Klay Thompson Could Return Sooner than Expected, Says Warriors Chief
The much-anticipated return of Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson could be closer than expected.
Along with the Warriors’ impressive victory on Thursday over the Los Angeles Clippers came impressive news about the progress 31-year-old Thompson has made in his recovery from injury setback.
Stephen Curry's 45 points on Thursday night, including two late three-pointers, helped the Warriors continue their winning start to the campaign as they defeated the Clippers 115-113.
Curry's long-range shot gave the team a one-point lead with less than 120 seconds left in the game. However, the 33-year-old scored another before star Draymond Green sealed the win.
Speaking before the Thursday encounter, the Warriors vice president of basketball operations Mike Dunleavy Jr. revealed that while they don't want to get over-excited about the development, Thompson is already in "a great spot" in his recuperation, NBC Sports claimed via best au online casino.
"I don't want to get ahead of it, but he looks tremendous," Dunleavy said of Klay Thompson on Warriors Live before the 115-113 win over the LA Clippers.
"It's not going to be easy for him to come back after missing two years off, but he's in a great spot," he concluded.
The All-Star shooting guard watched the encounter and was indeed looking pretty good from the bench of the Warriors.
You’ll recall that it has been almost four weeks since Warriors head coach Steve Kerr revealed the real status of Klay Thompson.
According to head coach Kerr, Thompson has already been training with the group, and "everyone's glad" about his quick and unexpected return. In line with Dunleavy’s latest declaration, Kerr also bared that the superstar "looked great" and was already is in his "old" shape.
Kerr said, "Klay looked great," after a Warriors team training a month ago. "Shooting the lights out. His team won the daily shooting competition. And he was smiling, laughing, joking around, it was really fun to see the old Klay back."
Before being ruled out of action due to an ACL injury back in 2019, Klay Thompson was recording an average of 21.5 points per match while effectively completing 40% shot from the three-point arc.
Many are anticipating Klay Thompson to pick up immediately where he left off once he hits the court, but the 5-time NBA All-Star knows it will not be that easy.
Earlier in the month, Klay Thompson acknowledged that despite having maximum confidence, returning to top shape instantly will not be a sudden process, as many supporters might hope for.
Thompson said in a recent interview via machine a sous argent reel, "I expect to get back there, not right away just because that was 100 games worth of work and incredible shape."
"But when I step back on the floor, I'm gonna be a very effective player," he confirmed.
"Maybe not what I was doing shooting the ball like I was, but I will still be really good. And I will just keep going up – and I really believe that, and the training staff believes that, and my teammates believe that. You know the power of the mind. I have belief in myself to get there again."