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As the Golden State Warriors face another brutal Stephen Curry injury update, a potential replacement could come by way of the 2026 NBA Draft.
Though perhaps no Golden State Warriors fans would ever like to admit it, the end of Stephen Curry‘s historic NBA career will have to come to an end at some point. While it’s uncertain when that will happen, it might be best for the franchise to start planning for the future, specifically through the NBA Draft.
While finding a true Curry replacement feels impossible, as it’s hard to imagine anyone else coming anywhere close to matching his prolific three-point shooting ability and records, Bennett Stirtz from the Iowa Hawkeyes at least offers some resemblance to the currently-injured Warriors’ star, and could be his successor in Golden State.
In a recent NBA Mock Draft article on The Athletic, Sam Vecenie has the Warriors picking Stirtz from the Hawkeyes with the 16th pick in the upcoming 2026 Draft.
“The level to which Stirtz has figured out college basketball is pretty astounding after a slow start,” he wrote on the senior guard. “In 18 Big Ten games, he’s averaging 22.9 points and 3.7 assists while drilling 52 percent of his shots from the field and 38 percent of his seven 3-point attempts per game.”
In 29 total games this season, Stirtz is averaging 20.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.4 steals on 51.1/39.3/84.6 shooting splits.
Warriors Could Land Bennett Stirtz In NBA Draft As Steph Curry Replacement
Again, it should be clear that Curry has not given any indication that he plans to end his career and retire from the NBA anytime soon, but based on his recent health history and his current knee injury, as well as the fact that he’s set to turn 38-years-old in less than two weeks, planning for the future might be best for the Warriors.
While Stirtz isn’t a guaranteed star, what he has shown in his college career and this season at Iowa proves that he at least has the potential to offer the same sort of abilities as Curry, which helped lead Golden State to four NBA championships and one of the greatest dynasties in league history.
Stirtz is a top offensive weapon in college basketball this season, specifically seen with his shooting percentages and high basketball IQ. It hasn’t necessarily led Iowa to the best record this season and in the Big Ten conference, currently 20-9 (10-8 Big Ten), but on a team near the bottom of the country in pace, his numbers stand out even more.
“With his pace and skill, he’s been a dynamite scorer with elite-level basketball IQ for a team that, frankly, isn’t that talented by Big Ten standards,” Vecenie added. “The Hawkeyes also play at one of the slowest paces in college basketball under coach Ben McCollum, making these numbers all the more impressive. (They play about 10 possessions fewer per game, on average, than Alabama.)”
Like Curry, Stirtz has a few question marks on the defensive end of the floor, but he’s active in the passing lanes for a score-first guard. There are also some concerns about his ability to get to the basket, as he spends much of his time on offense on the perimeter, but that doesn’t feel like an issue the Warriors’ development staff will have much issue fixing.
Preparing for the post-Curry era in Golden State might be a brutal reality that could come sooner than any Warriors and NBA fans would like. Even though the team could target Stirtz in the draft, it doesn’t mean he’ll immediately come in and replace Curry, but having the two on the same team for a few years could be great for his development, as so far, he’s already shown that his shooting prowess can translate to the next level.
Stephen Curry Injury Update
Speaking of Curry, the star has been out since late January with a knee injury. There was an initial expectation that he would miss a short amount of time, but new reports, along with the latest Curry injury update, signal he’ll miss more time.
According to Anthony Slater of ESPN, Curry is set to be reevaluated in ten days.
“Steph Curry will be re-evaluated again in 10 days, per source,” he wrote in a post on X. “Making progress on that ‘unpredictable‘ right knee issue, as Curry called it, but that’ll rule him out of at least the next five Warriors games. He’s missed the last 10 games.”
Both Slater and Shams Charania had previously reported that Curry is dealing with a ‘Runner’s Knee’, an injury that so far has kept him out for over a month, with no clear timeline on a return.
“There’s no underlying structural issue that is of graver concern, but this is something he’s been dealing with for over a month now. It originally popped up in Minnesota during a workout the day that game (vs. Timberwolves) got postponed,” Slater said in February. “He played through it a little bit…And then it started to bother him again.”
During the Warriors’ weekend game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Curry himself gave an injury update while speaking on the broadcast.
“It’s going to be a little longer,” Curry told ESPN’s Malika Andrews. “But like I said, right now with this one, it’s just about each day. Can you stack good days, and I’ve done that. So hopefully they can unleash me on the court soon and get back out there sooner than later.”
In 39 games this season, Curry is averaging 27.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 46.8% shooting from the field and 39.1% from three. Before the injury, he was on pace to make another All-NBA team, but he’s since become ineligible for end-of-season awards based on the NBA’s ‘65-game rule.’
For now, Curry remains out. Just another brutal chapter for what has already been a disappointing season for the Warriors.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski