Team: Golden State Warriors · Age: 24 · Position: SG/SF · Status: confirmed contract; patellar-tendon rehabilitation · As of: 2026-07-18
2026-27 late-return median
| GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 18.0 | .430 | .780 | 1.4 | 7.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
Nine-cat: no redraft rank at median availability. Points: C- per appearance, but an IL-only stash. Dynasty: 5.0/10 with a very wide health range. Opening-night allocation: 0 minutes.
Injury and role evidence
Moody averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.5 threes in 25.7 minutes over 60 games, shooting .440 FG and .401 from three (ESPN). He ruptured his left patellar tendon March 23 and underwent successful surgery March 28 (NBA.com).
Dr. Nirav Pandya, professor of orthopedic surgery and director of pediatric sports medicine at UCSF, put patellar-tendon return-to-play timelines at nine to twelve months, and noted that the first year or two back is typically played below prior level (Heavy); the Chronicle separately emphasised the injury's career-level seriousness (San Francisco Chronicle). Nine months from March 28 surgery is late December 2026; twelve is late March 2027.
Correction 2026-07-18: the specialist range on this page previously read six-to-twelve months. The figure publicly attributed to Dr. Pandya is nine-to-twelve. Consequently the ten-game median is reclassified from a conservative assumption to the realistic centre of the distribution, and the ceiling case is pushed back — a January clearance is now the optimistic edge rather than the middle. The projected line itself is unchanged.
If cleared, Moody competes with Melton, Richard, Santos, and Butler for wing minutes. His best categorical traits are threes, low turnovers, and a steal per 26 minutes. The immediate post-return projection reduces minutes, movement-derived offense, and defensive events.
Range
- Ceiling: cleared near the nine-month mark in late December, plays 25 games at 23 MPG, and becomes a threes/steals streamer.
- Median: ten low-minute games after the All-Star break — the realistic case under a 9-12 month range, not a downside one.
- Floor: no 2026-27 NBA games while rehabilitation prioritizes 2027-28.
Career record
Pre-NBA: One season at Arkansas in 2020-21, averaging 16.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, named SEC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-SEC while the Razorbacks went 25-7 and reached the Elite Eight. Draft: 2021, first round, 14th overall by Golden State.
| Season | Age | Team | GP | MPG | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | 3PM | FG% | FT% | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 19 | GSW | 52 | 11.7 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | .437 | .778 | 0.3 |
| 2022-23 | 20 | GSW | 63 | 13.0 | 4.8 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | .476 | .698 | 0.5 |
| 2023-24 | 21 | GSW | 66 | 17.5 | 8.1 | 3.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.1 | .462 | .785 | 0.7 |
| 2024-25 | 22 | GSW | 74 | 22.3 | 9.8 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 1.7 | .433 | .797 | 0.7 |
| 2025-26 | 23 | GSW | 60 | 25.7 | 12.1 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 2.5 | .440 | .770 | 1.0 |
| Career | 315 | 18.3 | 8.0 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.4 | .447 | .773 | 0.6 |
Three-point rate rose every year, from 36.4 percent as a rookie to a career-best 40.1 percent on 2.5 makes in 2025-26. He won a title as a rookie in 2022 and signed a three-year, $39 million extension in October 2024. Starts by season: 11, 3, 9, 34, 49.
Durability: 52, 63, 66, 74, then 60 games. The first three years were rotation-driven rather than medical; 2024-25 was his healthiest at 74 games and ended with thumb surgery in May 2025. The 2025-26 total stops at 60 because he ruptured the left patellar tendon on March 23, 2026, with surgery March 28.
Trajectory: Five straight years of improvement in minutes, scoring, and three-point accuracy, culminating in a 49-start season as a genuine starting-caliber 3-and-D wing before the knee gave out. The injury, not the skill curve, is the entire 2026-27 question — a nine-to-twelve month timeline from late-March surgery puts a return between late December and late March, and patellar ruptures historically depress performance through the first year back. He is an IL stash, not a draft pick; he becomes usable only if he clears near the optimistic end of that window and reclaims wing minutes that Melton, Richard, Santos, and a healthy Butler will have spent four months occupying.
Career sources: ESPN career stats · Wikipedia · NBA.com surgery report
Open questions
- Does camp reporting narrow the return range?
- Is Moody cleared for running, cutting, and contact before January?
- What role remains after Butler returns and the healthy wings establish themselves?