Warriors’ loyalty to Klay Thompson could bring another championship
The Golden State Warriors stuck with shooting guard Klay Thompson through the thick and thin, re-signing him to a max-value deal after his first season-ending injury.
Thompson initially went down in 2019 against the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals when Danny Green chased down Thompson and contested a dunk, which the five-time All-Star landed awkwardly from.
Klay Thompson lit up the Los Angeles Lakers and electrified the Chase Center, showing the Warriors it was well worth the wait.
While rehabbing to get back on the court in 2020, Thompson tore his Achilles. It seemed that, although that rehab was going to be lengthy, it just added more fuel to the fire. It did keep him out all of last season and for the first half of this season.
The comeback was always going to take a while, but as Thompson lit up the Chase Center and won the Warriors a game against the LeBron James-led Lakers, it seemed like an early culmination that everything was worth it for both parties.
The Warriors know the job isn’t finished just with one home victory, but it did showcase just how lethal and resilient this team is. To note, Golden State was down four-time All-Star forward Draymond Green as well.
Thompson scored 16 of his 33 points in the final quarter.
He’s averaging 17.9 per game this season. This was the first time Thompson scored more than 30 points in a regular-season game since March 13, 2019. Thompson had a season-high in minutes and shots against the Lakers as well.
“After not feeling that feeling for a few years, don’t take a 30-ball lightly in this league,” Thompson said via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews.
Golden State needed Thompson’s sharpshooting as Stephen Curry has been in a slump recently.
With the Warriors clearly struggling to keep up with the size of Lakers’ forward Anthony Davis and company, Thompson’s incredible fourth quarter helped keep Golden State from allowing what would’ve been a debilitating comeback.
That said, Thompson is officially back.
After not having been his typical self through many games this season, shooting 40% or worse in 8 of his 14 appearances, the slump is over and one of the best shooters to ever touch a basketball seems to be at the level he was prior to his injuries.
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His play could help bring Golden State another championship. That road is still long, but there’s certainly a buzz around what he was able to do against the Lakers that could help propel the Warriors to be title favorites.