An MRI revealed Friday that Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry’s right ankle has no structural damage, but his return remains unclear after he was downgraded to out on the injury report ahead of Saturday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Curry, 35, injured the ankle late during Thursday night’s 125-122 loss to the Chicago Bulls. After undergoing imaging, the guard will now work to rehabilitate the injury during an absence that will likely not “cost him many games,” according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“The good news was the MRI was basically fine,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on the “Willard and Dibs” on 95.7 The Game on Friday night. “But an injury like this takes a couple of days to really evaluate.”
Referring to a couple of NBA betting sites, Curry is the front-runner to win NBA Clutch Player of the Year. Sportsbooks are still showing great odds for DeMar DeRozan and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Warriors star Stephen Curry will miss some time – at least a game or few games – with a right ankle sprain but there’s optimism his absence will not be lengthy, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater. pic.twitter.com/Tl2JCDKcOx
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 8, 2024
Curry exited with 3:51 to play after scoring 15 points against Chicago. He began 1-of-7 (14.3%) shooting, missing four of his initial five 3-point tries and finished with only five points at halftime, as Golden State trailed 63-59. The two-time MVP drained a 25-footer over Alex Caruso with 9:35 left in the third.
“I know we’re going to miss him if he does need time off,” said Klay Thompson, who led the Warriors with 25 points. “We’ve been in this position before where he has had time off, and we just got to do it collectively. I know he’ll be ready to go when he does come back, whenever that is. We just wish him a speedy recovery.”
Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry leads NBA with 290 3-pointers, Luka Doncic is second with 216
Through 59 games (all starts) this season, Curry is averaging 26.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 32.8 minutes per game while shooting 44.9% from the field, 40.7% from 3-point range, and 92% at the foul line.
Curry leads the NBA with 290 3-pointers this season. Luka Doncic is a distant second with 216 3s, followed by Donte DiVincenzo (200), Thompson (194), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (185).
The 15-year veteran ranks fifth in points (1,590), second in free throw percentage, seventh in offensive box plus/minus (6.1), and eighth in usage percentage (31.5%).
Steve Kerr with the latest on Steph Curry 🙏 pic.twitter.com/9kgpS7sIAn
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) March 9, 2024
In Golden State’s 141-134 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Feb. 3, Curry recorded a season-high 60 points on 22-of-38 (57.9%) shooting from the floor and 10-of-23 (43.5%) from downtown.
Twenty-two of his 60 points were scored in the fourth quarter, the most by an NBA player this season. In a four-way tie for second, Coby White, P.J. Washington, Donovan Mitchell, and D’Angelo Russell have each scored 21.
Furthermore, Golden State is 0-3 without Curry this season. The Warriors’ losses were to Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and Milwaukee — all above-.500 teams. The Dubs went 14-12 last season without the two-time scoring champ.
The Warriors are 33-29 and ninth in the Western Conference standings.
