Klay Thompson has spent a lot of time away from the sport of basketball. However, he finally made a return this year to a Golden State Warriors team that had changed a lot in his absence. The likes of Kevin Durant left the team after Thompson’s injury in 2019, and many players have come and gone.
Over the last two seasons, the Warriors got a chance to rebuild through their younger talents and see how many of them can compete at the highest level when it counts the most. The one standout star from the past few years is Jordan Poole, who had a 30-points in his Playoff debut against the Denver Nuggets.
Thompson always saw this side of Poole coming, as an interview from 2019 during Poole’s first season with the team revealed.
Poole has been progressing nicely through the seasons and has emerged as a genuine secondary scorer on the team. He can be extremely lethal even without Steph Curry on the floor, something that has been proved over the last few weeks of NBA basketball, where Curry was sidelined with an injury.
Thompson has been very involved with the Warriors’ organization through his two injury-laden seasons up until his return this season. Poole and other players on the team have always spoken nicely about Klay, who is known as one of the most beloved people in the entire NBA.
After Poole led the Warriors to a playoff win against the Nuggets, his value within the team will only increase. All that remains to be seen is how much of his skill can Poole show while also playing consistent winning basketball for his team. Hopefully, he keeps developing and gives GSW a piece to build around after the inevitable retirements of their stars.
