Warriors star misses NBA Cup opener while symptoms worsen despite playing through discomfort
Sometimes your body sends you a message, and sometimes it sends you a certified letter with tracking confirmation. For Steph Curry, what started as a minor inconvenience following the Warriors’ recent Midwest road swing has evolved into a full-blown problem that’s keeping him off the court for multiple games. Golden State will navigate Friday night’s NBA Cup opener in Denver without their superstar point guard, and honestly, nobody’s happy about it.
When pushing through backfires spectacularly
Here’s the thing about playing through illness it sounds heroic until it makes everything worse. Curry first noticed symptoms creeping in before Tuesday’s home matchup against the Phoenix Suns. Being the competitor he is, the 17th-year veteran suited up anyway, dropping 28 points across 34 minutes like it was just another day at the office.
But appearances can be deceiving. During his postgame media obligations, Curry looked and sounded miserable, coughing and sniffling his way through a mercifully brief news conference. He admitted his energy tank hit empty somewhere in the second half, the kind of confession that usually means things were way worse than the box score suggested. Playing through sickness might work in movies, but real life doesn’t care about your narrative arc.
The illness timeline keeps expanding
Curry apparently picked up whatever’s plaguing him during Golden State’s recent road trip through Milwaukee and Indianapolis. Road trips are basically germ incubators anyway hotels, airplanes, arenas packed with thousands of people. It’s like voluntarily entering a petri dish and hoping for the best.
After that Tuesday night performance against Phoenix, the Warriors immediately shut things down, ruling Curry out for Wednesday’s game in Sacramento. That contest turned into a loss without their floor general orchestrating things, and now Friday’s NBA Cup opener against Denver will proceed minus the team’s most important player. Sometimes caution arrives fashionably late to the party.
Symptoms getting worse, not better
Coach Steve Kerr stayed in touch with Curry via text, and the news wasn’t encouraging. Instead of improving with rest, Curry’s symptoms have actually worsened. That’s the opposite of what you want to hear when dealing with any illness, especially one that’s already cost your team multiple games against conference opponents.
The decision was made for Curry to skip the trip to Denver entirely, opting instead to rest at home in the Bay Area. That home recovery should continue through Sunday night when the Pacers visit San Francisco. Indiana just happens to be one of the cities where Curry potentially caught whatever’s currently winning the battle inside his immune system. The irony writes itself.
NBA Cup timing couldn’t be worse
Friday’s game against Denver marks Golden State’s opening contest in the NBA Cup, the league’s in-season tournament that teams actually care about now. Missing your best player for a tournament opener against a quality opponent like the Nuggets? That’s rough. The NBA Cup might not carry the same weight as playoff games, but it matters for seeding, momentum, and that competitive pride that drives professional athletes.
Denver presents challenges even when Golden State operates at full strength. Without Curry’s gravity warping opposing defenses and his ability to create scoring opportunities from seemingly impossible situations, the Warriors face an uphill battle. Someone will need to step up significantly to fill that void, and spoiler alert—nobody shoots like Steph Curry except Steph Curry.
Silver linings in the injury report
While Curry sits this one out, the Warriors might catch a break with other key players potentially returning. Draymond Green is listed as probable despite dealing with a rib contusion, while Jimmy Butler carries a questionable tag due to a lower back strain. Both missed Wednesday’s loss to Sacramento, but Kerr expressed hope they’ll be available against the Nuggets.
Green’s defensive versatility and Butler’s two-way capabilities would provide significant upgrades to whatever lineup the Warriors throw out there Friday night. Having those two back in the rotation helps offset Curry’s absence, though let’s be honest—there’s no true replacement for what the Baby-Faced Assassin brings nightly.
The bigger picture concerns
Beyond Friday’s single game, the Warriors need Curry healthy for the long haul. The Western Conference remains brutally competitive, and every game against conference opponents carries extra weight come playoff seeding time. Rushing Curry back before he’s genuinely ready risks prolonging this illness or potentially making it worse, which helps nobody.
The smart play involves giving Curry however much time he needs to fully recover, even if that means missing additional games. Golden State built enough depth during the offseason to survive short-term absences, and this qualifies as exactly that kind of situation. Better to lose a couple games in November than risk Curry’s availability for more important contests later.
Rest, recovery, and realistic timelines
Sunday’s home game against Indiana provides a logical target date for Curry’s return, assuming his symptoms actually improve over the next few days. The extra rest combined with avoiding travel should help, though predicting illness recovery timelines remains inexact science at best. Bodies heal on their own schedule, regardless of basketball calendars and NBA Cup implications.
The Warriors will monitor Curry’s progress closely, making game-time decisions based on how he’s actually feeling rather than how desperately they want him on the court. That’s the responsible approach, even when it means navigating difficult matchups without your franchise cornerstone.
For now, Golden State enters Denver shorthanded but not hopeless. They’ve won games without Curry before—not many, but some—and Friday night offers another opportunity to prove the team’s depth isn’t just theoretical. Meanwhile, Curry gets to rest, recover, and hopefully kick whatever illness decided to mess with the wrong sharpshooter.
