Klay Thompson: “Kills me” to hear people say Warriors dynasty is done

Warriors guard Klay Thompson revealed some of the psychological struggles he’s been going through during injury rehab

Rapidly, the Golden State Warriors saw their opportunity to secure a threepeat slip away from them in the 2019 NBA Finals. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both went through devastating and team-altering injuries that left the Warriors with very little firepower.

Though Stephen Curry was still as skilled as ever, careful game-planning and an otherwordly team performance from Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors sunk the Warriors, leaving them without a Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time since 2016.

This year was the first year things felt very different for the Warriors. Thompson was out, Durant signed with the Brooklyn Nets, and after just four games, Curry went out with injury as well.

It was the Draymond Green show for much of the season. The Warriors were vying for the best odds for the top draft pick and not a playoff spot for the first time in years.

In the background, Klay Thompson has been recovering, and on Wednesday afternoon he released a metaphorical docu-drama focused on his recovery titled “Above the Waves.”

The film was created by Translation, and directed by Floyd Russ alongside his creative production partner, Tool of North America.

Within the short film, Thompson is ever revealing about his recovery process. All implications are, based on the film, that he is healthy and ready to play basketball. The film specifies in 2020, and assumptions can be made that even if the Warriors conclude this season, since they’re out of the playoff picture he likely won’t play until next season.

And Thompson is hungry. Very hungry.

He spoke on what he’s heard about his team and the Dubs dynasty within the film:

"“It just kills me inside when I see these other teams, so many talking heads and some of my peers saying the dynasty is over, they had a great run.”"

Thompson admitted that the psychological barriers have been difficult. It’s something that will probably dissipate once he can get back on the floor and have a real impact, ignoring the noise.

"“I’ll just be that eager to prove everyone wrong again. That’s a good fire to have. Harness it for motivation to come back even stronger. It just takes time.” Thompson said."

It’s good to see Thompson back. This short film serves as a hype film for Warriors fans everywhere. After averaging 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 2019, we should be expecting big things from Thompson in 2020-21. And with him, Curry, and Green in tow, there’s no shot the dynasty is going down without a fight.