Golden State Warriors All-Star Klay Thompson hasn’t played a game since the 2018-19 season. He suffered two devastating injuries one after another, with an ACL injury during the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors in 2019, and an Achilles injury right before the 2020-21 season. He should be finally healthy during the 2021-22 season, though it looks as though the Golden State Warriors plan to give him plenty of time to recover.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN has recently revealed that the date targeted for Klay Thompson’s return is Christmas day when the Golden State Warriors play the Phoenix Suns. Shelburne stated that it is a “conservative target” and that the key for Thompson was his conditioning. (0:20)
He’s doing well in his recovery, but the Warriors are targeting that Christmas Day game against the Suns for his return. He could come back a little bit before that, but in terms of getting his conditioning right, they’re targeting that Christmas Day game against the Suns. I know that sounds a little late to people, but he was injured on Nov. 18, so this is 13 months from an Achilles injury.
A lot of this is conditioning. He’s doing well in his rehab. But he’s missed two seasons in a row now… This is a conservative target. If he does well, and his conditioning is up, and he feels like he wants to come back earlier, he will. But this is a conservative target on Christmas Day, because you need time to build your conditioning up when you miss two NBA seasons.
There’s no doubt that Warriors fans are excited to see Klay Thompson back, and there’s no question that his return will reinvigorate the Golden State Warriors. Missing an All-Star caliber player for two seasons is tough, but it seems as though things are looking better for the team. With Klay Thompson back for the Warriors this season, they will likely try to make a run at the championship once again.
