Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is reportedly expected to miss some time after suffering a sprained ankle during Thursday’s 125-122 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Curry is expected to miss “at least a game or few games,” but his absence will not be lengthy.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added that an MRI on Curry’s ankle came back clean, so he “won’t miss much time.”
Curry missed time earlier this season with a knee injury and played just 56 games last season. He hasn’t reached the 70-game mark in a campaign since the 2016-17 campaign.
Prior to now, Curry has largely been healthy this season, though, appearing in 59 of the Dubs’ 62 games.
When healthy, the four-time champion and two-time league MVP is one of the best players in the history of the sport. His presence alone shifts the way opposing defenses have to play the Warriors because he can pull up from well beyond the three-point line at a moment’s notice.
He is averaging 26.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from deep this season.
While the Warriors don’t have anyone who can replicate Curry’s impact while he is sidelined, they can at least rely on notable veterans in Chris Paul and Klay Thompson in the backcourt.
Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Lester Quinones and Gary Payton II may also see more time.
Golden State has played some of its best basketball of the season lately, winning 14 of its past 19 games to improve to 33-29, which is good for ninth in the Western Conference.
It sounds as though the Warriors will be without their best player for at least Saturday’s home game against the 13-50 San Antonio Spurs.