News and Notes from Klay Thompson’s Media Availability

Golden State Warriors fans have long awaited shooting guard Klay Thompson’s return to an NBA court. Thompson, who has not played in an NBA game for almost two and a half years, has recently been trending towards making a return sometime during the week of Christmas. Yesterday, he held a media availability that emphasized the importance of patience in his recovery as well as his trademark confidence in his own ability to return to pre-injury form. Here are some notes from that media availability:

Thompson Details Practice Scrimmages

This past weekend, Thompson was cleared for full practice with the team after reportedly looking good during 5-on-5 scrimmages. Here are some details on those scrimmages according to tweets by The Athletic’s Anthony Slater:

It’s nice to see that the Warriors are being cautious with Klay when it comes to his practice scrimmages. Slowly ramping up his minutes in practice is a good sign of how they will handle his minutes when he returns to live games. Even though there is no real equivalent to an NBA game, the Warriors tried their best by using young players on the team that needed extra reps, as well as a couple of former Warriors champions in Zaza Pachulia and Leandro Barbosa to simulate game speed.

Most importantly, it’s great to hear that Klay isn’t scared of getting hurt again. For most athletes who have suffered a significant injury, the biggest obstacle is usually the mental part of the recovery more than the physical part. Fortunately for Warriors fans, Klay is one of the most mentally tough athletes in the league today, so it may not be as big a problem for him as it is for others.

Thompson’s Thoughts on the Current Team

The Warriors are a league best 15-2 going into tonight’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers and have solidified themselves as championship contenders going forward. This team will only get better after adding Thompson back to the team as he details here:

It’s hard not to root for the guy after seeing how excited he is for his teammates and to return to the court. He goes on to give a special shoutout to Jordan Poole who is starting in his place and has done a great job averaging 18 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists while playing in all 17 games this season. Although Klay’s return might mean the end of Poole as the starter for Golden State, don’t expect him to go away. Poole has proven more than capable of playing a significant role on the team and will be relied on heavily as they slowly work Klay back into game shape.

Conclusion

Thompson’s full media availability is worth a listen to and can be found here. Like Klay said, this Warriors team has everything trending right for them this season and it can only get better once he comes back. As far as when that is, here’s what he had to say about it:

Never change Klay, never change.