Just when it seemed the Golden State Warriors’ injury luck couldn’t get any worse, it did.
Six days after making his emotional return from a three-month battle with sciatica, veteran guard Seth Curry is back on the sidelines. The Warriors announced Sunday that Curry suffered a mild left adductor strain during Friday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves and will be re-evaluated in one week .
For a 35-year-old who spent months unable to move normally, it’s a gut punch wrapped in irony.
“He just kept getting worse and worse and then it hit a tipping point,” Curry had said after his March 9 return, describing the back issue that sidelined him for 40 games . Now, after just 12 minutes of game action—a promising 13-point outburst against Utah—he’s facing another recovery process .
The Play That Changed Everything
Seth Curry, Warriors
The injury occurred with 8:12 remaining in the second quarter at Chase Center. Curry was chasing a loose ball and collided with Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo. He went to the locker room immediately and did not return, finishing scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting in seven minutes .
An MRI confirmed the strain. According to Danny Emerman of the San Francisco Standard, Curry’s timeline is identical to veteran forward Al Horford, who suffered a mild calf strain in the same game . Both will miss at least the next four games, including Sunday’s matchup against the New York Knicks and Monday’s contest in Washington .
A Roster in Ruins
Seth Curry’s setback is merely the latest entry in what has become a medical catastrophe for Golden State.
The Warriors entered Sunday’s game against the Knicks without their franchise player. Stephen Curry missed his 17th consecutive contest with right knee pain and inflammation—patellofemoral pain syndrome that has limited him to 39 games this season . He traveled with the team to New York, a morale boost coach Steve Kerr acknowledged, but he’s unlikely to play on the six-game road trip .
Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in early January and is out for the season.
Draymond Green was a late scratch before Friday’s game with lower back soreness and sat out Sunday .
Quinten Post suffered a left ankle sprain against the Timberwolves.
Al Horford is out at least a week with a calf strain.
Kristaps Porzingis and De’Anthony Melton are expected to play Monday, but both were held out Sunday for rest and injury management .
“We’re going through it,” Kerr said after Friday’s loss. “We’re about as beaten up as any team I can ever remember” .
The Numbers Don’t Lie
The statistical reality is grim. Golden State is 9-18 without Stephen Curry this season, including 5-11 during his current absence . The team has lost four straight and nine of its last 12, falling to 32-34 and ninth place in the Western Conference .
Without Curry’s 27.2 points per game and the gravity he creates, the offense has stagnated. Without Butler’s two-way presence, the defense has lost its teeth. Without Green’s quarterbacking, the rotations are a mess .
Seth Curry, in his limited minutes, was supposed to provide a spark—shooting, spacing, and veteran composure off the bench. His 13-point debut in Utah showed exactly what the Warriors had been missing .
“All the injuries and all the stuff going on, I feel like I could have helped throughout the season to put us in a better spot,” he said recently .
Now he’ll have to wait again.
The Mental Toll
For Seth Curry, this injury is particularly cruel given what he endured to get back on the court.
In an interview after his return, he described a months-long ordeal that went far beyond typical NBA soreness. What started as minor back discomfort escalated into sciatic nerve irritation so severe that he lost basic mobility.
“I couldn’t move at all,” Curry told reporters. “It was like a month’s time where I couldn’t like, I really just couldn’t move. I was just laying at home” .
The recovery required patience, discipline, and the uncertainty of whether he’d play again this season. The All-Star break provided a turning point—a chance to ramp up intensity and participate in live basketball activity .
“I think over the All-Star break I made a jump,” he said. “That’s when I knew I’d be able to get back eventually” .
He made it back for exactly one game.
What’s Next
The Warriors signed center Omer Yurtseven to a 10-day contract Sunday to add frontcourt depth . They’ll need it. The schedule doesn’t let up: after New York and Washington, they visit Boston, Detroit, and Atlanta before returning home .
For Seth Curry, the next week is about rest and rehabilitation. A mild strain typically heals with time, and the Warriors are hopeful he can contribute again before the regular season ends.
But at 35, with a history of back issues and now an adductor injury, there are no guarantees. The same could be said for the Warriors’ playoff hopes.
“We miss him,” Kerr said of Stephen Curry. “We miss watching him” .
He could have been talking about any of them.