Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson (11) reacts after making a three-point basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter of their NBA game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
SAN FRANCISCO — On some of his hardest days during his rehabilitation from back-to-back leg injuries, Klay Thompson envisioned himself with the ball in his hands in late-game scenarios, rising to the occasion in crunch time and putting the team on his back.
But even as he hoped to have big career nights into his 30s after returning from two major injuries, Thompson still had doubts whether it would actually happen.
“Those are the moments you really live for as a competitor, as a basketball player,” Thompson said Monday night. “Hard to see those at times during the rehab process.”
That’s what makes games like his 54-point outing in the Warriors’ rousing 143-141 double-overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks so rewarding for Thompson and special to witness for those who saw him at some of the lowest points of his career.
One week shy of the one-year anniversary of his return from 2 1/2-year absence due to injury, Thompson delivered a heroic performance Monday for the depleted Warriors, who were missing six players including stars Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins.
Thompson, 32, gave Golden State a much-needed boost and showed shades of his pre-injury self, scoring 16 points in the opening quarter and 22 by the half before finishing the game with a career-tying 21 made field goals on a career-high 39 attempts. He also drained 10 3-pointers in the process of recording his fourth career 50-plus-point night.
“It was huge,” Draymond Green said of Thompson setting the tone early and carrying the team. “We needed all of them but the aggression that he came out with was really knocking shots down… allows us to create other offense off of him. He looked like old Klay.”
Thompson might’ve wondered what type of player he would be when he got back on the court after suffering a pair of career-altering injuries. But he never allowed those lingering questions to dim his competitive fire.
It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Thompson. He got off to a rocky start after a mental block prevented him from playing five-on-five during the offseason which resulted in his slower ramp-up to the season. Thompson was under a minutes restriction for the first two weeks and then found himself trying to shoot his way out of an early-season funk. That stirred up even more frustration for the hyper-competitive Thompson as the Warriors’ struggles mirrored his own.
Green reminded Thompson that good things will come if he allowed them to, but he needed to avoid pressing his shot and play more within the flow of the game.
“Understanding that you don’t have to be the same Klay that you once were before, and when you understand that and you buy into that, then you become the Klay that you were before,” Green said. “We’ve all talked about this our entire lives which is letting the game come to you. And it’s a very big thing and when you’re as competitive as he is, when you’re as good as he is, it’s tough sometimes.”
That patience has paid off for Thompson.
“Fifty-four points is nothing to slouch at, even in a double-OT win,” Thompson said. “There were some hard days for me when I didn’t know this would be possible. And to live it in real time, I’m just going to embrace the heck out of it.”
Thompson was one of four Warriors players to play 44 or more minutes Monday night. Of course he was exhausted after the game. He thanked Kevon Looney for making the game-winning tip-in basket at the final horn. They’ll have a day off before returning to action against the Detroit Pistons (10-30) Wednesday.
“I feel great,” Thompson said after logging 46 minutes in a game for the first time in seven years. “I would not have been able to do this a couple of months ago, so it’s a huge milestone for me and to have energy on both sides of the ball so just a big confidence booster individually.
“We’re almost at the halfway point and it feels great to feel like I’m getting better with every game. And I know I’ll be more consistent as the season goes on.”
A torn ACL during the 2019 NBA Finals and ruptured Achilles tendon about 17 months later that sidelined him for a combined total of 941 days forced Thompson to come to grips with his mortality as an NBA player and grow more introspective in recent years.
In the glory of his 54-point night, Thompson unpromptedly brought up the uncertainty that awaits him after next season when his current contract with Golden State expires.
It’s too early to speculate what’s in store for Thompson in the summer of 2024. For now, he said he’s just trying to enjoy every day he can put on a Warriors uniform.
“This is such an incredible position to be in as defending champions, to see the banners we hung and just the brand that has been built here. I just have to remind myself daily like this is a dream I’m living in,” Thompson said. “What matters most is just having fun and playing hard. All the numbers, all the big nights will come as long as I do those two things.”
Originally published at Madeline Kenney