The Warriors were hit with devastating news in Game 1 of their conference semifinals against the Timberwolves. Early in the third quarter, Stephen Curry left for the locker room with a hamstring strain.
After the game, which the Warriors won 99-88, Draymond Green revealed the first words Curry uttered to him before leaving the court.
“I just saw him limping a bit, so I walked over to him, telling him, ‘Good pass,’ and he was kind of walking towards the locker room, and I said, ‘You good?’ He was like, ‘I’ll be back,'” Green said, via The Athletic’s Anthony Slater.
Green noted he was not aware of Curry visibly reaching for his hamstring while running back up the court after his floater. When Curry sounded optimistic about returning to the court, Green wasn’t too worried.
Here’s Draymond Green’s perspective on the Steph Curry injury — said Curry was “deflated” — and the team’s response without him
“Robin turned into Batman and what do you call Buddy? Alfred turned into Robin.” pic.twitter.com/86BC7OzmE0
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 7, 2025
Warriors Were in the Dark
Green’s outlook changed when he returned to the locker room.
“We didn’t really know what was going on for a while, several minutes, and I mean, game time minutes, which is a lot longer than just a minute,” Green revealed.
“We didn’t know for a long time, and then they finally told us it was a hamstring.”
“A little deflating, but we knew he had done a great job of helping us build a comfortable enough lead. And Robin [Jimmy Butler] turned into Batman. What y’all call Buddy? … Yeah, Alfred [Buddy Hield] turned into Robin, and they just filled in, so it was beautiful to see,” Green said with a smile. “And then everybody played great minutes.
“Hopefully, we get Steph back, but regardless, if we get Steph back or not, that’s a really good team with a lot of pride and a lot of talent and the cohesiveness of that team has grown over the year and so they’re a together team and we know they’re gonna come out fighting.”
Stephen Curry Was ‘Deflated’
Green revealed that Curry was “deflated” in the locker room and did not sound optimistic about the sharpshooter’s return for the remainder of the series.
“He was a little deflated, but he tried not to show it,” Green said of Curry’s mindset in the locker room.
“He was just in the locker room waiting on guys to come in, continuing to show that support, saying what he saw going on in the game, but it was a tough one.”
Green — who recorded 18 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in the win — admittedly channelled Curry’s spirit by knocking down four threes.
“No, don’t put that on me,” Green joked.
“I just wanted to come out, be aggressive, and take open shots. I missed the first one, which felt very good. Then the second one went in. I shot the pick-and-pop three. I was like, ‘All right, that one went in, I’ma keep it rolling.’ So it was good to see the ball go through the hole, but I think I still enjoyed the defensive end more.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has ruled Curry out of Game 2. It remains to be seen if the future Hall of Famer recovers in time for Game 3 at home or even Game 4.
Renowned physical therapist Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT, provided a timeline for how long Curry could miss with his hamstring injury.
Stephen Curry was diagnosed with a “hamstring strain” This is worst case scenario in a playoff series
Typical timeline of healing is
Grade I: 7-10 days
Grade II: 3-6 weeks pic.twitter.com/fSY4ElyyaM— Dr. Evan Jeffries, DPT (@GameInjuryDoc) May 7, 2025
