How Draymond amazingly took Klay’s money after ACL tear originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Athletes undergoing rehab after suffering major injuries usually receive sympathy and pity from those around them.
But for Warriors star Klay Thompson, Draymond Green wasn’t one of those people.
After an ACL tear in the 2019 NBA Finals, his first serious injury, Klay’s career in the league changed forever. He didn’t know just how grueling it would be at the time, but it was still a tough process for the Splash Brother.
Luckily for him, though, his teammate and good friend Draymond checked on him at his Oakland home the day after the injury.
“So, it’s a nice day in Oakland, Klay had a swimming pool at his house,” Draymond explained to NBC Sports Bay Area color analyst Kelenna Azubuike. “I go through, he had some dominos on the table. I’m like ‘let’s play’. He’s like ‘alright, let’s play’. Of course, we’re not playing for free, we’re playing for some good money.”
Good money as in thousands of dollars.
The two sat down in Klay’s house after his ACL injury and played dominos. After the intense game, Klay’s wallet was also hurting a little.
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“Of course, it was a beatdown cause he can’t beat me,” Draymond said. “But it was also just a time in his life, Klay who had never been hurt, just tore his ACL, you know, kind of messed up a little bit mentally, and I show up like ‘yo how can I help you get your mind off this?’ But I left about $4,000 richer and it was great. It was incredible.”
Draymond said to this day, more than two years later, Klay doesn’t let him forget that day.
“He won’t let me forget that, he’s like ‘man this guy came over to my house after I tear my ACL and just takes my money’ I’m like ‘well I came over there to just kick it with you but you wanted to play dominos.’”
Klay’s return reportedly is coming next month, with the Warriors eyeing two January dates: Jan. 9 vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers and Jan. 18 vs. the Detroit Pistons.