Sixers' Seth Curry Feels Relaxed After Season-Long Battle With COVID Effects

Seth Curry was off to a red-hot start during his first stretch with the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this year. Through his first eight games, Curry averaged 17 points while shooting 59-percent from beyond the arc.

Then an ankle injury occurred. While missing his first game this year due to a minor lower-body setback, Curry found out that he tested positive for COVID-19. Suddenly, his minor setback turned into a significant one as he missed the next seven games.

Curry would return to the floor on January 22nd. At that point, he was no longer performing the way he did before he went with an injury and an illness earlier in the month. From then on, it's been an uphill battle for Curry to get back to a nice balance of being healthy and productive.

For the final 49 games he played in, Curry averaged 11 points and still shot a solid 42-percent from three. While he's remained of the Sixers' most reliable shooters, Curry hasn't shied away from admitting he's been battling tons of setbacks this season due to nagging injuries and the aftereffects of COVID.

“Listening to what Jayson [Tatum] was saying, it’s kind of similar,” said Curry when asked about how he feels months after battling COVID. “It’s hard to explain. You feel a little bit differently as a whole, and just the way I breathe at times, it's a little bit different. [I'm] a little more fatigued, but I’m pretty much healthy. [I'm] trying to be patient with myself. Hopefully, I get back to the way I was feeling before, but I'm good enough to go and be back out on the floor, so that’s the good part.”

Although COVID caused Curry to feel differently throughout the year, the veteran guard has pushed through it all and played as much as he could. While he's not one-hundred percent at this point, Curry feels that this next week without games will be a huge boost before heading into the playoffs.

“Time off has been good,” Curry said on Tuesday. “I’ve kind of relaxed and given my body a few days to heal up. Then, getting back and going hard to work today, knowing we’ll have another day or whatever to kind of relax and be fresh. I feel good as a whole. My body is good enough to go, and I’m just using this week to try to sharpen some skills and get in even better shape.”

The Sixers will get a few more practice sessions in this week before starting the first round of the NBA Playoffs. While Curry and the 76ers aren't sure who their first-round opponent will be just yet, the Sixers know they will begin the postseason on Sunday. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.