What's been suspected is now official.
Stephen Curry won't play in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters Monday night that Curry will miss Sunday's game due to a lingering knee injury.
Curry was selected as an All-Star starter and chosen to play alongside LeBron James and Kevin Durant on one of three All-Star teams as part of the league's new USA-vs.-World All-Star tournament format. Curry's status opens up a roster spot for another player to be named an All-Star. That player will presumably be named by the league.
Curry will also miss upcoming Warriors games against the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs. He's already missed three games with the injury that the Warriors have been calling "runner's knee." Per the National Institutes of Health, runner's knee consists of pain around the kneecap and can be triggered by exposure "to too much or too frequent strain."
The Warriors did not provide a timeline for Curry to return beyond his absence through the All-Star break. Kerr announced the news ahead of Monday's game against the Grizzlies. Golden State entered that game at 28-25, good for eighth place in the West.
Jimmy Butler has surgery
The Warriors are already playing the rest of this season and likely beyond without All-Star forward Jimmy Butler, who suffered a torn ACL on Jan. 19. The Warriors announced earlier Monday that Butler had surgery to repair the ACL tear. He's expected to "make a full recovery," according to a team statement.
With Butler sidelined, the Warriors were reportedly targeting two-time Milwaukee Bucks MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in an effort to team Curry up with another star to compete for a championship on the back end of his prime. But Antetokounmpo stayed put, and the Warriors instead acquired oft-injured center Kristaps Porziņģis from the Hawks in a trade that sent Jonathan Kuminga to Atlanta.
Porziņģis has been sidelined since Jan. 7 with an Achilles tendon injury and illness. Kerr announced on Saturday that Porziņģis will also be out through the All-Star break amid hope that he'll be ready to make his Warriors debut after the break.