Klay Thompson was a key part of the Golden State Warriors dynastic run, which resulted in three championships. He and Stephen Curry formed quite possibly the greatest shooting backcourt of all time. The Warriors have definitely missed his presence, as they have been unable to even make the playoffs without his presence on the court the last two seasons.
It is unfortunate that Klay Thompson has missed two years of his prime with extremely serious injuries. An Achilles injury following an ACL injury is tough for any player, both mentally and physically. Many players have failed to return to their previous levels of performance after just one of those injuries. That being said, there are definitely players who have been able to come back and play at a high level after sustaining serious injury.
When speaking to Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine, Thompson revealed that he still expects to be a “very effective player” when he comes back. Despite Klay Thompson expressing confidence in how he will perform, he does mention that he doesn’t expect to be playing at the same exact level as in 2019 right away. (0:30)
https://twitter.com/SiriusXMNBA/status/1443724904633880584
I was playing the best basketball of my life in 2019 when I got hurt. I expect to get back there, not right away. Just because that was 100 games worth of work, and an incredible shape.
When I step back on the floor, I’m going to be a very effective player. Maybe not what I was doing shooting the ball like I was. But I will still be really good, and I will just keep going up. I really believe that, and the training staff believes that, and my teammates believe that… I have belief in myself to get there again.
There’s obviously some optimism from Klay Thompson and the coaching staff that he’ll eventually be able to get back to what he was. Steve Kerr has previously stated that “Klay will be able to shoot when he’s 75 years old”, and seemed unconcerned about how Thompson would look when he comes back.
When Klay Thompson steps back on the court again, that will certainly be a joy to many Warriors fans. Hopefully, he will be able to vault the team back into the contending picture. As long as Klay Thompson is healthy, the Warriors will have a solid chance in a series against any team in the NBA.
