Klay Thompson has faced a barrage of adversity ever since he tore his ACL in the third quarter of the Golden State Warriors' fateful Game 6 tussle against the Toronto Raptors. After missing the entire 2019-20 season, he then proceeded to tear his Achilles prior to the subsequent campaign, delaying his return to the court even more.

While Thompson played a crucial part in the Warriors' run to their fourth championship in the past decade after he made his much-awaited return on January 2022, he has scuffled thus far to begin the 2022-23 season, his lowest point being a 1-8, 2-point effort against the Phoenix Suns.

Thus, some noted pundits, such as Charles Barkley, thought that Thompson's best days are behind him, saying that the 32-year old shooting guard is slowing down.

However, Klay Thompson revealed that he was heartbroken by the Hall of Famer's statements, especially after everything he's been through.

“So, it hurts when someone like Charles Barkley, with the platform that he has, says you're not the same player prior to the injuries you had. It's like ‘No, duh, man.' Consecutive years, like. I tore my ACL and Achilles in consecutive years and still helped the team win a championship,” Thompson said, per NBC Sports.

Thompson then asserted that he needs more time to round into form.

“It hurt hearing that because I put so much freaking effort to get back to this point. It's hard to even put into words what I had to do to be the player I am today. […] I played 55, 57 games in three years. Give me some freaking time to get that back.”

Amid all the criticisms the 6'6 shooting guard received, Stephen Curry came to the defense of his Splash Brother.

“Klay's still here helping us win a championship, after two hellish years he had. I'm sure he's comparing the statlines and percentages and all that… [but] he's gone through this even before the injuries. The slow starts don't really hold him down and kill his confidence,” Curry said.

At the end of the day, Klay Thompson knows that these criticisms will only serve to motivate him to perform better as the season goes along.

“But you know, I'm going to internalize it and it's going to be fuel for me to be even better. I'm very proud of what we accomplished last year and I feel like I was a huge part of it. I'm not going to let these injuries be a crutch for me. I'm just going to keep going and I'm going to have a great year. You can bet on that.”