With Warriors guard Moses Moody doubtful for Golden State’s 2025-26 NBA season opener due to a calf strain, when could the fifth-year pro make his debut?
Stanford Medicine orthopedic surgeon Dr. Geoffrey Abrams, MD, provided some expert analysis on what Dub Nation can expect from Moody’s injury — which Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the team isn’t “too concerned” about — as he works his way back to the court.
“If the team is describing it as a minor muscle strain, it’s probably … some microscopic tearing and minor partial tearing,” Abrams told NBC Sports Bay Area on Friday. “The good news about that, obviously, it’s on the lesser severe end of the spectrum, and typical return-to-play timelines are a couple weeks or so for these more minor muscle grade strains.”
Kerr said this past Tuesday, Oct. 14, that Moody would be reevaluated in a week, with the Warriors set to open their new season against the Los Angeles Lakers this Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. A return timeline of a couple weeks, as noted by Abrams, hopefully would put Moody back in Kerr’s rotation by Golden State’s Oct. 28 game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Chase Center, their fifth contest of the season.
There are several hurdles Moody will have to clear before that happens, Abrams explained.
“Obviously, the Warriors are a great professional organization and they’ve got top notch medical personnel, so they’re going to run him through the professional protocol and things like that,” Abrams said. “In terms of returning to play, he basically has to be able to participate in full practices 100 percent, and before he even gets to that, he has to demonstrate he’s got strength, range of motion, flexibility of the muscle and be able to do the things that are required for an NBA athlete, of course, before they even throw him into full practices.
“And then, once he’s comfortable with full practices and jumping and running up and down the court, that’s when you start to think about getting back into games. Sometimes … there’s situations where they may limit minutes initially before throwing him back into full pre-injury participation. But that just depends on a variety of different circumstances.”
After entering the Warriors’ starting lineup late last season en route to the NBA playoffs, Moody missed Golden State’s final three preseason contests this month with his calf issue.
As long as the Warriors don’t rush Moody back, Abrams noted, there’s little chance that the calf strain impacts Moody’s play moving forward, and the chance of an Achilles tear, as has been seen in countless NBA stars recently, is minimal.
“Certainly re-injury is also sometimes a possibility, but that’s why you go through the protocol is really to reduce that risk and not put him out there before he’s ready, which I’m sure the staff will do,” Abrams said.
Moody has proven himself as a valuable member of the Warriors’ lineup, and Kerr certainly hopes to have the 23-year-old back sooner rather than later.
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