Warriors’ Thompson eager to return as ‘one of the best’ in the world
Warriors guard Klay Thompson long motivated himself with statistical goals: 20 points per game, 50% from the field, 600 3-pointers in a season.
But over the past 29 months, as he toiled through rehabs for two serious injuries, Thompson stopped caring about numbers. All he could think about was stepping back on an NBA court and hearing the roar of a Chase Center crowd.
With his return now likely weeks — not months — away, Thompson hardly needs any added motivation. On Tuesday, toward the end of his first news conference since late September, after reiterating his desire to win another championship, Thompson paused for a second or two as he let himself consider the possibilities.
Unable to muster any more words, he shook himself out of his daze and said, “That’s it.” Perhaps no moment during Thompson’s 19-minute question-and-answer session better illustrated his mental state. After nearly 2 1/2 years anchored to the sideline, he is making two cliched words — “can’t wait” — feel accurate.
And it makes matters only tougher that the Warriors boast an Nba-best record of 15-2. As Thompson watches home games from the bench in street clothes, he sees even more floor spacing than Golden State had when he last suited up in the 2019 Finals. The Warriors’ mix of youth and experience, defense and scoring, stars and role players, makes him think that this might be the best roster yet for his skill set.
But as eager as Thompson is to share a backcourt with Stephen Curry again, he doesn’t want to return as just a middling player. That’s why he hasn’t had issue with the Warriors’ patience to his rehab.
Since being cleared last week for 5-on-5 scrimmages, Thompson has been limited to four four-minute quarters. The
Warriors plan to slowly ramp up his workload in the coming days. Once Thompson can complete 12-minute quarters with no issues, the training staff will start to zero in on a target date for his return.
Thompson remains hopeful that he'll come back in early to mid-december, but lateDecember or early January might be more realistic. Odds are that he'll be on a minutes restriction when he does return. If Thompson is back to his usual 30-plus minutes a night by February or March, the Warriors would be pleased.
“I don't want to come back and be a shell of myself,” Thompson said. “I want to come back like I was playing before, and that was one of the best players in the world.”
During a scrimmage Monday against Warriors youngsters and former NBA players, Thompson knocked down a slew of early shots, only to tire quickly. This was to be expected. Thompson is the first player in NBA history to have suffered a torn ACL and a torn Achilles tendon without appearing in a game between the injuries. Before he can return to an All-star level, he must improve his conditioning.
And even then, Thompson has no guarantees to be the same player he was pre-injuries. Torn ACLS and Achilles tendons are known to derail careers.
What should help Thompson, however, is that he's in his prime at 31 and is a modest size by NBA standards at 6-foot-6, 215 pounds. .
Achilles injuries tend to diminish players' explosiveness, but Thompson was never known as a dunker. Known for moving off the ball, he is a jump-shooting metronome: plant, catch, release.
“The Achilles is structurally sound, everything is strong,
and there's been no ill effects,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “It's just a matter of building strength and endurance, especially the endurance part. It just takes time.”
Added center Kevon Looney: “Klay looked good, especially for somebody who had been out that long. You can still tell that he's got work to do, and he's been working hard. It looks good. He's looking like a top-notch athlete already, so I'm excited to see him get back on the court.”
No one is more excited than Thompson. Asked Tuesday to compare his current mind-set with where he was six months
ago, he said that he tries not to revisit those dark times because they were “just really hard.”
Thompson loves basketball so much that, after he tore his Achilles tendon and stared down the prospect of another missed season, Warriors general manager Bob Myers told him, “I feel like for you, basketball is like air and water. You have to have it.” Without it, Thompson sank into a deep sadness.
But after a while, he decided to stop pitying himself. New hobbies such as kayaking, fishing and wine tasting helped him pass the days. By the time
Thompson was cleared for full practice last week, he no longer worried about outside expectations.
Long fueled by the desire to prove others wrong, Thompson now wants to show himself simply that he still can play at a high level. As for those record-setting stats that were once his trademark? Those might have to wait a bit.
“After two years of not playing in an NBA game, you've got to taper down the big expectations of scoring 37 points in a quarter or 14 3's in a game,” Thompson said. “I plan on doing that again, but who knows when? It's tough to say.”