Steph Curry limps off court as Warriors receive an untimely injury scare

The Golden State Warriors have little room for injury worries with the NBA season about to begin. However, Stephen Curry has sparked fresh concern after footage showed him limping off during practice.

The alarming moment quickly caught fans’ attention, raising questions about the superstar’s availability for Golden State’s season opener. With expectations high for the new campaign, even a minor injury scare can create uncertainty.

The scare came during the Warriors’ open practice on Sunday. Curry planted his right leg while trying to make a play and then quickly limped off the court in visible pain.

Videos of the injury spread like wildfire across social media platforms. Reporter Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area shared a clip of Curry heading to the locker room. The whole arena went suddenly quiet.

Warriors forward Gui Santos told reporters afterward that the whole team felt scared when Curry limped off. He also added that Curry is tough and the way he walked suggested that nothing really bad was happening.

Warriors coaches and staff checked on Curry after he limped to the locker room. Kerr later told reporters that Curry had hurt his right ankle and said the star guard was fine.

Curry was making a move against De’Anthony Melton when he appeared to lose his footing. He bounced the basketball hard twice in frustration before favoring his right leg and limping off the court.

Golden State had already been managing Curry carefully before the scare. The Warriors reduced his workload during practice and limited his preseason minutes as part of a plan aimed at keeping the 38-year-old healthy through the season.

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Curry slipped midway through a near-full-speed scrimmage and pulled up gingerly on his right leg. He flipped the ball away and limped off the floor while grimacing in pain.

The Warriors classified the injury as a sprained right ankle. Kerr repeatedly said Curry was fine after practice. Asked whether his heart skipped a beat when Curry limped off, Kerr replied, “Always, always.”

The annual open practice is usually a relaxed opportunity for Bay Area fans to see the roster up close. This time, stunned gasps followed Curry’s injury, and he did not return to the scrimmage.

Kerr said Monday that Curry will play Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Curry still has a sprained right ankle but was a full participant in Monday’s practice.

The Warriors open the new season on Wednesday night in Los Angeles. Relief spread across the Bay Area and the wider basketball world once Kerr shared the update. Golden State needed that good news badly.

Curry also missed more than two months of last season with runner’s knee. That history is why even a minor ankle scare draws so much attention. At age 38, he is entering his 18th season.

A study in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine followed 164 players through 1 competitive season. It found that 52.9% of players who suffered ankle sprains reported a previous ankle sprain.

The study identified ankle sprains as the most common acute injury in basketball. Landing on an opponent’s foot or changing direction were identified as common mechanisms. Those movements are routine parts of basketball.

Context matters here. The research included men and women across multiple levels of competition rather than focusing specifically on NBA players. Its findings help explain why recurring ankle problems remain an important concern in basketball.

A review of 10 years of NCAA injury data found that ankle injury rates were highest during the preseason. Most ankle injuries were also treated conservatively. Curry’s sprain likewise occurred before Golden State’s regular season began.

In that research, lateral ligament complex tears accounted for about 80% of ankle injuries among male college players. About 65.2% of men’s ankle injuries resulted in fewer than 7 days of time lost.

College data cannot predict Curry’s individual recovery timetable. His age, medical history and specific injury characteristics also matter. Still, the research provides useful context for how ankle injuries have affected collegiate basketball players.

Curry appeared in 43 of Golden State’s 82 regular-season games last season while dealing with several health issues, including ankle problems, a quadriceps injury and a lengthy bout of patellofemoral pain syndrome in his right knee.

The Warriors went 24-19 with Curry in the lineup and 13-26 without him during the 2025-26 regular season. He missed 27 consecutive games and more than 2 months because of the knee problem before returning in April.

Curry returned before Golden State’s play-in loss to the Phoenix Suns. He is earning about $62.6 million in 2026-27, but his deal is no longer expiring: in September, he agreed to a 2-year, $116 million extension that runs through the 2028-29 season.

Little-known fact: Curry received little interest from major college basketball programs out of high school. Virginia Tech, where both of his parents had attended, wanted him to redshirt or walk on. Curry instead chose Davidson College, where he could play immediately.

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Curry has said his goal is to play at least 65 games this season, while Golden State is carefully managing the workload of its 38-year-old star. The team has reduced some of his high-intensity practice work and is expected to manage him carefully during a schedule that includes numerous back-to-backs.

Golden State is already dealing with significant absences. Jimmy Butler continues to recover from a torn ACL, Moses Moody is rehabilitating a ruptured patellar tendon, and Kristaps Porziņģis remains out indefinitely because of a health-related issue.

Those absences make Curry’s availability especially important. The Warriors were 24-19 when he played last season and 13-26 when he did not, illustrating how sharply their results differed depending on whether he was in the lineup.

• Curry sprained his right ankle at Sunday’s open practice and limped off.

• Kerr says he is fine and Curry practiced fully on Monday.

• He is expected to play the season opener against the Lakers on Wednesday.

• Ankle sprains often repeat, so Golden State will watch him closely.

• The Warriors roster is thin, so Curry’s health shapes their season.

Curry sprained his right ankle at Sunday’s open practice and limped off.

Kerr says he is fine and Curry practiced fully on Monday.

He is expected to play the season opener against the Lakers on Wednesday.

Ankle sprains often repeat, so Golden State will watch him closely.

The Warriors roster is thin, so Curry’s health shapes their season.

This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.