As the West’s top seed, the Golden State Warriors are already proving they’re among the best teams in the league this season.
Still, the return of Klay Thompson could put them on another level.
Speaking to reporters after the game, young wing Andrew Wiggins shared his excitement about Thompson’s upcoming return.
“It’s impressive man to see what he does. The impact he has is crazy. I’m excited to play with him I’m excited for him to get back. Th league is going to be in trouble when he gets back.”
"The league is going to be in trouble when [Klay] gets back." – Wiggs pic.twitter.com/eTkFl9Sn02
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 2, 2022
Thompson, 31, has missed the last two seasons with major injuries. After going down in the 2019 playoffs, he hasn’t played a game since and the Warriors have greatly missed his presence.
As a premier shooter and expert defender, he adds a lot to a team that’s already doing so well. The only question now is what he’ll have left in the tank after so much time away from the game.
“Shot I’m never worried about,” said Thompson. “The hardest part when you come back after a long layoff, the timing, the rhythm of the game…Even when I come back and play whenever that is, it’s gonna a be minutes restriction… hopefully peak towards winning time… Honestly when I come back, I feel like myself, I feel great, I feel like it’s going to take a few games, maybe a few weeks to get to feeling like an All-Star again.”
Assuming Klay takes weeks to find his peak form, the Dubd could go through some growing pains as they work their star back into the lineup.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the West prepares. Whatever the case, we’ll find out soon enough if they’re able to keep up with a fully healthy Warriors squad.
