Stephen Curry’s preseason had been built in modest portions. Then, during Sunday’s open practice at Chase Center, Golden State’s 38-year-old guard left after a noncontact injury to his right ankle.
The Warriors identified the issue as a right-ankle sprain. Curry spoke with Steve Kerr in the training room and indicated that he felt fine, but the team supplied neither a severity grade nor a return date. Wednesday’s opener at the Lakers now sits close on the calendar, giving the incident urgency without providing enough information for a prediction.
The practical question is whether Golden State should abandon its careful ramp-up because that ramp-up failed to prevent an awkward moment. It should not. A measured plan cannot remove every risk from basketball, but it can keep the club from turning one uncertain injury into a larger availability problem through haste.
Curry’s preseason numbers already reflected restraint. His average workload remained below 18 minutes, with 13 points per outing and went 20-for-45 from the field, including 13-for-31 from long range. Those are useful snapshots of exhibition work, though hardly a complete examination of his conditioning or Golden State’s offensive rhythm.
NBC Sports Bay Area also reported that the Warriors had reduced Curry’s scrimmage time and higher-intensity practice work as the regular season neared. That decision limited exposure while the staff observed how he handled basketball activity. It could not prevent every misstep. Sunday’s injury occurred without contact, an example of the uncertainty that survives even a cautious preparation plan.
The distinction between Curry’s current ankle issue and last season’s knee trouble matters. The right-knee injury kept him out for 27 consecutive games and an absence extending beyond two months. Across last season’s 43 appearances, he averaged 26.6 points. The distinction between useful production and sustained availability was already a central problem. Golden State eventually lost its play-in game at Phoenix and missed the playoffs.
That history makes any Curry injury feel heavier, especially on the eve of a new season. It does not establish that his knee problem has returned. It does not make the ankle sprain evidence that last year’s sequence is repeating. Those are separate injuries, and treating one as proof of the other would turn concern into diagnosis.
The timing does increase the cost of a rushed decision. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody are rehabbing leg injuries, Kristaps Porzingis is away while dealing with an illness, and Charles Bassey missed Sunday’s public session with right-knee tendinitis. Brandin Podziemski had practiced earlier but did not take part in the public portion; Kerr said he was unaware of the reason for that absence.
Golden State is already sorting through enough uncertainty without adding assumptions to Curry’s case.