THOMPSON TRAVELS WITH TEAM TO PHOENIX
Klay Thompson’s slow and steady march toward his longawaited NBA return continued on Christmas Day in Phoenix as the Warriors star participated in pregame shooting drills ahead of his team’s matchup with the Suns.
Thompson hasn’t traveled with the Warriors on the road in recent weeks, but flew with the team to Phoenix where head coach Steve Kerr confirmed he’s continuing the process of building the strength and stamina needed to return to the court after a two-plus year absence.
“He’s getting closer and closer,” Kerr said on Saturday. “It’s great for him to be with the team. Get used to the rhythm of the road again and it’s a good sign that he’s here.”
Thompson hasn’t appeared in a game for the Warriors
since tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Near the end of his recovery process, the Washington State product tore his Achilles tendon during a pickup game in Los Angeles and has endured an even longer rehabilitation period.
Thompson’s current practice regimen and participation in scrimmages suggests he could return to the Warriors in early January, but Kerr and other members of the organization have been careful not to publicly disclose details surrounding Thompson’s eventual comeback.
“Klay is right on schedule, everything has gone smoothly, he’s in a great place and whatever is out there is out there, but if you look at all of our thoughts over the first part of the season, we’ve been consistent,” Kerr said. “He’ll come back when he’s ready and we haven’t put a timetable on it.”
During his pregame press conference on Saturday, Kerr was asked about the competitive nature of Thompson’s pregame shooting drills in Phoenix and the intense demeanor the Warriors guard brings to all of his workouts.
“That’s just who Klay is,” Kerr said. “He’s unbelievably competitive and this has been his only outlet to compete the last couple of months. Scrimmages, workouts and he’s competing against himself in a lot of ways. He wants to get better every single day and he holds himself to a really high standard and that will translate well when he gets to compete against an opponent.”
The Warriors are eager to have Thompson return to the floor, but Golden State has been adamant it will not rush him back ahead of schedule. The organization and training staff wants Thompson to continue building stamina during
scrimmages before he participates in an NBA game and, even when Thompson does rejoin the Warriors, his workload will be closely monitored and managed.
“As you can imagine after two-plus years of not playing, it’s beyond just dealing with an injury, it’s dealing with stamina, strength, endurance, everything you need to play,” Kerr said. “That’s why he’s been scrimmaging and building up his scrimmages over the last few weeks and the time that he’s able to stay on the floor and it’s all gone really smoothly.”
Thompson is one of six Warriors wings sidelined for the team’s Christmas Day showdown in Phoenix as Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Damion Lee and Moses Moody are all in the NBA’s health and safety protocols while Andre Iguodala is out with a knee injury.