Klay Thompson Day. The 9th of January 2022, mark it down – a date now forever etched in Golden State Warriors’ history.
Klay Thompson’s triumphant return to the Golden State Warriors is a day that will go down as an all-time great NBA moment.
Juan Toscano-Anderson declared it an ‘East Oakland national holiday’ prior to tip-off. Every Warrior teammate arrived at the arena sporting a different Klay Thompson jersey. Chase Center was packed to the rafters and bursting with anticipation. Over 20,000 in attendance to witness the return of a player they had missed so dearly, Klay Thompson. After 941 days the wait was finally over.
Allow me to reintroduce myself
At long last Klay Thompson heard the PA announcer call his name during pregame introductions. Taking a moment to soak it in as the sell-out crowd roared on in appreciation – Thompson eventually rose from his seat and made his way towards his teammates in the huddle. Warriors’ center Kevon Looney described the scene as ‘like a boxing movie, seeing a guy come up off the ground.’
Klay Thompson introduced. At last. pic.twitter.com/xB5of6l6YN
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 10, 2022
Up from the canvas after two devastating injuries, the time had finally come to play some ball. Klay wasted no time – making his first shot less than a minute into the game. He ultimately finished with 17 points for the contest, none more impressive than his thunderous second quarter dunk that brought the house down and sent his teammates into a joyous frenzy.
Klay has never been shy about shooting the basketball, so why change now? In less than 20 minutes of action, he managed to put up 18 shots. A feat that his splash brother, Stephen Curry called ‘so Klay Thompson.’ Thompson too noted himself: ‘Eighteen shots in 20 minutes. Nothing’s really changed.’
Klay capped off his performance with a characteristically clutch three to seal the tie as the Warriors finished victorious over the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-82.
It's like he never left! Klay with a NASTY dunk 🤯 (via @NBA) pic.twitter.com/mfOhg32Udg
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) January 10, 2022
A Day of Celebration
Klay Day will be remembered as a day of celebration for player that has meant so much to the Warriors over the years. A showering of love for one of the Bay Area’s favorite sons.
Anticipation for the return slowly built throughout the week and increased tenfold following the team’s official announcement on Saturday afternoon. Thousands joined in on the buildup as Steph Curry took to Twitter for a stroll down memory lane – asking fans to share their favorite Klay Thompson memories throughout the day. By Sunday night the hype was very real. And it more than lived up to it.
In typical Klay fashion he put on a show and entertained masses. Though truth be told, even if the monster dunk didn’t happen. Or even if Klay had missed every single shot – it wouldn’t have mattered. Klay Day was about a celebration of perseverance and heart. Just seeing him back out on the floor was always going to be enough.
If you love basketball, you love Klay Thompson. Struck down in the middle of his prime multiple times, he’s finally back doing what he loves most. That’s a cause for celebration in itself. The NBA is a brighter place with Klay playing basketball. Welcome back champ, we missed you.