The wait might finally be over for Golden State Warriors wondering when Klay Thompson will return to the lineup.
It’s been over 800 days since basketball fans have been graced with Klay Thompson’s presence on the court. The Warriors star missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, but the wait to see him return might finally be over.
Well, there’s still a pretty significant waiting period ahead of us, but there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel.
ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne gave an update on Klay Thompson’s recovery and it’s music to the ears of Warriors fans desperate to quench their Splash Brothers thirst. If any Warriors fans — or general basketball fans, for that matter — want a date to circle for when we’ll see Klay return, Christmas is the day.
“A lot of this is conditioning,” Shelburne said. “He’s doing well in his rehab, but he’s missed two seasons in a row now. So you don’t bring him back [early]. This is a conservative target. If he does well and his conditioning is up, and he feels like he wants to come back earlier, he will. But this is a conservative target of Christmas day because you need time to build your conditioning back up when you’ve missed two NBA seasons.”
Talk about the best gift anyone could ask for.
Even without Klay last season, the Warriors made a push toward the postseason behind an MVP-level effort from Steph Curry. Golden State surged late in the year to earn a spot in the play-in tournament before eventually losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies to narrowly miss the actual playoffs.
Coming that close to missing the postseason wasn’t something Dubs fans hung their heads about, though. Golden State would have been a wrecking ball wild card had it made the playoffs and now that Klay Thompson is returning that roster is even better. Golden State added one of the best players in the league to its roster without needing to make an actual transaction, which is a reminder of how scary the Warriors lineup can and likely will be in 2021-22.