Goal: Win two playoff games! Curry: Originally thought he'd return within 10 days, never considered season-ending injury.

On April 5 Beijing time, Warriors star Stephen Curry held a press conference, detailing the right knee injury that caused him to miss 27 consecutive games, describing its symptoms as persistent, recurring, and unpredictable.

"I initially thought I'd only need a week off, maybe ten days at most," Curry said. "But in the first month, every time I tried to play or increase training intensity, my knee reacted. Clearly, it was recovering much slower than I expected."

Curry's right knee pain and swelling first appeared during a training session in Minneapolis on January 25. He played through it for a few games before officially being sidelined on January 31.

For over two months afterward, he struggled with "runner's knee." However, in the past week, he participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages and ultimately passed the medical team's evaluation, gaining clearance to return in Monday's home game against the Houston Rockets. He will be listed as questionable, but barring any setbacks in the next 24 hours, he is expected to play.

"The first thing I do every morning is check how my knee feels. The entire recovery process has been grueling, even now. Although it feels good now, I hope it stays that way. I'll only truly know once I'm actually playing," Curry stated.

During his absence, Curry celebrated his 38th birthday in mid-March. His current contract has one year remaining, and he has expressed his desire to continue his career after it ends. When asked if this persistent knee injury would accompany him throughout the remainder of his career requiring long-term management, Curry replied: "Sort of, but not entirely. There's no structural damage to the knee, so there won't be functional limitations when playing. But in a sense, this will become a new normal, if you understand what I mean."

Curry indicated that this injury differed from his previous ankle, knee, and tailbone issues—there was no clear recovery timeline, he couldn't force himself to play through it, and even later in recovery, he couldn't rush back to action.

He originally planned to return in mid-February after the All-Star break, then aimed to come back during the March Eastern road trip, and even experienced a setback two weeks ago in Atlanta just before his anticipated return.

"You start running, doing regular rehab exercises, and near the end of the session, the pain quietly returns, and the next day you feel particularly sore. Over the past two months, this scenario has repeated too many times."

During Curry's absence over 27 games, the Warriors' record was only 9 wins and 18 losses, their ranking steadily declined, and with just 5 regular-season games remaining, they firmly hold the 10th spot in the Western Conference.

As Curry noted, the Warriors' results in their final 5 regular-season games have little impact; the team is essentially locked into the lower half of the play-in tournament, needing to win two consecutive elimination games on the road, with opponents coming from among the Trail Blazers, Clippers, and Suns.

If they successfully navigate this, the Warriors would enter the playoffs as the 8th seed in the West, facing either the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder or the hot-streak San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

"Hopefully we can win those two play-in games," Curry said. "Then we'll talk about the next step."

Curry emphasized that he never seriously considered a season-ending injury, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed that the team never suggested that idea to him.

"He is the greatest franchise icon I've ever seen," Kerr said. "We owe it to the fans to give them a chance to see Curry play this year. Curry himself was unequivocal—this is what he wants, what we want, and what the fans want. So we're going to do it."