Feb. 21, 2021Updated: Feb. 21, 2021 10:02 a.m.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors speaks with head coach Steve Kerr and staff prior to their game against the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 20, 2021.
Jared C. Tilton/Getty ImagesSaturday night’s Golden State Warriors-Charlotte Hornets match-up was supposed to be Steph Curry’s annual homecoming game since he grew up in Charlotte. But just before it kicked off, Curry was deep in conversation with the Warriors staff as well as Charlotte’s team doctor, and he was ruled a late scratch due to “illness.”
Nobody wanted to say it out loud, but the concern, of course, was COVID-19. On a few other occasions this season, players have been yanked by the NBA right before and even during games due to either positive coronavirus tests or close-contact interactions with someone who tested positive. Hornets color commentator Dell Curry — Steph’s dad — also sounded a little nervous when their broadcast began about the status of his kid.
In this case, however, the line from the Dubs — at least as of Sunday morning — is Curry really just didn’t feel well, and this wasn’t a health and safety protocols decisions. After the Warriors blew the game in the closing seconds, thanks in large part to a Draymond Green ejection, coach Steve Kerr explained what happened to his star player.
“Going through his usual warm-up routine, he just did not feel well at all,” Kerr told reporters. “And so he came back in, saw the Charlotte team doctor, went out, tried to warm up and just wasn’t feeling good. We made the decision, the training staff and Steph and I, we all made the decision to not play him… There were no [COVID-19] protocols in place. Just him feeling sick.”
Kerr added that he’s hopeful Curry will play in their next game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
