Stephen Curry’s NBA career got off to a worrisome start. He emerged as a potential star, and was selected by the Golden State Warriors in 7th round in the 2009 NBA Draft. Curry played quite regularly, but he spent his first three seasons with injury. regular ankle.
Curry’s ankle problems have drawn comparisons to Grant Hill, a Hall of Famer who had to retire early due to a similar injury. Former Warriors general manager Bob Myers said he’s never seen someone sprain an ankle in “crazy, non-traditional ways” like Curry.
An ankle injury greatly affected Curry’s early years in the NBA, but the 35-year-old superstar overcame it and became one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Curry’s ankle injury history
2009/10 season
March 17, 2010 : Curry misses the first game of the rookie season due to a sprained left ankle. He had to wear ankle boots after the game.
March 20, 2010 : Curry returned after 2 games absent. He scored nine points when he threw 4/10 in 25 minutes on the field.
April 14, 2010 : The Warriors end their season with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Curry played 80 of 82 possible games, averaging 17.5 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote behind Tyreke Evans and earned a spot in the Rookie of the Year First Team alongside Evans, Brandon Jennings, Darren Collison and Taj Gibson.
2010/11 season
October 29, 2010 : After spraining his right ankle in a pre-season game and worsening it in the season-opening win over the Houston Rockets, Curry re-injured his ankle in the game. second of the season sophomore year.
“I had to do more rehab; that’s all I could do,” says Curry. “Now I have to handle it smart and try to get back to 100 percent fitness, make it stronger so that even if I step on someone’s foot, I can still recover.”
November 5, 2010 : Curry scores 20 points in a win over the Utah Jazz after sitting out two games in a row with a sprained right ankle.
December 8, 2010 : Curry has to leave the game against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half because of a sprained right ankle. He was helped off the floor by his teammates and did not return.
December 25, 2010 : The Warriors bring Curry back in a Christmas Day game against the Trail Blazers. He only scored four points, throwing 2/15, but Curry had 11 assists and helped the Warrors win.
Curry had missed the previous six games because of an ankle injury.
April 13, 2011 : Curry plays the Warriors’ last game of the season. He finished his second-year campaign with an average of 18.6 points, 5.8 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 74 games.
May 25, 2011 : More than a month after the Warriors’ regular season ended, the club announced that Curry had undergone surgery on his right ankle in Charlotte, North Carolina. Injury caused Curry to miss a total of eight games during the 2010/11 season.
2011/12 season
December 26, 2011 : Curry sprains his ankle after a challenge against Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose in the second game of the season. He was X-rayed after the game, the result was that his leg was not broken.
This is the second time Curry has sprained his ankle in seven days.
December 28, 2011 : Curry misses out on the Knicks due to a pain in his right ankle. Warriors explain this is to prevent injury recurrence.
February 22, 2012 : Curry strained a tendon in his right foot in the first half against the Phoenix Suns, giving him only 10 minutes to play.
February 28, 2012 : The Warriors were without Curry in their first game back from All-Star Weekend due to a tendon strain in his right foot.
February 29, 2012 : Warriors head coach Mark Jackson sends Curry into the final seconds of a close game against the Hawks as bait. David Lee scored with possession to put the Warriors ahead.
March 5, 2012: After sitting out 3 of 4 games and playing just 3 seconds in the game he was in, Curry returned to score 12 points after 9 minutes against the Washington Wizards.
March 11, 2012: Curry plays against the Clippers despite spraining his right ankle at the crucial moment. Jackson pulled him off the field after nine minutes without scoring.
“I just felt it wasn’t right to replace him,” Jackson said. “Curry looked like he was gutted, and I said to Curry: ‘If we can’t finish this game, we don’t deserve to win’.”
It was Curry’s last game in the 2011/12 season.
April 25, 2012 : Curry undergoes surgery on her right ankle. The Warriors report that the procedure “reveals a stable ankle, has no structural damage, and includes clearing of debris and scar tissue.”
September 20, 2012 : Following an ankle exam, Curry received a full medical license to resume all basketball-related activities.
October 31, 2012 : Curry signs a four-year, $44 million contract extension with the Warriors ahead of the fourth season. The deal was immediately seen as a pay cut.
“Obviously, if you look at other people in my draft year or other people with comparable stats, I could get a slightly lower salary, but I’m not really worried about that.” , Curry said. “I’m likely to be underpaid. I just don’t want to be overpaid. That’s my duty.”
Over three seasons, Curry averaged 17.5 points, 5.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. He has appeared in 180 of 230 possible games.