{"id":708143,"date":"2026-04-11T12:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708143\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T12:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:04:13","slug":"warriors-medical-director-rick-celebrini-describes-player-first-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708143\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors medical director Rick Celebrini describes player-first approach"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Members of the Warriors organization<\/a> speak about him\u00a0with reverence.<\/p>\n

Coach Steve Kerr<\/a> brings him up in almost every press conference. Al Horford<\/a> says the man truly cares about the Warriors\u2019 players. Kristaps Porzingis<\/a> calls him the greatest of all time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They are not referring to Steph Curry, the superstar who has led Golden State to four titles. They are lauding Rick Celebrini, the man charged with ensuring the Warriors stay healthy enough to make another run at the playoffs, which begin next weekend.<\/p>\n

Now the Warriors\u2019 director of sports medicine and performance \u2014 and perhaps better known in the sports world as the father of San Jose Sharks hockey superstar Macklin Celebrini<\/a> \u2014 he was once a professional soccer player who debuted for the under-20 Canadian National Team in 1987.<\/p>\n

That was until a series of injuries, most notably an ankle fracture at age 15, ended his sporting career before turning 30. But as one path ended, Celebrini found his new passion in life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it probably starts with why I got into this in the first place,\u201d Celebrini, now 58, told the Bay Area News Group. \u201cI was, unfortunately, a mismanaged young athlete that had my athletic career cut short because of that. What has always been a guiding principle is to always look after the athlete first, and to be empathetic, and truly make sure that their care is the first priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/p>\n

Director of Sports Medicine and Performance Dr. Rick Celebrini talks to Golden State Warriors\u2019 Stephen Curry (30) during a time out in the first quarter of their NBA game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, March 1, 2020. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 1<\/p>\n

Director of Sports Medicine and Performance Dr. Rick Celebrini talks to Golden State Warriors\u2019 Stephen Curry (30) during a time out in the first quarter of their NBA game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, March 1, 2020. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Having dealt with subpar medical staff during his playing career, Celebrini has been renowned for his empathy and communication skills since joining the Warriors in 2018 after working with the Canadian alpine ski team, the NFL\u2019s Seattle Seahawks and the NHL\u2019s Vancouver Canucks, among others.<\/p>\n

During the Warriors\u2019 2022 title run, he oversaw Klay Thompson\u2019s rehab from a torn Achilles and also was lauded for helping famously frail Otto Porter Jr. stay healthy through the grind of the playoffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He has had numerous opportunities to display those skills this season, too. <\/p>\n

Aside from Curry\u2019s two-month return to play as he manages chronic runner\u2019s knee, Celebrini has also overseen De\u2019Anthony Melton\u2019s return from ACL surgery,\u00a0Horford and Seth Curry\u2019s months-long battles with sciatica, Porzingis\u2019 illness and knee injuries and more as the team approaches the NBA play-in tournament next week.<\/p>\n

Through it all, the Warriors\u2019 players have developed an appreciation for Celebrini, who Kerr says the coaching staff defers to in all situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI had hip surgery a few years back, and there\u2019s a level of communication, there\u2019s a humanity piece he brings to the table,\u201d guard Pat Spencer said. \u201cI think you see guys turn against an organization that they feel like maybe they\u2019re targeting them, and want them to play. There\u2019s just an open communication with Rick, that everybody, all parties, know where they stand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowhere are those people skills more evident than in Celebrini\u2019s relationship with Steph Curry, which has been characterized by Kerr as more of a collaboration than anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with Rick and the team has been great,\u201d Curry said last weekend before returning to game action on Easter night against Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"GoldenCelebrini works with Stephen Curry during a playoff practice in Houston in 2019. (Jose Carlos Fajardo\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Ahead of that 2022 title, Curry had another injury return guided by Celebrini: He missed the final month of the season with a foot sprain and came off the bench to begin the playoffs, ramping up over the course of the Warriors\u2019 first-round series against Denver.<\/p>\n

Not one to take credit for medical successes, Celebrini emphasized that the trust Curry has in him is as much a product of time as it is any special method the training staff might employ.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Steph, we\u2019ve had the great fortune of getting to know each other over the last eight years, and so there\u2019s an element of trust,\u201d Celebrini said. \u201cWe are familiar with each other; we\u2019ve been down this road before.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how does Celebrini get new guys like Porzingis or Horford to enjoy that level of comfort with him and his medical staff? Celebrini says each player comes with a unique plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat comes with talking and listening, probably more listening,\u201d Celebrini said, \u201cand trying to understand who they are, and being able to explain so they have a good understanding of what lies ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celebrini also emphasized that he was far from a one-man operation in Golden State. Drew Yoder and Kyle Barbour are just two of the medical trainers he credits for working tirelessly to keep players in top physical condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust (with) probably being the accountable one, perhaps my name is mentioned more, but the reality is all the team members have similar relationships and trust and interactions with the players,\u201d Celebrini said.<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Warriors Dr. Rick Celebrini, Director of Sports Medicine and Performance, talks to Golden State Warriors\u2019 Kristaps Porzingis (7) before the strat of the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n

Regardless of which player is paired up with which staffer, Celebrini stressed that there are a few steady principles. \u201cThe human body hasn\u2019t changed\u201d since he began working in medicine, regardless of health trends and fads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s so many technologies and ways to convince athletes and medical people that there\u2019s a quick and easy out, and you don\u2019t have to work hard, and you can get back faster if you take this supplement,\u201d Celebrini said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Celebrini and the Warriors are constantly looking to stay current in the ever-evolving field of medicine, he wants to make sure that his foundation is rooted in the people skills he developed decades ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey all come with different experiences, personalities, biases and experiences,\u201d Celebrini said. \u201cSo it\u2019s about understanding where they\u2019re at.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GoldenGolden State Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini looks on during the second quarter of an NBA game against the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 Members of the Warriors organization speak about him\u00a0with reverence. Coach Steve Kerr brings him up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3786],"tags":[7,160,479,164,4025,4024,6,1106,24700,66,255],"class_list":{"0":"post-708143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golden-state-warriors","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-golden-state","11":"tag-golden-state-warriors","12":"tag-goldenstate","13":"tag-goldenstatewarriors","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-san-jose-sharks","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-warriors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116385985550096236","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}