After suffering a pair of devastating injuries, Warriors Guard Klay Thompson appears poised to make his season debut Sunday against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The 6’6” shooting guard tore his ACL in his left knee in game 6 of the 2019 NBA finals, and then his right Achilles in a November 2020 shootaround. Meaning the Washington State alum hasn’t played a meaningful game of basketball in over two years.
To say that the fan favourite has been missed is an understatement. Whether it’s his on court contributions as an original member of the Splash Brothers, a moniker the tandem of Thompson and Curry earned en route to 3 NBA championships, or his locker room personality, the Bay Area has embraced Klay like few cities do with professional athletes.
Prior to his injuries, Thompson averaged a 19.5pts/2.3ast/3.5reb/2.9made 3’s per game stat line, making him one of the games premier perimeter shooters. However, two years removed from the game, and on the verge of his 32nd birthday it remains to be seen how the injuries and rust will affect Thompson’s on court production.
In a sport with as much explosive movement as basketball, it’s nearly impossible to predict how athletes will return from a severe injury, let alone two back to back. Derrick Rose, Penny Hardaway, and Grant Hill are just some of the names who suffered career altering injuries with varying results in their returns.
The one advantage Klay has is that unlike a power forward or centre, or explosive guard like Rose whose games are predicated on their ability to get to the rim, Thompson is primarily a spot up shooter. Not needing to rely on explosive jumping ability in order to pour in buckets is something that could significantly extend Thompson’s career on the offensive side of the game. Remember, this is the same player who needed only 11 dribbles to score 60 points in 29 minutes of action against the Pacers back in 2016.
What will be interesting to watch in the early going however is Thompson’s contributions on the defensive end of the floor. The 5 time all-star earned All-NBA 2nd Team Defensive honours in 2019 and is widely viewed as one the league’s better defensive guards. Paired with the (by NBA standards) diminutive 6’2” Steph Curry, Thompson regularly took on the role of shutdown defender on the opposing team’s ball handlers, allowing Steph to flow more freely through the defensive rotations.
As much of a feel good story it is to see Klay get back on the hardwood, the NBA is a business and once the game starts, opponents aren’t going to take it easy on him simply because he’s recovering from injury. Expect opposing teams to make Klay run, and throw more screens than usual at him in the early going to see how close to 100% he truly is. So while the casual fan may simply check the boxscore the next day to see whether Klay “is back”, keen observers will likely be paying more attention to what he does in his own end of the court to determine whether he’s back to pre-injury form.
Luckily for the Warriors, who currently own the league’s 2nd best record at 29-9, they can afford to ease Thompson back into action. Golden State is in action Sunday vs. the Cavs, then have games on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. While the team has yet to comment publicly on how they plan to utilize Klay in his return, you can assume that he’ll likely be on a minutes restriction in the early going, and is a lock to sit out one of the back to backs later next week.
Thompson is currently under contract through the 2023-24 season, after which he’ll be a UFA. What his future in the Bay Area is beyond that largely hinges upon how close to 100% he’s able to get to in his return. For every cautionary tale however, there’s also numerous examples of players who recovered from injury and went on to have productive post-injury careers. Few fans would even know it to look at him, but Heat guard Kyle Lowry tore his ACL while in college and didn’t miss a beat at the pro level. And for Warriors fans, they’ve got to hope that their beloved SG follows a similar recovery trajectory.
So while there will always be questions in terms of his long term future, most fans will agree that Sunday isn’t about what lies beyond 2024. Because Sunday night at 8:30pm, they’ll get to see a comeback 2 years in the making take centre stage at the Chase Center.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner