would miss only one week — “ten days max” — and that it was a mental challenge to handle the ambiguous recovery timeline.
“There is nothing structurally wrong with my knee,” the 12-time All-Star said. “So it’s not like I’m compromised out there. It is a new normal, though.”
On top of Curry’s nagging knee injury, the Warriors lost All-Star Jimmy Butler to a season-ending torn ACL in January. Moses Moody missed 10 games with a wrist injury and, in his first game back, suffered a season-ending knee injury on March 23.
Entering Sunday night’s game against Houston, the Warriors are 36-41 and locked into the Western Conference Play-In Tournament. Curry has averaged 27.2 points, 4.8 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 39 games this season.
While speaking with reporters on Saturday, Curry shared his mindset as he enters the final stretch of a disappointing season.
“Hopefully, winning two Play-In games, and then we have another conversation,” Curry said, per Slater. “That’s the only thing that’s in front of us right now.”
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