Steph Curry Dealt Unfortunate News During Warriors Absence

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Feb 20, 2026 10:38 PM ET

Steph Curry has been forced to watch on as the Golden State Warriors dropped a second-straight game, falling to 29-27 on the 2025-26 NBA season after a 121-110 loss to Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Now, the Warriors will turn their attention to Sunday's matchup, remaining in the Bay Area to take on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Curry, at 37, remains one of the NBA’s top players, averaging a team-high 27.2 points on 46.8% shooting, along with 3.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. However, the former Davidson star has missed the last six games due to a knee injury and was unavailable for Thursday’s loss to the Celtics following the All-Star break.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) runs back on defense against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter at Chase Center.Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

However, before Golden State faced off against Boston, it was revealed that Curry would be reevaluated in 10 days, leaving the point guard out for the next few games. However, a recent MRI came back clean on Curry's "runner's knee," with Kerr claiming "it's just lingering soreness."

In total, Curry has missed 17 of the Warriors’ 56 games this season, including brief absences early in the year because of quad and ankle injuries, as well as an illness. With Curry expected to be sidelined for at least another week, he will likely miss Sunday’s matchup with the Nuggets, which would mark his 18th missed game of the season.

The NBA recently implemented the “65-game rule,” which went into effect for the 2023-24 season. Under the rule, a player who fails to appear in at least 65 games (miss 18+ games) is ineligible for major end-of-season awards. That means Curry would not qualify for honors such as NBA MVP or an All-NBA selection if he does not reach the 65-game threshold.

"Breaking: Stephen Curry is now INELIGIBLE for any end of season awards, after being sidelined an additional 10-days with a knee injury ," Bleacher Report wrote on Instagram. "He's been out since January 30"