Klay Thompson growled on his lip. It didn’t seem like his first basket in 941 days, a floater that led to the Warriors’ opening basket. No, Thompson drew his opponent off the dribble, crossed over, and soared toward the rim after reentering the game near the conclusion of the first half. It brought back thoughts of the play that took us on this adventure 941 days ago.
Kerr assembled his team prior to Sunday’s tipoff and reminded them of the intense emotional stakes involved. Earlier that day, during a game day meeting with his staff, Kerr stated that the possibility of Thompson’s comeback began to materialize.
“Honestly, just having our coaches meet and actually talking about Klay feels surreal,” Kerr remarked. “It was amazing, yet it was unsettling.” It’s been so extended. Undoubtedly, the challenging aspect is in adjusting to the game and defeating a highly skilled squad.
The Warriors have refrained from conjecturing over the moment that came to pass on Sunday night. They were afraid of overtaxing a player who had just returned from such a long layoff.
Kerr assembled his team prior to Sunday’s tipoff and reminded them of the intense emotional stakes involved. Earlier that day, during a game day meeting with his staff, Kerr stated that the possibility of Thompson’s comeback began to materialize.
“Honestly, just having our coaches meet and actually talking about Klay feels surreal,” Kerr remarked. “It was amazing, yet it was unsettling.” It’s been so extended. Undoubtedly, the challenging aspect is in adjusting to the game and defeating a highly skilled squad.
The Warriors have refrained from conjecturing over the moment that came to pass on Sunday night. They were afraid of overtaxing a player who had just returned from such a long layoff.
In the sixth game of the 2019 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena, Thompson attempted a dunk and tore his ACL. Just as he was about to recuperate, he ruptured his opposite Achilles in November 2020.
Although he was well acquainted with Chase Center’s training facilities, he had not yet heard his name blare over the public address system during introductions.
Kerr remarked, “We’ve all watched him suffer for two and a half years.”
In the sixth game of the 2019 NBA Finals at Oracle Arena, Thompson attempted a dunk and tore his ACL. Just as he was about to recuperate, he ruptured his opposite Achilles in November 2020.
Although he was well acquainted with Chase Center’s training facilities, he had not yet heard his name blare over the public address system during introductions.
Kerr remarked, “We’ve all watched him suffer for two and a half years.”
For the entirety of Thompson’s brief stay on the floor, the crowd was on the verge of erupting. The last time Thompson played a game, Chase Center’s rafters hadn’t opened. He was quickly locked into the starting five and received the longest and loudest applause of any player during introductions.
Following two seasons in the background, Thompson returned to the forefront and scored 17 points in 20 minutes, roughly three less than his career scoring average, on 7 of 18 shots (3-for-8 from 3).
In his parting remarks, Thompson grinned and replied, “Yeah,” before heading off stage. In twenty minutes, eighteen shots. Really, not much has changed.