The Golden State Warriors still held on to championship aspirations on the other side of the trade deadline. But those hopes have been clouded by a sobering update regarding the health of their franchise cornerstone. Ahead of their first game after the All-Star break, insiders have revealed that Stephen Curry’s recovery from runner’s knee is far from certain. While the team remains hopeful for a swift return, the medical timeline suggests a worst-case scenario that could see the one more Warriors star sidelined for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign.

During a recent segment on Dubs Talk, Dalton Johnson confirmed that Curry missed the first team practice after the break yesterday (February 17). But so did Draymond Green and Al Horford. The Dubs are going to play against the Boston Celtics on Thursday and Curry is ruled out for that game.

It will be the sixth straight game he’s missing. Instead of a timeline on Steph, Steve Kerr was hopeful about Gui Santos and said that Kristaps Porzingis might make his Warriors debut against his former team. But Monte Poole is saying what Kerr won’t.

Poole broke down the grim mathematics of Curry’s recovery window. “With Steph though, everything that I’ve read says that 3 weeks is like the minimum time to rest and recover,” Poole noted. However, the true worry lies in the upper limit of that recovery curve. “3 weeks is the minimum. Sometimes it can go as long as 8 weeks, so if it is 8 weeks, that’s basically the rest of the season.”

The team is taking Curry’s cue on how to proceed. He sat out the All-Star Game where he was part of Team Stripes with LeBron James and Kevin Durant. There was slight speculation about his return after the break but he was officially ruled out after the latest team practice.

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Poole remarks that Stephen Curry wants to play. So for him to say he’s not fully ready to return to the court means it’s a little more serious than it looks.

Warriors navigating critical stretch without Stephen Curry

Stephen Curry hasn’t played since leaving the game in the second half against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 30. But the issues had come up before that, when the Warriors played back-to-back games in Minnesota.

His knee had a flare-up during shootaround before that game was cancelled. Despite being listed as questionable, he played in the rescheduled game. He was limping the entire time and at one point another player stepped on his toe.

While he initially powered through the pain, he could not continue in that Pistons game. Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga were already sidelined. The Warrriors made trade moves, sending JK and Buddy Hield to Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis, to prioritize Curry’s current window over the future.

All while the team didn’t have a clear picture of when their star will return. Poole reiterated Steve Kerr that Steph is “critical” to the Warriors chances if they want to make a deeper run this season.

According to The Athletic, Golden State has historically struggled to maintain a .500 winning percentage in games where Curry sits. With the possibility of an eight-week recovery looming, the Warriors are essentially “hoping that it is somewhere in between 3 and 8, like maybe 4,” according to Poole. If the timeline leans toward the latter, the Warriors may find themselves fighting for a Play-In spot without their leader.