Stephen Curry injury update: Warriors star likely out Game 2 with hamstring strain, return timeline unclear

The Golden State Warriors suffered a potentially huge blow in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. Stephen Curry exited in the second quarter of the eventual Golden State win and did not return with a strained left hamstring. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of the strain. There’s currently no clear timeline on his return, but Kerr noted it’s unlikely that Curry would play in Thursday night’s Game 2. 

“We’re definitely game-planning for him to not be available on Thursday, but we don’t know yet,” Kerr said. “With a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.”

Curry got off to a fast start with 13 points in his first 13 minutes in a game the Warriors went on to win by 11 points. After hitting a 3 on one end, Curry appeared to suffer the injury on defense.  He managed to stay in the game and hit another push shot on Golden State’s next trip down the floor, but then he asked out of the game and went straight to the locker room with a noticeable limp.

Here’s a look at what happened:

“I talked to him at halftime. He’s obviously crushed,” Kerr said of Curry. “The guys picked him up and played a great game. And obviously we’re all concerned about Steph, but it’s part of the game. Guys get hurt, you move on. Our guys did a great job of moving on and getting a great win 48 hours after a Game 7 road win. It’s an amazing group of guys. They compete. They’re together. They’ve been the best defense in the league since the Jimmy trade and that’s what’s keeping us afloat right now.”

A big factor here: There is only one day of rest between each game through Game 5 of this series, so even a weeklong absence could potentially cause Curry to be out through Game 4. There are three off days scheduled in the series between Game 5 (May 14) and Game 6 (May 18).

Even up 1-0, the Warriors are still underdogs (+126 to win the series at FanDuel) against the Wolves with Curry’s health up in the air. They will hope for good news, but this was their sixth game in 11 days after a rock fight of a seven-game series in the first round with the Houston Rockets. The Rockets were extremely physical with Curry, who is 37 years old. These things add up. 

The Warriors will likely need to lean more on Jimmy Butler as the series continues. Butler finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists on 20 shots in Game 1, and he has one of the best postseason pedigrees in basketball after leading the Heat to the Finals in 2020 and 2023.

“Jimmy’s capable of carrying a team,” Draymond Green said. “He carried a team to the Finals twice. We won’t panic”