Klay Thompson's return to NBA action went amazingly. The Golden State Warriors star has been out for nearly 1,000 days due to multiple lower body injuries. In his return, Klay looked amazing, and the magnitude of this situation is not lost on Thompson.
In a post-game interview, Klay Thompson talked about how he felt in his first game back and his feelings before the game even started.
Klay Thompson initially suffered an ACL tear in the Warriors' 2019 Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors, effectively keeping him out of the entire 2019 – 2020 season. He was set to return the next season, but an unfortunate Achilles tear sustained in rehab further derailed Thompson's return to action.
Now, he's back, and he's playing as if he hasn't been gone for two full years and then some. He scored 17 points on 7-of 18 shooting for the Warriors, along with 3 threes made out of 8 attempts. A relatively pedestrian performance by Klay's standards, but it's certainly better than what everyone was expecting.
Hell, he even added in a poster dunk for the Warriors fans to enjoy! If you wanted proof of Klay being healthy again, just watch this insane dunk.
However, Thompson knows himself that the job's not finished, as Kobe Bryant would say. Heading into the Warriors dugout after the game, Klay could be heard saying, “This is only the beginning.”
Regardless, the NBA as a whole is excited for Klay's return to competitive basketball. We can all agree that the Warriors (and really, the whole NBA) are better with Klay Thompson fully healthy and lighting up the scoreboard.