NBA
Warriors' Klay Thompson could return after Christmas
It's been a long road to recovery for Golden State's star shooting guard, but it seems like it's finally at an end.
Having been out since 2019, the long awaited return of Klay Thompson is almost here
Klay Thompson to return on December 28th?
It seems like The Golden State Warriors' may just get what they desire for Christmas this year, all be it a little late. According to reports, the Warriors star Klay Thompson could very well be set to return on December 28th when Golden State plays host to the Denver Nuggets at the Chase Center.
Thompson has been a long term absentee, having not played since June 13, 2019, when he tore his ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Toronto. Even worse, he would go on to tear his Achilles tendon 16 months later, further compounding his injury problems. While the shooting guard has been back on the court in recent months, he has been largely limited to light sessions between the Warriors and their G League affiliate in Santa Cruz as he attempts to increase minutes on his road to recovery. The Warriors for their part have taken a cautious approach to his return. Most recently he did not with the team on their five-game road trip that will in fact come to an end this weekend. It is also understood that he will remain sidelined for their home game against the Sacramento Kings on December 20th as well as their date with the Memphis Grizzlies on December 23rd.
Warriors HC Steve Kerr hopeful for Thompson
Ideally Klay Thompson will make his season debut at home, or at least that's how Golden State's coach Steve Kerr would like things to go. Thompson has been impressive on his road to recovery and the Warriors have done all they could to handle his progress with care. As it stands, Thompson has completed the healing part of the process and is now improving his conditioning. With that in mind it's understandable that the Warriors have opted not to put him on the court come Christmas day for example, when they visit the Phoenix Suns in what could be one of the biggest clashes of the season on arguably the biggest day of the season. Following their game against Denver, the Warriors will go on the road to face the Nuggets and the Jazz before returning home to play the Miami Heat in the new year on January 3rd
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To their credit the Warriors have done extremely well in Thompson's absence. They are currently a league-with a 23-5 this season. Their defense is ranked as the best, while they boast the fourth-best offense in the league. It doesn't hurt of course that fellow star Steph Curry has been in literal record breaking form, having recently eclipsed Ray Allen's three pointer record to become the greatest long range shooter in league history. Indeed maybe the Warriors can actually afford to wait just a little longer for Thompson's return.