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Steph Curry’s Electric Return to Warriors Capped Off By ‘Special’ Moment With Brother and Teammate Seth

Liam McKeone|
Steph and Seth Curry suited up for the same team on Sunday night.
Steph and Seth Curry suited up for the same team on Sunday night. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

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Golden State Warriors

Steph Curry returned to the floor for the first time since January on Sunday night. It was nearly a perfect return to form for the superstar shooter.

Curry didn’t look at all like a player who had missed 27 straight games due to runner’s knee. Despite playing on a minutes restriction he scored 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting, including 5-for-10 from three-point land. There were plenty of iconic Steph plays mixed in there for a rabid Warriors crowd desperate for reasons to celebrate after months of middling basketball while waiting for Curry’s return. All in all the Dubs undoubtedly couldn’t be more pleased with how Curry looked, even if it was in vain as Golden State fell to the Rockets, 117-116.

It was typical Curry for 26 minutes and that’s the best the Warriors could’ve hoped for. His return comes too late to change much in the regular season; the loss locked Golden State into the 10th seed and the team’s path to the playoffs now requires two road wins in the play-in tournament. But given how worrying this nagging knee injury sounded at times (and the fact that Curry himself described it as a “new normal”), the fact that he looked as good as ever makes for a big sigh of relief out of the Bay area.

For Curry, his appearance was made extra meaningful thanks to one of his teammates—and family members.

In suiting up on Sunday night, Curry was able to take the floor alongside his brother, Seth, in an NBA regular season game for the first time ever. The two brothers were briefly employed by the Warriors at the same time in 2013 and played a few preseason games together but haven’t been on the same team since. Seth signed with Golden State over the offseason planning to play with his brother, but due to salary cap shenanigans he wasn’t able to sign with the active roster until early December. He played two games (which Steph missed) and then was sidelined through February with a nerve issue. The two Curry brothers hadn’t been healthy at the same time until yesterday.

For both, it was an emotional moment.

“That was special,” Steph said. “We’ve both had a very difficult year, obviously him more than me with injuries. I was joking, calling us the Rehab Brothers because it’s been like that all year. But to have that moment, coming out of a timeout and talking about our matchups, I was having flashbacks to Charlotte Christian High School. My senior year, his sophomore year was the last time [we played] in an actual game. I know he was on our training camp roster in 2013, but last time we actually played a game together. My mom was in the stands, she probably doesn’t have any more memory in her phone from taking all the pictures and videos. That was a dream come true, to be honest.”

“Great moment. Great moment,” Seth said. “To be out there on the same floor for the first time since high school was special for us, special for the family.”

The younger Curry brother made good on his promises about collecting both jerseys, too.

A very cool achievement for the Curry family.

How Curry feels after first game since January

In the non-nostalgia and heartwarming family gathering department, how Steph’s knee feels will be a matter of much interest down the stretch of this season. As noted above the team is locked in on the last play-in tournament seed so he can’t impact the standings or, really, the immediate future. But how his knee progresses will play a big part in the Warriors’ chances of winning one or both play-in games. It’s also the simple fact of the matter that a 38-year-old guard battling this sort of nagging knee injury is far from ideal. How it holds up over the rest of the year will play a part in Golden State’s offseason machinations.

So: how did the superstar shooter feel after the loss to Houston? Pretty good.

“I feel good,” he told reporters postgame. “Some good nerves going into it and obviously coming off the bench, just trying to pace yourself physically, mentally, to get ready for your runs. First run was tough, second run was great. Second quarter, once I got my feet underneath me and obviously the momentum carried all the work you put in, rehab, to get through even 26 minutes at that level, I was very grateful for sure.”

The Dubs have four games left on the schedule before the end of the regular season. Curry will likely aim to play in all of them, depending on his status. His next opportunity to suit up will come on Tuesday night against the Kings.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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