The Golden State Warriors' fairytale start to the season got a dose of reality on Wednesday when Stephen Curry suffered an injury to his oblique in a loss to the Houston Rockets.
An MRI on Thursday confirmed an oblique abdominal tear and the team announced that Curry will be re-evaluated in two weeks. While two weeks is the best-case scenario, that being just the re-evaluation point means his absence could extend beyond that timetable -- as that also doesn't include any ramp-up process he would need to clear before returning to the floor.
The injury happened halfway through the first quarter. You can see Curry get tangled up with Alperen Sengun and grab at his side after they separate.
Steph Curry got injured after Sengun grabbed and twisted his arm pic.twitter.com/4p20Rogpeu
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) November 12, 2026
Moments later, Curry hit his lone 3-pointer of the game and could once again be seen grabbing at his side after the shot.
Stephen Curry headed to the locker room with an apparent right hip injury. pic.twitter.com/1zVrNz00bH
— ESPN (@espn) November 12, 2026
Curry exited the game at the next dead ball and didn't return. After the game, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said concern about Curry's injury was "high."
"He said he tweaked something in his abdominal area," Kerr said. "He said he's never done it before. ... Concern is high, but I have no idea the extent of the injury."
In recent seasons, the range of recovery times for other notable NBA oblique injuries has varied.
| Player | Injury | Time missed |
|---|---|---|
Austin Reaves (2026) | Oblique strain | 25 days |
Joel Embiid (2026) | Oblique strain | 25 days |
Tari Eason (2025) | Oblique strain | 37 days |
Bilal Coulibaly (2025) | Oblique strain | 15 days |
Desmond Bane (2024) | Oblique strain | 16 days |
Jose Alvarado (2024) | Oblique strain | 10 days |
Dillon Brooks (2024) | Oblique strain | 17 days |
It's unclear how severe Curry's oblique tear is. These are all strains, which is code for a minor tear, but the worst-case scenario would be a more severe one. We saw this two years ago when the Orlando Magic lost both Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero to oblique tears that kept Banchero out for 10 weeks and Wagner for more than a month.
Long-term Curry absence would be brutal blow for Golden State
Any extended absence would be disastrous for the Warriors, who are not equipped to cover for any Curry injury. Curry has gotten off to a scorching start, entering Wednesday averaging 30.1 points per game on 50.3/45.7/98.7 shooting splits with Golden State winning eight straight games for the first time since the 2022 championship season.
But this was always a fingers-crossed situation with an aging roster. Already down Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porziņģis, and with Brandon Williams and Gary Payton II also on the shelf and wing Will Richard playing through a ligament tear in his thumb, the Warriors have little, if any, margin for any more injuries.
This comes at a particularly tough time for the Warriors, who are entering their most difficult stretch of the season. On Friday, they'll visit the San Antonio Spurs before facing the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans on a back-to-back.
The Warriors have opened up at 8-4 with a top-three offense, but that can go south very quickly without Curry.
Curry is the latest NBA star to face an extended injury absence in the first month of the 2026-27 season. Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren (Thunder), Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves), Tyrese Haliburton (Pacers), Kawhi Leonard (Raptors), Paolo Banchero (Magic), Jalen Duren (Pistons) and Kon Knueppel (Hornets) are among the players currently dealing with multi-week absences.
