It's hard to believe now, but there was a time when Stephen Curry's career seemed doomed before it really got off the ground. Who hasn't forgotten the injury trials and tribulations that nearly cost the Golden State Warriors a dynasty that's still ongoing? Tim Hardaway, Curry's franchise-great predecessor at point guard.
Speaking with Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area, the soon-to-be Hall-of-Famer lauded Curry's ability to overcome the series of ankle injuries that once put his legendary career at risk.
“A lot of people thought he was out and done. That he was going to be hurt, that his career was going to be over with because of the ankle injuries,” Hardaway said of Curry.
“He worked on getting his ankles strong. And he came back and showed people, ‘Yeah, I’m here to stay and I’m here to play hard and I’m here to win games for this organization and win championships.'”
Curry first underwent surgery on his right ankle at the conclusion of 2010-11 after being nagged by persistent pain throughout the season. He was ready for Golden State's opener in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, but multiple injuries to his right ankle and foot limited him to just 26 games, prompting another ankle surgery in April 2012.
Curry signed a four-year, $44 million extension with the Warriors before the following season while rehabbing from surgery. They faced loads of criticism for committing big, long-term money to a player whose glimpses of early brilliance were marred by persistent ankle issues, and Curry indeed dealt with intermittent discomfort in his surgically-repaired ankle over the course of his breakout 2012-13 campaign.
He played 78 games in total that season, though, proving his contract a bargain before vaulting to full-fledged superstardom in 2013-14. A year after Curry won his first MVP and Golden State won its first championship in 50 years, the Warriors responded to their collapse in the 2016 NBA Finals by signing Kevin Durant in free agency—using financial flexibility afforded by an anomalous cap spike as well as Curry's laughably below-market salary.
The rest is history, just like Hardaway's place in Golden State lore. He's being inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, a fitting coronation for a five-time All-Star who spearheaded the Warriors' iconic ‘Run TMC' days in the early 1990s.
Needless to say, it's only a matter of time until Curry joins Hardaway in the Hall—an inevitability that appeared impossible a decade ago, when persistent ankle troubles threatened the four-time champion's career altogether.
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