Klay Thompson was at the peak of his professional career at a time of need in the NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors, who had the dire need to get Kevin Durant back against the Toronto Raptors, were clinging to every bit of hope — requiring Thompson to be at his very best, something he felt thoroughly during that series against the Toronto Raptors.

Thompson felt he was playing at a peak level before he suffered a devastating torn ACL:

“I felt like the best version I’ve ever felt of myself in that NBA Finals,” Thompson said Thursday, according to Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic. “I kid you not.”

The nature of his injury — a tough blow to his leg while he had the weight of the Warriors' playoff life hanging on his joints — was scarring in a way, but that self-belief remained unshaken despite the unfortunate setback:

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“I think about that every day,” said Thompson, sitting up straight and shaking his head. “That’s just the humbling part of sports — when you feel like you’re at your best, something traumatic can happen. But I honestly felt like I was at the peak of my NBA career up to that point. I was at my best. The way I was shooting the ball, the way I was playing defense. I felt like I was one of the best players out there. In past series, or Finals, you know, I’ve been able to defer. But in that series, I felt like I was just, like, as close to unstoppable as I’ve ever been.”

Thompson was indeed having the best series of his career, averaging 26 points on 54.1% shooting from the floor and a scorching 58.5% from deep. Ironically enough, his highest-scoring game of the series was his 30-point game in Game 6, where he memorably intended to keep playing after suffering a torn ACL, coming back from the locker room in heroic fashion and sinking a pair of free throws to remain eligible to return to the floor.

Klay Thompson's iron man will and reckless abandon for his team will be seared into the minds of any who watched that game. The sharpshooter is aiming to return by the All-Star break after a long road toward his full recovery.