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The Golden State Warriors have been on a roller coaster this season without Klay Thompson. What if Thompson's due date to return was this season? How much better of a team would the Warriors be? Could they win it all with Klay Thompson? One thing that's for sure is it would be terrifying for the rest of the league.
A negative I can see if Thompson returned this season is we might not get as many great stories about the fascinating life of Klay Thompson. Last month, with a boot on his foot, Thompson took a relaxing picture laying on his boat. Instead of docking his boat and jumping in his car to attend a Warriors home game, he does the most Klay thing you can do. He drives his boat to the game. Thompson spoke with the media about exploring new activities during his free time.
“I’m able to get on the bike. I’m able to lift weights. I’m able to drive again. I’m able to walk without a boot and shoot, read books, play chess and watch a lot of movies. Before I got hurt, I realized all my hobbies revolved around me being athletic, and these last two years have taught me I need some more hobbies that, I don’t know, probably bring out the creative side of me because the human body can turn on you, unfortunately. I love to play golf. I love to go biking. I love to go hiking, and I’m without that right now. I just got to do other things and be patient with myself,” Thompson told the media via zoom.
Thompson has had back-to-back season-ending injuries. Before that, he was an All-NBA player who, for his career, averaged 19.5 points per game while shooting .419 percent from long range. Usually, coming off two significant injuries tearing an ACL and Achilles tendon would mean you won't be the same player you once were. The fact that Thompson's best skill set wasn't reliant on high flying leaping ability or blazing speed. His superior level of three-point shooting could potentially take him right back to those career numbers. If the Warriors had an efficient sharpshooter who spreads the floor as Thompson would, you could almost guarantee Stephen Curry and Draymond Green numbers would be even better.
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Adding a player of Thompson's caliber with added hunger and drive would make the Warriors a championship contender easily. He gives this team everything that lacks in some games. He provides this team with consistency, toughness, and a bit of an edge when needed. Although Thompson won't return this season, he's looking at this team and next season, and he can't wait for the opportunity.
“I’ll be honest with you guys, I don’t expect to come back and just balls to the wall, 38-minutes a night, guarding the best player, running around 100 screens. I’m going to get to that point, I guarantee that, but I’ve talked to (Warriors Director of Sports Medicine & Performance) Rick Celebrini about it a lot. It might be 20-minutes to start the season, 18-minutes, like a minutes restriction. We’ll see where I’m at. This is usually a 12-month process with the Achilles, and that’ll take me to mid-November, so I’m not even sure.”
The Warriors star is also increasingly confident that he'll come back as strong as ever, despite the lengthy absence away from the court.
“I just try to take it day-by-day, but I plan on being the All-NBA player I was. I will not settle for anything less. I’m too competitive to just take a relegated roll. Nah, that’s not me. I’m going to be. I’m too firey just to come out there and just give you 13 (points) a game on 20-minutes. Nah, I’m going to go out there, and I can’t wait. I’ve got a lot of pent-up energy. I’ve got a lot of pent-up aggression. I just want to play basketball. When that happens, it will be a joyous day for not only me but for everybody, including you guys.”
It's going to be very interesting to see just how good this Golden State Warriors team is once Klay Thompson is back in the fold. For now, we can just hope that he's back at full strength next season.
