Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have gone far too long apart.
Curry, now 38 years old, last suited up on January 30. The two-time MVP has missed 27 straight games while battling runner’s knee, with symptoms first appearing during a workout on January 24. What started as a minor issue quickly turned into a lengthy shutdown, casting a dark cloud over his 17th NBA season.
When Curry went down, the Warriors were already reeling. Jimmy Butler had torn his ACL just weeks earlier and is lost for the season — and possibly beyond. The franchise’s hopes for a Curry-Butler partnership in their first full year together have been shattered by injuries. Key rotation players like Al Horford, Seth Curry, and Quinten Post have also missed significant time.
The result? A nightmare 2025-26 season for Golden State. Instead of the expected deep playoff run, the Warriors find themselves stuck as the 10th seed in the play-in tournament, trailing the ninth seed by three full games. They sit several games below .500 with little realistic hope of climbing higher.
Now, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has delivered the major update every fan has been dreading.
After weeks of setbacks, Curry is officially slated to return tonight against the Houston Rockets. However, Kerr’s comments carried a sobering weight that went far beyond simple excitement. While praising Curry extensively, the coach made it clear this comeback comes with massive limitations in a lost season.
“The game tends to get a lot easier for everybody when Steph is out there,” Kerr said after Saturday’s practice. “We’ll still be playing our style of basketball but it will be nice to have him back assuming he’s back… He brings hope to everybody, so the sun is shining a little brighter, food tastes a little better. Steph is Steph — he brings joy to everybody.”
But Kerr didn’t stop there. In what felt like a farewell tone to many listeners, he added:
“He’s the greatest face of a franchise that I’ve ever seen. We owe it to our fans to give them the opportunity to watch Steph Curry play basketball this year.”
That last line hit hard. With the Warriors mathematically alive for the play-in but realistically out of serious contention, Kerr’s emphasis on “this year” sounded like a painful acknowledgment of the end of an era. Curry is coming back from a long shutdown at age 38 with heavy mileage on his body. He’ll be thrust almost immediately into high-stakes, playoff-intensity basketball with almost no ramp-up time.
Tonight’s home game against a strong Houston Rockets team could serve as a bittersweet moment — a chance for fans to see their superstar one more time in meaningful action, even as the broader picture remains grim. The Warriors are not expecting a Finals run or even a deep playoff push. The modest goal is simply to make some noise in the play-in and “go out fighting.”
Curry participated in two five-on-five scrimmages this week and reportedly looked sharp, clearing the final medical hurdles on Thursday. Still, the reality is unavoidable: this is a desperate, late-season return for a aging legend on a damaged roster.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. PT from San Francisco. Warriors fans will get their wish to see Stephen Curry back in uniform tonight — but after Kerr’s emotional and telling comments, many are left wondering how many more nights like this remain.