Stephen Curry slammed the basketball against the floor in frustration at Sunday’s open practice in San Francisco, then limped to the locker room. For anyone who watched him miss 27 games last season with a right knee problem, the sight was alarming—and early headlines made it worse before Steve Kerr walked out and set the record straight.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, 38, misstepped along the perimeter while being guarded by De’Anthony Melton during Sunday’s October 18, 2026, open practice at Chase Center. Initial reports—including an ESPN alert using the URL slug “stephen-curry-limps-practice-tweaking-knee”—reported a right knee injury. Head coach Steve Kerr clarified post-practice that Curry actually tweaked his right ankle, not his right knee, and that Curry told the coaching staff “he’s fine.” A Warriors team source confirmed to ESPN the ankle issue is “not serious.” The Warriors open the regular season on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
If you saw the early “right knee” alerts from Sunday, you can exhale. Curry avoided re-aggravating the right knee that cost him 27 games in the final two months of the 2025–26 season. His availability for Wednesday against the Lakers remained subject to the official NBA injury report, though Kerr has said he plans to rest Curry selectively throughout back-to-back sets this season.
The knee drew immediate panic because patellofemoral pain syndrome—which ended Curry’s 2025–26 season early—takes months to recover from and can recur. The ankle tweak, by contrast, is a far more routine early-season issue for a guard who plays his game on sharp lateral cuts. The bigger concern for Golden State entering Wednesday is not Curry’s ankle—it’s the roster around him. Jimmy Butler (recovering from a torn ACL), Moses Moody (patellar tendon surgery), and Kristaps Porzingis (out with an unspecified health issue) are all sidelined for the opener. For comparison, the Sacramento Kings, also opening Wednesday against the Clippers, are dealing with their own season-before-it-started injury in our Ben Simmons torn Achilles report.
Even ESPN’s initial URL framing—”tweaking-knee”—showed how little margin Golden State has if Curry’s health becomes a question. He is carrying a depleted opening-night roster as a 38-year-old entering his 18th season.
Did Steph Curry hurt his knee or his ankle at Warriors practice?
Stephen Curry tweaked his right ankle, not his right knee, during Sunday’s October 18, 2026, open practice in San Francisco. Although early reports feared he had reaggravated the patellofemoral pain syndrome that cost him 27 games in 2025–26, coach Steve Kerr confirmed after practice that it was a minor ankle issue and Curry said he is “fine.”
Check Tuesday’s official NBA injury report for Wednesday’s Warriors–Lakers opener at Crypto.com Arena for Curry’s final designation.
