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Steph Curry Played Through Fractured Tailbone Injury, Warriors' Kent Bazemore Says
May 22, 2021
Golden State Warriors forward Kent Bazemore said teammate Stephen Curry played through a hairline fracture in his tailbone during the final weeks of the NBA regular season and the play-in tournament.
Bazemore revealed Curry's injury issues during postgame comments about the MVP finalist's leadership after the Warriors' season ended with a 117-112 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night:
"Man, that dude is unbelievable. I go get taped while he's wrapping up before the meeting, and he's getting his little butt pad put in. No one's talking about the hairline fracture in his tailbone that he got a couple weeks ago. Tweaked ankle here and there. Dude is just a machine. Inspiration is just unreal. Regardless of how we're feeling, regardless of how he's feeling, he'll never let you know. He goes out and he leads by example, and you follow. That's a true definition of a leader right there."
Curry didn't reference any significant injuries in his own remarks after the loss, but he promised the Dubs would bounce back in a major way next season.
"Come back, bottle this up, everybody make the right strides, take advantage of the summer and you don't want to see us next year," the three-time NBA champion told reporters.
Curry was terrific Friday night, as he fought around a constant barrage of double teams from the Grizzlies to record 39 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in 47 minutes. He scored 37 points in Wednesday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first play-in game.
"Obviously a crushing way to go out," Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. "Two straight games that were basically gut punches."
Curry missed one game down the stretch against the New Orleans Pelicans but was otherwise handling the lion's share of the offensive load for Golden State as it tried to earn a playoff berth.
The extent of the tailbone injury Bazemore referenced isn't immediately clear, but more information should come to light as the Warriors go through their final interviews before heading off for the summer.
Golden State still has the foundation for long-term success with Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and James Wiseman, but getting healthy will be crucial. Thompson has missed the past two years, with a torn ACL followed by a ruptured Achilles.
It will be interesting to see if the front office is active during the offseason or counts on internal improvement, led by the return of Thompson, to push the team into the postseason next year.