The Golden State Warriors’ 2025-26 season came to a disappointing end Friday night with a 111-96 play-in loss to the Phoenix Suns, extinguishing any hopes of a postseason run. For Stephen Curry, however, the focus immediately shifted from the court to the course — and the two-time MVP delivered a light-hearted yet telling update on how he plans to heal his troublesome right knee.
When asked postgame about what he needs to do this offseason to return healthy for next season after missing 27 games with the injury, Curry didn’t dive into medical jargon or rigorous training regimens. Instead, he offered a humorous prescription that had the room in stitches.
“They say a lot of golf helps my knee,” Curry said with a grin. “I heard that was part of the research I did. It was pretty, pretty incredible.”
Behind the joke lay a more substantive message about his recovery. Curry emphasized that the primary plan is straightforward: rest, combined with continued maintenance and mindfulness of how the injury developed.
“It’s mostly rest,” he explained. “There are some things I can do to prepare myself for next year, which I’ll stay on top of. I think big picture, I don’t think there’s anything [major]. You have to be mindful of how it showed itself this year, knowing there was a clear difference in how I prepared pre-injury and post-injury.”
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Curry added that he intends to continue the rehab and maintenance routines that have helped him recently, describing the situation as “kind of touch and go.” His optimism was clear when he addressed the long-term outlook.
“Hopefully rest will get me right, going to training camp feeling good, and be able to manage it early in the year,” he said. “I don’t feel like there’s going to be any real long-term symptoms or anything.”
That final reassurance carried significant weight for Warriors fans. The knee issue — which sidelined Curry for over two months and clearly impacted his explosiveness at times upon return — is not viewed by the star as a chronic problem that will derail the later stages of his career. Instead, the belief is that proper rest and smart management will have him entering next season ready to lead once again.
When pressed about how much time he sees remaining in his playing days, Curry responded confidently: “Multiple (years) for sure. That’s more than one?”
Curry’s affinity for golf is no secret. He is a serious player who won the 2023 American Century Championship at Lake Tahoe and finished fifth in the 2025 edition of the celebrity tournament. Images of him competing in the event show a focused athlete who brings the same competitive fire to the links as he does to the basketball court. A summer spent on the fairways, far from the physical toll of an 82-game NBA season, aligns perfectly with both his personal interests and the medical advice he’s referencing in jest.
Friday’s performance against the Suns — a 4-of-16 shooting night that followed a vintage 35-point outburst in a comeback win over the Clippers — underscored how taxing the long season had been on the 38-year-old guard. The injury had limited him in stretches, and the grind of chasing a playoff spot clearly took its toll.
For the Warriors, the message from their franchise cornerstone is encouraging. Rest is the priority, and whatever form that “research-backed” recovery takes — including plenty of time on the golf course — the organization needs Curry healthy and firing on all cylinders when training camp opens.
The golf clubs are presumably already being dusted off in the Bay Area. After carrying the Warriors through another challenging year, Stephen Curry has more than earned a summer of fairways, birdies, and — with any luck — a refreshed right knee ready for another run in 2026-27.
Whether the golf truly qualifies as peer-reviewed rehabilitation remains up for debate, but one thing is certain: when Steph Curry speaks, the basketball world listens. And right now, he’s teeing up what he hopes will be a much stronger sequel next season.