Getty Klay Thompson celebrates with teammates during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
After two very long years, the finish line is finally in sight for Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors.
Thompson has been working his way back from a pair of major injuries that wiped out all of the last two seasons, including an Achilles tear suffered just before the start of last season. Thompson’s rehab has been progressing steadily and he is on track to join teammates early next season, with one insider revealing the significant target date.
The latest Warriors news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Warriors newsletter here!
A Gift for Warriors Fans
After months of slowly rehabbing his way back onto the court, Thompson could be ready to join teammates for one of the most-anticipated games of the season. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that the Warriors have circled a very specific game in late December for Thompson to step onto the court for the first time since the 2019 NBA Finals.
“He’s doing well in his recovery, but the Warriors are targeting that Christmas day game against the [Phoenix] Suns for his return,” Shelburne said on ESPN’s “The Jump.” “He could come back a little bit before that, but in terms of getting his conditioning right, they are targeting the Christmas day game against the Suns. I know that sounds a little late to people, but he was injured on November 18th, so this is 13 months from an Achilles injury.”
Thompson had already given fans a glimpse of how his rehab is going, sharing a short video this week that showed him hitting three-pointers in an empty gym and landing comfortably on one leg. It takes most players at least a full year to recover from an Achilles tear, and Thompson suffered his injury in a pickup game on November 18, 2020.
Klay doing what he does BEST 🤫 (via @KlayThompson)
Thompson’s Full Return Could Take Longer
While Thompson is expected to rejoin Splash Brother Steph Curry fairly early in the coming season, Warriors general manager Bob Myers warned that it could take quite a bit longer for him to fully return to form. Back in May, as Thompson was moving into basketball activities, Myers said it could take most of the season before he’s back.
Klay expects the Warriors to make a run next season 🏆
“What we’re focused on is when Klay will be Klay, and I don’t know if that will be January, February or March. It’s too early to say,” Myers said, via Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In the 2018-19 season, the last time Thompson played, he averaged 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. While the team waits for Thompson to return, head coach Steve Kerr said that a breakout player from last season could take his place in the starting lineup.
“My gut reaction is Jordan Poole,” Kerr told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami when asked who would be starting on the wing until Thompson returns. “But that’s without having seen anybody at camp.
“I think he’s got a great chance to start … obviously, when you make a decision on your starting lineup, you have to look at how that impacts the bench. If I feel like Jordan makes the most sense as our backup point to Steph, there’s a good chance I bring him off the bench and start Damion [Lee] or [Mychal Mulder].”
READ NEXT: Steph Curry Gets Honest About His Long-Term Future With the Warriors