Klay Thompson has made a splashing return to the Golden State Warriors. In his debut game after his 2019 ACL injury earlier this year, he scored 17 points, sending fans out of their seats and excited to see the sharpshooter back in action.
In a recent interview with The Athletic, Thompson discusses the rediscovery of his game and how he has been able to get “ahead of schedule.” In 2019, Thompson tore his ACL in the NBA Finals, but in 2020 he was still unable to return due to his torn Achilles. Now, he is officially back to playing with his Warriors, hoping to lead them to their fourth NBA title in the past decade.
Thompson explains that the reason behind his Achilles injury could have been because he was trying to get back on the court before he was fully recovered from his ACL injury. Eager to show how far he had come, Thompson found himself injured once again, pushing his debut back on the court for another year. He said,
“I wasn’t at playing weight. I was really strong. I was doing a lot of lifting, strengthening my knee. But, I just missed the game so much at that time and I was cleared to play 5-on-5. But, I’m not sure if it was the right move…
It might’ve been costly. I don’t know. I try not to think about it too much. But it just, uh, it’s something I learned from. I’m not in my early 20s anymore, where I can just play all offseason. That’s what I was trying to do. Going forward, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to save it for the season.”
Thompson also said that he thinks he is at “80%” recovery. He admits, “Still have a long way to go. But 80% me is still great on that [defensive] side of the ball. I can use my strength to body guys, my size to body smaller guards. Be solid against big men. I can still switch. But as far as my lateral quickness, it’s about — from where it was — it’s about 80, 85% from where it was. I know it’ll take time to come back. There will be bumps in the road.” Despite not feeling fully recovered, Thompson has shown signs that he is doing better than expected.
The Warriors are currently second in the NBA Western Conference.
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