Stephen Curry minutes restrictions, explained: Why Warriors star isn't playing full game during NBA Play-In Tournament

Stephen Curry minutes restrictions, explained: Why Warriors star isn't playing full game during NBA Play-In Tournament originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It’s no secret that Stephen Curry is on the back nine of his NBA career. However, NBA fans really became familiar with how quickly the inevitable was approaching after it was shared that he would be on a minutes restriction in a must-win Play-In Tournament game against the Clippers.

The Warriors fell short of their preseason expectations and limped to the No. 10 seed in a crowded Western Conference. This was largely due to their 2025 blockbuster trade acquisition, Jimmy Butler, tearing his ACL this January and effectively ending his season.

Shortly after Butler went down, Curry noted knee pain. While he expected this would not sideline him for long, he ended up missing just over two months of this season. After returning for four of the team’s final five regular-season games, head coach Steve Kerr announced that Curry would be subject to a minutes restriction.

Here’s what you need to know about Curry’s minutes restriction, including a review of his NBA injury history.

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Steph Curry minutes restriction

This past Sunday, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr opened up, saying that Curry would be on a minutes restriction for the team's must-win Play-In Tournament game against the Los Angeles Clippers. According to Kerr, the perennial All-Star would be playing less than 40 minutes after recently returning from a lengthy knee injury that sidelined him for more than a quarter of the season.

Curry did manage to play four of the team's final five games of the season, averaging 20.3 points across 26.8 minutes per game. In those games, the Warriors went 1-3.

Along with Curry, both Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford will also play less than 40 minutes. The Warriors will need to make the most of limited minutes from a few of their better players, as Jimmy Butler will also not be playing due to an ACL tear earlier this season.

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What happened to Steph Curry?

During a workout before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 24, Curry cited pain and swelling in his right knee. However, he decided to power through the pain and continue playing. Less than a week later, Curry was forced out of the lineup on Jan. 30 and would end up missing 27 games this season over the span of just over two months.

This was a surprise to Curry, as originally, he had anticipated only missing around a week, according to ESPN. However, the pain proved to be too much to play through, and the Warriors did not want to take any chances on their franchise's best player.

When asked if this knee injury was something he would need to manage the rest of his playing days, this is what the star said:

"Yes and no. There's nothing structurally wrong with my knee. So it's not like I'm compromised out there. It is a new normal, though, if that makes sense."

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Steph Curry injury history

Curry has missed extended time at a few different points throughout his 17-year NBA career. Let's take a look at those injuries and how they impacted the Warriors.

During the 2011-2012 season, Curry missed over 50 games for the first time in his career after extensive ligament damage in his ankle. The star needed to get surgery on it twice in the span of two years. At the beginning of the next season, the Warriors decided to risk giving Curry a four-year, $44 million contract extension. Despite being a high-risk, high-reward situation, Golden State's recent championship history proved this to be the right move, and Curry would go on to win four championships for the franchise.

Curry's worst injury came at the beginning of the 2019-2020 campaign. After breaking his hand that October, the sharpshooter was out for multiple months, essentially ending any shot of Golden State contending for the playoffs that year. They would go on to land the second pick of the 2020 Draft, when they selected James Wiseman.

This season, Curry was sidelined for just over two months with patellofemoral pain syndrome in his right knee, also known as runner's knee. The pain and swelling in Curry's right knee initially popped up on Jan. 24 during a workout prior to a game against the Timberwolves, but he played through it for a few games before leaving the lineup Jan. 30. While Curry expected to only miss "a week, ten days max," according to ESPN, the injury proved to be much more severe than him or the team originally anticipated.

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