The Warriors have circled Friday’s home game against Minnesota as the target date for Curry’s return from a left quad contusion that developed into a mild muscle strain.

He was removed from the official injury report on Thursday and is fully cleared to play, ending a layoff that began when he was hurt on November 26 in a tight loss to Houston.​

Curry spent the team’s recent road trip in the Bay Area, focusing on strength work and range of motion rather than rushing back for early December games. After going through full practice and scrimmage midweek, both Curry and Steve Kerr described his status as trending from optimistic to all but certain for the Timberwolves matchup.​

How the Injury Shaped the Warriors

In his absence, Golden State kept its season afloat but never looked fully comfortable without its offensive engine. The Warriors went roughly break even over the five game stretch, hovering just above .500 and leaning heavily on their defense and secondary scorers.

During that span, they also dealt with frontcourt absences as Draymond Green and Al Horford missed time, stretching the rotation and forcing Kerr into smaller, more experimental lineups.​

Curry’s production before the injury underscored how much the Warriors missed him. He was averaging close to 28 points per game with efficient shooting and steady playmaking, once again leading the team in scoring and late game usage. Without his gravity, opponents loaded up on Golden State’s role players, and the half court offense often stalled in crunch time.​

What His Return Means Against Minnesota

Friday’s opponent only amplifies the significance of Curry’s comeback. Minnesota sits near the top of the Western Conference and has the length and physicality to punish any team that struggles to score efficiently. 

Golden State will still be without Green for personal reasons and Horford because of persistent sciatic nerve irritation, putting even more responsibility on Curry to organize the offense and create advantages in space.​

For the Warriors, this is more than just a regular season return date. It is an early season checkpoint for a veteran group trying to prove its window has not fully closed and a reminder that, when Curry is on the floor, Golden State’s ceiling remains far higher than its record suggests.