Moses Moody #4 of the Golden State Warriors
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Moses Moody #4 of the Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors got the news they were dreading on Tuesday afternoon. Moses Moody has been diagnosed with a torn left patellar tendon, the team announced, ending his season. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday, and a lengthy rehab process is expected to impact his availability into next season.
The confirmation arrived after an MRI in San Francisco on Tuesday. Nobody who watched Monday night’s scene in Dallas was surprised.
Draymond Green was standing right there when it happened. His account of the moment is something else entirely.
Shams Charania
Golden State Warriors guard Moses Moody has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, sources tell ESPN. Moody’s career-best season is over and a lengthy rehab will be required.
What Draymond Revealed About the Injury
Moses Moody #4 of the Golden State Warriors
GettyMoses Moody of the Golden State Warriors.
Speaking on the Draymond Green Show on Wednesday morning, Green gave his full account of what unfolded in real time in a way that the replays cannot capture.
“We all thought he slipped,” Green said. “I’m just standing there looking at Moses, and initially he asked to get up, he was like ‘they can let me walk, I’m good, I can walk,’ and the doctor goes ‘nah man, he can’t, it’s his patellar,’ and I was like ‘WHOA.'”
The moment Moody went down, his teammates did not immediately grasp the severity. It looked like a slip. Moody himself thought he could walk it off. Then the medical staff delivered the news on the court, and Green’s reaction said everything.
Green had already spoken to ESPN shortly after the game. “It’s brutal,” he said. “We’ve been waiting for him to get back healthy. Moses is a guy who does everything right.”
The Draymond Green Show
Draymond reacts to Moses Moody’s GRUESOME Knee Injury
“We all thought he slipped… I’m just standing there looking at Moses, and initially he asked to get up, he was like ‘they can let me walk, I’m good, I can walk,’ and the doctor goes ‘nah man, he can’t, it’s his patellar,’
What the Diagnosis Means
Moody tore the patellar tendon in his left knee when he planted to elevate for a transition dunk with 1:13 left in overtime. He had just stolen the ball from Cooper Flagg, had an open floor ahead of him, and never got off the ground. He went down clutching his knee and did not get up on his own.
It was his first game back after missing 10 straight with a right wrist sprain. He had 23 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals before the injury. One of his best performances of the season, on the worst possible night.
Per ESPN’s Anthony Slater, surgery is set for Thursday. The rehab timeline is expected to carry into next season, meaning the Warriors will be without Moody for a significant stretch of 2026-27 as well.
The Bigger Picture for the Warriors
The injury list in Golden State has reached a staggering length. Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in early January and is done for the year. Stephen Curry will miss his 23rd consecutive game on Tuesday night with a persistent right knee issue. Al Horford is out with a calf strain. Now Moody joins them.
The Warriors have lost 16 of their past 23 games and sit 34-38 in 10th place in the Western Conference. The play-in spot is still there, but the path to anything beyond it has narrowed considerably.
The longer view is harder to ignore. Curry is 38 years old. Butler’s ACL rehab and Moody’s patellar tendon recovery are both expected to bleed into next season. The window the Warriors thought they had is getting smaller by the week.
Moody is 23 and on the first year of a three-year, $39 million extension. He was averaging career highs across the board this season, posting 11.9 points on 44 percent shooting from the field and 40.1 percent from three across 60 games. The trajectory was clear. The timing could not be worse.
Final Word for the Warriors
Draymond Green was standing right there. At first, he thought Moody had slipped. Then the doctor said patellar tendon, and the reality of the situation hit all at once.
Even then, Moody wanted to walk it off. The injury would not allow it. That is the kind of player he is, and that is exactly what makes this so hard to absorb.
Surgery on Thursday. A long road ahead. Meanwhile, the Warriors will miss everything he brings.