Klay Thompson had one of the most triumphant returns from back-to-back devastating injuries last season when he won his fourth championship with the Golden State Warriors a few months after making his comeback to an NBA court.
As it happens with players who are aging and get hurt, Thompson has clearly lost a step on the court. He is still a lethal shooter, but his versatility on the court has been hampered by injury. That has been exceedingly clear this season as Thompson has had a very slow start to the season and has been criticized by the likes of Charles Barkley. After the Warriors’ win over the Miami Heat, Thompson took the time to respond.
Klay Thompson closed his press conference with an unprompted response to a recent Charles Barkley comment that Klay was “slipping” pic.twitter.com/TUS4AWzTGt
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 28, 2022
“It hurts when someone like Charles Barkley, with the platform he has, says you’re not the same player as prior to the injuries you had. It’s like, no duh, man. I tore my ACL and my Achilles in consecutive years and still helped a team win a championship. I mean, that hurt hearing that. Because it’s like, man, I put in so much freaking effort to get back to this point. Like, it’s hard to even put into words what I had to do to be the player I am today.
“I played 55, 57 games in three years, like, give me some freaking time to get that back. To hear someone say, ‘Oh, he’s not the same as he was prior to the injuries.’ Like, duh. Who goes through something like that and comes back? Like, I don’t know, it just hurt my heart hearing that. But, you know what? I’m gonna internalize it and it’s gonna be fuel for me to be even better. I’m very proud of what we accomplished last year, and I feel like I was a huge part of it. I’m not gonna let these injuries be a crutch for me. I’m just gonna keep going and I’m gonna have a great year. Bet on that.”
Thompson has averaged 12.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game to start the season. His 12.6 points are lower than in previous seasons and Thompson is also shooting just 34.4% from the field through the first 5 games.
Can Klay Thompson Hold On To His Starting Spot On The Warriors?
The starting backcourt for the Warriors still has Klay starting alongside Stephen Curry, with Jordan Poole providing a spark off the bench. Considering the woes of the Warriors’ bench lineup, Poole’s scoring is helping the Warriors sustain their scoring when guys like Curry and Thompson are on the bench.
It’s unlikely that the Warriors start Poole over Klay, even though Poole is outperforming the Splash Brother for now. However, Klay should start pondering what his long-term future might be with the team if he can’t find his rhythm, which he usually takes a few games to get into.
