The Golden State Warriors are off to a great 6-1 start this season and look like one of the best teams in the NBA. The scariest part about them is that they could get deeper and better in the coming weeks.
Golden State has had to handle numerous players being sidelined to start the season. Jonathan Kuminga, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, has played all of eight minutes, making his debut last weekend.
The No. 2 overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft, James Wiseman, is recovering from knee surgery. He has been sidelined since April and was recently cleared to return to practice with the team. Being cleared for five-on-five and contact is his next step in rehab.
Finally, the team is awaiting the return of the second Splash Brother, Klay Thompson. Thompson has been rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles, which followed him tearing his ACL. He has not appeared in an NBA game since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors when the knee injury occurred.
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There have been plenty of videos of Thompson working out in practice and pre-game, as he nears his return to the court. Now, we have another update on when he could make his much-anticipated return to the lineup.
Speaking on the HoopsHype Podcast, The Athletic’s Anthony Slater offered up a possible timeline Thompson could be on.
“I’d expect him to get back into full practice at some point in the next few weeks or a month or so. I think the floating target is still around the mid-December range. November 25th will be the full 12-month mark from the Achilles surgery. He said he wouldn’t come back before a year. I think you’re talking mid-December at the earliest because the Warriors are so careful with him. If he’s not feeling fully there yet by mid-December, I don’t think they mind pushing it into the January range. I think, overall, coming from the organization is a level of encouragement with how he looks right now.”
Christmas Day, December 25th, was a target originally for Thompson to get back on the court. He has progressed well, so there was some optimism that he could return earlier than that. But, as Slater pointed out, the Golden State Warriors have no incentive to rush him back sooner than he is ready to play.
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Golden State is playing excellent basketball, as players such as Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, and Damion Lee have done a wonderful job picking up some of the scoring slack behind Stephen Curry. With them all playing well, there is no rush in getting Klay Thompson back on the court.
They have waited over two years to have him in the lineup again, they will have no issues waiting a few more weeks if that is what it comes down to.
