While Dec. 25 is always circled on the NBA calendar, the Golden State Warriors will have something extra to look forward to for Christmas day.
After missing a pair of seasons due to injury, the Warriors are targeting a Christmas day return for Klay Thompson, according to Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN. During an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump, Shelbourne reported Thompson is “doing well” in his recovery from a torn Achilles injury that kept him out of the 2020-21 season.
Via ESPN’s The Jump (H/T NBC Sports Bay Area / Ali Thanawalla):
He’s doing well in his recovery, but the Warriors are targeting that Christmas day game against the Suns for his return. He could come back a little bit before that, but in terms of getting his conditioning right, they are targeting the Christmas day game against the Suns. I know that sounds a little late to people, but he was injured on November 18th, so this is 13 months from an Achilles injury.
Prior to injuring his Achilles during the 2020 offseason, Thompson missed the 2019-20 season due to a knee injury. The five-time All-Star hasn’t played a game since suffering a torn ACL in game six of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
Thompson seems to be progressing through his rehab positively. The three-time NBA champion recently shared an encouraging video on Instagram from a workout. During the clip, Thompson looked in mid-season form, drilling a corner 3-pointer.
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As the Warriors attempt to make a return to the postseason after a two-year layoff, Golden State will likely be patient with Thompson’s long-awaited return to the floor. While he continues his rehab and ramps up his conditioning, the Warriors will lean on Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole and new signings Otto Porter Jr. and Andre Iguodala alongside Steph Curry.
The Warriors are slated to play the defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns during the Christmas day slate in the 2021-22 season.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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