Getty Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry reacts after passing Wilt Chamberlain on the teams all-time scoring list during an April game against the Denver Nuggets.
The Golden State Warriors Steph Curry is coming off perhaps the most magnificent year of his career. However, teammate Kent Bazemore revealed circumstances over the final weeks of the regular season that make Curry’s accomplishments even more amazing.
For several weeks, the Warriors injury report listed Curry as dealing with a contusion on his tailbone. In fact, what the point guard was actually playing through was a hairline fracture.
“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,” Bazemore told reporters following the Warriors’ play-in loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, May 21, which ended their season.
“Regardless of how he’s feeling, he’ll never let you know. He goes out and leads by example and you follow.”
Baze can’t say enough about Steph’s leadership through adversity and injuries
“Tweaked ankle here and there. Dude is just a machine. Inspiration is just unreal,” Bazemore continued. “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.”
There has been no confirmation from the Warriors’ front office or medical staff about the extend of Curry’s tailbone injury. However, no one from the team has openly questioned or denied any of the details in Bazemore’s comments in the several hours since he uttered them.
Curry Never Referenced Tailbone Injury Down Season Stretch
GettyGolden State Warriors Steph Curry and Kent Bazemore embrace on the court in a game against the Denver Nuggets.
Curry never mentioned his injury, or the extent of it, as the Warriors finished the year 8-1 in a push for the 8th seed in the Western Conference.
He missed only one game down the team’s final stretch, sitting out against the New Orleans Pelicans in a matchup that had no impact on whether Golden State would qualify for the playoffs or on what their eventual seed would be in the NBA’s inaugural postseason play-in tournament.
Had the NBA not introduced the tournament this season, the Warriors would have clinched the final spot in the first round with their win over the Grizzlies on the last day of the season.
As it happened out, the Grizzlies got a second chance at Golden State in the final play-in game, edging out the Warriors 117-112 in overtime.
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GettyKlay Thompson greets teammates during a February game.
Curry also went without mentioning the hairline fracture in his tailbone when speaking with the media following the gut-wrenching defeat. But he did talk about the grind of another tumultuous regular season, as well as the Warriors likely return to NBA Championship contention.
“What we made out of this year — pretty damn impressive. It’s a very tough way to go out and we would love to be playing on Sunday, but you can’t lose sight of the big picture in terms of where people had us at the beginning of the season,” Curry said. “Youth, inexperience, lineup changes all year. We’re two fourth quarters away from being a seventh or eight seed. It’s weird, all the way around.”
Curry, too, sent a message for the entire league, armed with the knowledge that guard Klay Thompson will return healthy and an inexperienced supporting cast has now cut its teeth in minutes that matter.
“You don’t want to see us next year,” he said.