NBA superstar Steph Curry, whose back was already sore from carrying the Golden State Warriors all season, suffered one of the worst injuries known to man Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets.
At the tail end—no pun intended—of the third quarter, the two-time MVP launched an off-balance trey and as he stumbled backward into the risers, he fell victim to a fate worse than death: He literally busted his ass.
As anyone who’s ever suffered a tailbone contusion can attest, the agony on Curry’s face is very much real. That searing pain and discomfort can last months, and aside from making it extremely difficult to sit still long enough to partake in a delicious crawfish boil, a busted-ass bone can make things like sneezing, coughing, or laughing excruciating. As such, it’s a fate I wish on no man but Mitch McConnell. Okay, fine; maybe Ted Cruz, too.
With rookie James Wiseman and second-year forward Eric Paschall already set to miss a week due to league COVID-19 protocols, this is the last thing the short-handed Dubs need right now. Thankfully, coach Steve Kerr is optimistic about the “kind of scary” situation and doesn’t expect Chef Curry to miss too much time.
“He says he’s going to be fine long term,” Kerr told reporters after the game. “It’s going to bother him, though, for definitely the next few days. No idea if he’ll play in Memphis [on Friday], but he seems to be feeling like he’ll be OK over the next week or so, but we’ll see. [...] We’ll give you an update as soon as we have one.”
On Twitter, trainer Jeff Stotts—whose literal job is to assess sports injuries—believes the three-time NBA champ will bounce back quickly.
“Tailbone contusions can be very painful, but don’t usually result in much missed time,” he tweeted. “Average time lost in 38 NBA examples since 2005-06 is 1.6 games.”
While Dr. Nirav Pandya, a Director of Sports Medicine who’s worked with both the NFL and NBA, believes Curry’s long-term prognosis looks favorable.
“Looks like #Curry landed right on his coccygeal bone,” he tweeted. “These injuries can be extremely painful & typically result in a bruise (and occasionally a fracture). Although they can take a while to heal (and can be painful), very rarely do they need anything more than rest. #DubNation”
As someone who’s been cursed with sciatica for over two years and counting, I wish lower ass pain on no man. But Curry’s injury highlights one of the inherent dangers of playing without fans since, under typical conditions, he would’ve crashed into one instead of cracking his ass on the risers.
Wishing him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on the court soon.