The Golden State Warriors have ruled out Stephen Curry for Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, confirming that fans will not see a regular-season matchup between Curry and LeBron James this season.
James missed the opening-night clash earlier in the season due to sciatica, while Curry sat out the previous two meetings because of a persistent right knee issue. As part of the Warriors’ plan to carefully manage Curry’s return from injury, the team decided to rest him during the first game of an upcoming back-to-back schedule, choosing to hold him out of the final regular-season matchup against the Lakers.
The Warriors’ medical staff, led by Rick Celebrini, made the decision Thursday morning, preferring that Curry play in the upcoming road game against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night rather than risk further strain by playing Thursday. Curry had initially been listed as questionable before being officially ruled out.
Curry, now in his 17th National Basketball Association season, has shared one of the league’s most iconic rivalries with James, who is currently competing in a record-setting 23rd season with no confirmation yet on whether he will continue into a 24th. Throughout their careers, the two superstars have faced each other 27 times during the regular season and 28 times in the playoffs. James-led teams hold a slight 14-13 edge in regular-season matchups, while Curry’s teams have enjoyed greater playoff success with a 17-11 record, winning three of their five postseason series.
Curry recently returned to action Sunday night after missing 27 games due to injury. In his first two appearances since returning, he came off the bench to carefully manage his minutes, playing a total of 51 minutes across both games and scoring a combined 43 points. The Warriors are expected to gradually increase his playing time over the weekend as he continues his recovery.
The Warriors have already secured the 10th seed in the Western Conference standings and will need to win two road games in the upcoming NBA Play-In Tournament to qualify for the playoffs as the eighth seed. The team hopes to increase Curry’s minutes to over 30 per game ahead of next Wednesday’s elimination matchup, which could come against either the Portland Trail Blazers or the LA Clippers.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are dealing with injury concerns of their own, with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves both sidelined. Despite those setbacks, Los Angeles holds a strong 50-29 record and is currently tied with the Houston Rockets for the fourth seed in the Western Conference with three regular-season games remaining.
