Klay Thompson is moving ever close to his return to the Golden State Warriors and getting more enthusiastic about a rehab process that he once described as mentally draining.
The Warriors guard has been steadily progressing through the arduous rehab for a torn Achilles that kept him out the entire 2020-21 season, and gave fans an encouraging update on how it’s moving along. Thompson shared the good news during a boating trip with a fellow teammate, hinting that he’s on track to hit the floor sometime early next season.
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Thompson Optimistic About Return
The All-Star guard dropped an update this week in a video taken from his boat as he cruised around the Bay Area. Thompson shared that he has been making good progress and has started running the floor, something he hadn’t been able to do earlier in the rehab as he focused on rebuilding his strength and slowly moving into more basketball activities.
“Rehab is going very well,” Thompson told fans during the live stream video, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I had a great day today. Made some huge strides. Got some jumpers up. It just feels good to get up and down the floor, man.”
Unlike last season, when he was working his way back from a torn ACL suffered in the NBA Finals, Thompson decided to remain in the Bay Area so he could be with teammates as he was progressing through rehab. That allowed him to attend games and get to know his teammates, like rookie center James Wiseman, who joined him on the boating trip this weekend.
Still a Long Way to Go
Thompson likely still has a lot of work before he can fully return to form. In late May, Warriors general manager Bob Myers said the team still was unsure whether he could be back on the floor for the season-opener, and hinted that it may take the entire season for Thompson to be fully recovered.
“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.
“It’s hard for me to watch cause I know if we was there it’d be a different story”
Championship hunger for Klay after watching this year’s playoffs 😤
(via @KlayThompson)
After two straight Thompson-less seasons ended outside the playoffs, the Warriors are hoping to get back into title contention with his return next year. But the process has not always been easy — Thompson has opened up about the difficulties of recovering from the devastating injury, which he suffered in a pickup game before the start of last season. He said in a March press conference that this has been one of the most difficult challenges he’s ever faced.
“It’s way harder than any basketball game I’ve ever had to play. Way harder than any conditioning drill or practice. The mental toll is not very fun, you always guess if you’re going to be the same player you once were so you have those naturally thoughts, but you can’t let those overtake you and you’ve got to realize this is not unique just to me so many athletes have been through this.
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Warrior Klay Thompson Gives Encouraging Update on His Injury Rehab