It has been more than a year since Klay Thompson suffered a torn ACL. The Golden State Warriors were shooting for their third consecutive NBA title against the Toronto Raptors in June 2019 but Thompson's injury in Game 6 took him out of the series, which the Dubs eventually lost.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr provided an update on the other half of the Splash Brothers. The coach said it has been a slow recovery for Thompson and the whole process was deliberate on the Warriors' part. And rightly so as the shooting guard incurred an injury that for many players was a career-ending episode.
Recalling the incident in 2019, Clutch Points said it looked like that Thompson's injury was far from serious. The superstar was fouled while going for a dunk and made a bad fall. He was visibly hurt but still insisted to take the free throws awarded to him.
Thompson then made his way to the locker room at the break and walked on his own. There was no expectation then the star will be dealing with a serious injury that would take 14 months of healing, recovery, and rehabilitation.
It has been a long road for the player to return to his most competitive form and Kerr said they are not rushing things. Not even when it seemed that Thompson is back to his old form, and nearly at 100%.
Truth be told, NBC Sports said the Warriors still label Thompson's condition in the rehab stage, meaning the star is not deemed fully fit for the battles to come. The player has been taking shots and doing supervised practices for months now but everything is managed in stages.
According to Kerr: "We're taking it really slow with Klay ... He's basically taking part in all of practice other than the scrimmage."
Thompson is taking part in part on drills and 5-on-5 scrimmages but the Warriors coach made clear that the practices are done in controlled settings, which he added "is the preferable sequence right now."
Kerr provided the new information on Thompson after the mini-camp held by his team. The occasion established for the coaching staff what the Warriors will need to return to the winning ways following a forgettable season that saw the team losing key players to injuries.
Kerr said he is looking to sign new players via the draft route and the free agency. But most importantly, he wants to make sure that his roster is healthy going to the next season that will start in December. The coach can only hope that his lineup will not be plagued by a string of injuries that led to the Warriors failing to make the playoffs this year.
