Thompson’s dad expects return of Splash Bros.
Mychal Thompson says they ‘will pick up right where they left off’
Sure, he’s Klay Thompson’s dad, but Mychal Thompson knows a little about basketball too and he has some good news for Warriors’ fans.
“Him and Steph Curry,” the elder Thompson said, “will pick up right where they left off.”
Mychal Thompson made the declaration this week during an interview with a Minneapolis radio station. He also provided an update on Klay, whose season ended before it began when he tore his right Achilles tendon during a private workout in November. Thompson missed all of last season too, rehabbing from the torn left ACL he suffered in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against Toronto.
“Physically, he’s going to come around. Emotionally is where it’s tough,” Mychal Thompson told NewsTalk 830 in Minneapolis. “Mentally, having to sit out two straight years because of a major injury when he’s in his prime. That’s very frustrating.”
At the point of his first injury, Thompson, who turns 31 next month, was playing the best basketball of his career and stood as a paragon of of
durability. He had played in 549 of 574 games from 2012-19.
The second devastating injury came after 17 months of rehabbing the first injury.
Thompson, who underwent surgery and began his rehab in Orange County, recently rejoined the Warriors. Once being counted on to help lead the way back from last season’s 15-50 disaster, Thompson does what he can from behind the team’s bench at home games.
He had important business Monday night, maybe even played a small part in the Warriors 130-108 victory. James Wiseman, the prized 19-year-old rookie, was out of the starting lineup for the first time this season, benched for maybe the first time in his life.
Thompson, wearing khakis, a jacket and a mask, leaned over to Wiseman in the opening minutes of the game. He had some advice for Wiseman in his new role: Play aggressively, prioritize being a great teammate and, most importantly, take care of your body.
Wiseman played 16 minutes Monday night. He had 13 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots. CURRY CHECKS FOR NEGATIVE POSTS AT HALFTIME >> Everyone can see Curry loves to put on a show for NBA fans. Now, thanks to one of his former teammates, we’re finding out the Warriors star also loves to show up NBA fans.
Ex-Warriors center Andrew Bogut revealed that on the few occasions when Curry was struggling in the first half of games, he’d find his halftime motivation on his phone while perusing social media.
The more users were abusing Curry for his struggles, the better it turned out for the Warriors and their proud superstar.
“He’s one of the unique ones where he’ll check his mentions at halftime when he has a bad half. It’s kind of the craziest (stuff) I ever saw,” Bogut said on his “Rogues Bogues” podcast. “If he had a bad half, he would go on social media and then come out and drop 30.”
Of course, unlike most disrespected athletes, the two-time NBA MVP wouldn’t think of calling anyone out for doubting him.
“It was almost like the quiet assassin,” Bogut said. “He’s show emotion from time to time, but he’d do it kind of gracefully and silently.
“Just watching him doing it was awesome to watch.”
Bogut also said the trade sending him to the Warriors effectively unlocked Curry’s potential with Golden State — but not because the Warriors added a 7-foot defensive-minded center. Mostly because the Warriors got rid of Monta Ellis.
“(Steph) had been through a lot earlier in his career, a (lousy) Warriors team and organization at that point,” Bogut said. “Monta Ellis was the No. 1 guy when he was there. He was a very talented individual player, but from what I heard back then, Monta was somewhat the guy that if Monta scored 40 and they lost, he’d be happy. And if Monta scored 20 and they won, he wouldn’t be happy.
“I think that irked Steph a little bit, because Steph’s not like that. And once they removed Monta and gave Steph the keys to the team, you could definitely notice he was like ‘I’m not gonna (mess) this up. I’m gonna put the time in and effort that I need to.’ ”
Apparently, even if that meant checking up on his haters at halftime.