Shaquille O'Neal Makes Bold Steph Curry Declaration After Warriors' Season-Ending Loss

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated May 15, 2025 7:26 AM ET

The Golden State Warriors had some hope that Steph Curry would have been able to return from his hamstring injury in time for their Game 6 matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Unfortunately for them, Curry and Warriors will not have the opportunity to do so after the Wolves closed out the series on Wednesday night via a 121-110 win at Target Center.

After winning the series, 4-1, Minnesota is now headed to the Western Conference Finals for a second consecutive season, where they will face the winner of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Denver Nuggets series.

Shaquille O'Neal shared his thoughts on the series shortly after Golden State's season-ending loss. According to the Hall of Fame big man, it's very much possible that it's the Warriors who would have came out on top of this series if only Curry didn't suffer that hamstring injury.

"Steph is the one dynamic player that can take over a game," O'Neal said. "He hasn't really been Steph this whole playoffs.

"... If he's healthy, he can give you one of those games with 30, 40, 50 (points), and it could change the series. So to answer your question, I think if he was healthy, they definitely could have won the series."

Could Golden State have won the series with a healthy Steph Curry?

The Guys have mixed opinions ️ pic.twitter.com/VDm0AfThd4
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 15, 2025

The Warriors lost Curry in Game 1 after the former back-to-back MVP suffered a non-contact injury. He was later diagnosed with a hamstring strain, and ended up missing the rest of the series.

Golden State was still able to pull off an unexpected win in Game 1 in Minnesota despite Curry's early exit. The Wolves, however, ended up winning the next four games with the 11-time All-Star watching from the bench.

Whatever the case might be, all this is nothing more than hypothetical talk right now. The fact of the matter is that Curry and the Warriors are now headed for an early summer vacation after an ultimately disappointing end to their campaign.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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