Stephen Curry Participates in Live Scrimmage, Eyes Return Against Rockets

Stephen Curry finally cleared the most significant hurdle in his lengthy recovery from a right knee injury Tuesday, participating in a live five-on-five scrimmage for the first time since going down January 30, with the Warriors targeting a return for Sunday's game against the Houston Rockets.

"It felt great," Curry told ESPN's Anthony Slater after the session. "I'm checking the boxes. But with this, it's always unpredictable because I don't know how the knee will respond because it hasn't responded well in the past attempts to get to this five-on-five level."

That guarded optimism framed the official April 1 team update, which confirmed the 38-year-old participated in competitive live work as part of his return-to-play protocol, but stopped short of committing to a specific comeback date. Curry has already been ruled out for Wednesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs. The Warriors are targeting April 5 against Houston as his first potential game action in 25 contests missed.

Coach Steve Kerr has been consistent in his messaging throughout the recovery: no return until both the medical staff and the coaching staff are satisfied that the knee can sustain full game-situation stress. The cautious posture reflects not just the immediate stakes but the structure of Curry's injury itself. Patella-femoral pain syndrome, combined with the bone bruise in his right knee, responds well to rest and graduated activity but carries a real re-injury risk if a player is cycled back into full load before the underlying inflammation has resolved completely.

The cost of Curry's absence to Golden State has been substantial and quantifiable. The Warriors are 10-20 without him this season, a .333 winning percentage that projects to a lottery-bound team across a full year. With him, they are 23-16, a .590 clip that would put them firmly in playoff contention. That split explains exactly why the franchise is sitting 10th in the Western Conference at 36-38 overall, locked into the Play-In Tournament with the regular season ending April 12. Two weeks remain to salvage seeding.

From a health-management standpoint, the Warriors face a calculus that extends well past this season. Curry is 38, under contract, and the franchise's entire identity is built around his availability. Returning him against the Rockets for a handful of late-season games is a gamble that only pays off if the knee holds. Medical staff will almost certainly impose a strict minutes ceiling in his first games back, with gradual increases across multiple contests. Functional movement testing and on-court symptom reporting will guide the pace of that ramp-up.

ESPN's insider reporting for NBA Today reflected that the 5-on-5 scrimmage felt "different internally" for the Warriors, noting that previous return targets had come and gone without Curry reaching live action, but that clearing full-contact practice changed the calculus. Whether Sunday against Houston marks the moment Curry steps back onto the floor in a game that counts, or whether his knee's response over the next 48 to 72 hours prompts another delay, will define what remains of Golden State's 2025-26 season.