Curry Breaking Radio Silence on the Knee That Wouldn't Cooperate: 'It's a New Normal'

Stephen Curry is back. Sort of. The Warriors star finally got the all-clear from the medical staff on Saturday ahead of his return Sunday night against Houston, and in a lengthy news conference, he laid bare exactly what the last two months have felt like: unpredictable, frustrating, and nothing like any injury he has dealt with before.

"I thought I was going to be out a week," Curry said. "Ten days max." That's not how it went down. The right knee issue that first showed up Jan. 24 during a workout in Minneapolis turned into a two-month nightmare. He played through it for a few games before leaving the lineup Jan. 30, and the thing just would not cooperate no matter what he tried.

The Rehab Nobody Saw Coming

Here is the brutal part: there was no timeline. No "you will be back in four weeks." This was different from any ankle, knee, or tailbone injury Curry had experienced before because he could not push through it or be on the court while it was still healing. The swelling and pain kept sneaking back.

"Every time I got on the court or tried to push it in that first month, there was always a reaction," Curry said. "You just knew it wasn't healing as fast as you thought."

He advanced to 5-on-5 scrimmaging this past week and finally got cleared, though he will be listed as questionable. Assuming no unexpected setbacks in the next 24 hours, he is expected to play. The pain kept returning during rehab sessions, with discomfort creeping in toward the end and then getting worse the next day. He chased return timelines that kept moving: mid-February after the All-Star break, then a March road trip out East, then a setback in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago when it felt close.

The Rest of His Career Starts Now

Curry turned 38 in mid-March. He has one more season left on his current contract and has talked about wanting to keep playing beyond that. When asked if this knee is something he will need to manage for the rest of his career, his answer was honest: "Yes and no."

"There's nothing structurally wrong with my knee," Curry said. "So it's not like I'm compromised out there. It is a new normal, though, if that makes sense."

Every morning, the first thing he thinks about is how that knee feels. That has been the struggle. Even now, as good as he feels, he is hoping it stays that way.

The Warriors went 9-18 without him over 27 games and currently sit as the firm 10th seed in the Western Conference with five games left in the regular season. Curry's return Sunday night against Houston is the move everybody has been waiting for.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.