Klay Thompson – Golden State Warriors
Injury: Achilles – Expected Return: Mid-December (November 3, 2022)
The return that everyone around the league is waiting for this season is that of Klay Thompson. The 5x All-Star shooting guard has not played in an NBA game since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals due to a torn ACL and then a torn Achilles. It has been close to 900 days since the last time Klay Thompson has played in a game, which is why the Warriors are being very careful with him.
Going through individual workouts and getting shots up pretty much since the start of training camp, Klay Thompson is improving a little bit every single day and there is a lot of optimism within this Warriors’ organization that Thompson can come back and still be an All-Star-level player for this team.
Starting the season 6-1, the Golden State Warriors look like they are back to being their title contending selves in the Western Conference, which is why this return for Klay Thompson has become even more anticipated around the nation.
Recently, Warriors’ Insider Anthony Slater talked with HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and went in-depth about Klay’s return.
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“I’d expect him to get back into full practice at some point in the next few weeks or a month or so,” Slater said. “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.”
Having no limitations in what he has been able to do in individual workouts, Klay Thompson seems very eager to return to the court and has even been spotted getting shots up in his full jersey before Warriors’ games this season!
Klay is basically like a kid on the night before Christmas right now. He is just itching to get back on the court with his guys and when he does, the Golden State Warriors may prove to be the team to beat this year in the NBA.
Stephen Curry is still playing like a league-MVP at 33-years-old, Draymond Green is still one of the best defensive players in the whole league and with a lot more depth on their roster at every position than they had last season, the Warriors are one of the most balanced teams in the league right now.
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There is still a little bit of time until Klay Thompson’s expected return in December, but him looking like his old self again is some of the best news around the league right now.
