Tag: Klay

This date in Warriors history: Klay Thompson splashes record-breaking 14 triples vs. Bulls in 2018

After Klay Thompson tallied 52 points in three quarters against the Bulls on October 29, 2018, “Headband Klay” was born.

As the basketball world waits for the start of the NBA draft, Warriors Wire is rewinding through Golden State’s history to highlight memorable matchups and standout performances.

In 2018, “Headband Klay” was born.

October 29, 2018

In an uncharacteristic swing, Klay Thompson started the 2018-19 season on a cold streak. Through seven games, the five-time All-Star did not reach 20 points in scoring. During that stretch, the Splash Brother especially struggled from beyond the arc.

Thompson was shooting 13.9% from long distance, only making just 5-of-36 3-point attempts. However, his performance against the Chicago Bulls served as a quick reminder of why he’s one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. 

The Washington State product exploded for a season-high 52 points on 18-of-29 shooting from the field with four rebounds and two steals. On his way to 52 points, Thompson torched the Bulls with a record-breaking 14 3-pointers. 

With his 14-of-24 performance from beyond the arc, Thompson surpassed his teammate Steph Curry’s NBA record of 13 3-pointers in a single game.

Adding to his impressive feat, Thompson sat out the fourth quarter, only playing 26 minutes.

Via @NBAHistory on Twitter:

After cutting his forehead in the second half, Thompson donned a rare yellow headband look for his final 3-pointer in the third quarter. Thompson’s new fashion statement quickly took over as the headliner in the performance forever remembered as “the headband game.”

Watch more highlights of Klay Thompson’s record-breaking effort via YouTube:

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Klay Thompson helps make wish come true for Warriors fan fighting cancer

During her battle with cancer, Deborah Wright’s wish was to meet Klay Thompson. On Tuesday, the Warriors shooting guard made it happen.

During her battle with metastatic breast cancer, Deborah Wright had one wish. The 62-year-old Golden State Warriors fan wanted to have a chat with one of her favorite players in the NBA, Klay Thompson.

With the help of KTVU news anchor Frank Somerville and Golden State Warriors Sr. Vice President of Communications Raymond Ridder, the five-time All-Star was able to make Wright’s wish come true.

On Friday, Randall Wright shared a post on Facebook with Sommerville for his “bride.” In the message, Randall noted that Doctors estimate Wright only has six weeks left to live. While she wanted no gifts or money, Wright wished to meet Thompson.

View Sommerville’s full post on Facebook here.

Via @SportsCenter on Twitter:

On Tuesday, Thompson had a video meeting with Wright for about 25 minutes. During his conversation with Wright, Thompson introduced her to his famous bulldog, Rocco. In a follow-up message to Sommerville, Randall called Thompson “a kind and gentle soul.”

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Watch: Klay Thompson buries transition 3-pointers in latest offseason workout

In his latest offseason workout, Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson was spotted hitting a transition 3-pointer off the dribble.

After sprinting past his brother in a workout earlier in the week, Klay Thompson was spotted getting more work in on Friday. During a pickup game, the five-time All-Star drilled a long-distance jumper while bringing the ball up the court in a fast break.

Co-founder and lead instructor at ICEOCA (Intelligence Concentration Effort Order) Charlie Max Torress shared a video on his Instagram Story of the Golden State Warriors shooting guard knocking down one of his signature transition 3-pointers.

Via @bucketsworth on Instagram:

Thompson was joined at ICEOCA by Milwaukee’s D.J. Wilson and Detroit’s Christian Wood for the workout.

The clip of Thompson working is another positive sign in his rehab from the injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals. The sharpshooting guard recently made his long-awaited return to the practice floor at the Warriors offseason minicamp. The Warriors’ voluntary workouts in The Dubble were Thompson’s first chance to officially practice with his teammates on the court in 15 months.

With no official data for the start of preseason training camp, Thompson will have to wait to make his highly anticipated return to Steve Kerr’s starting lineup at Chase Center.

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Watch: Klay Thompson sprints past his brother at recent offseason workout

As he makes his long-awaited return to the Golden State Warriors lineup, Klay Thompson is running sprints at his latest offseason workout.

The start of the Golden State Warriors extended offseason has brought on a wave of positive news about Klay Thompson. After missing all of Golden State’s 2019-20 campaign due to the knee injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals, the sharpshooting guard has made serious progress in his rehab.

During Golden State’s recent offseason voluntary minicamp, Thompson made his return to the practice floor for the first time since his injury. The five-time All-Star competed in different drills with his teammates and “controlled scrimmages.” With no reason to rush Thompson back, Steve Kerr and the Warriors opted to hold the Splash Brother out of their live 5-on-5 scrimmages during camp.

Following the end of Golden State’s minicamp, Thompson is back to training in preparation for his return to Chase Center. On Wednesday, the 30-year-old shared a clip of his workout with his older brother Mychal Thompson.

During the workout, the brothers lined up for sprints against each other. Seeing Thompson sprint past his brother at full speed is another positive sign of progress in his rehab.

After sprinting to victory in a video on his Instagram story, the Warriors shooting guard had praise for track and field athletes.

Watch Thompson sprint against his brother via @espn on Twitter:

 

With no official date set for the start of the 2021 NBA season, Thompson will have plenty of time to work on his conditioning before he makes his highly anticipated return to the Warriors’ starting lineup.

The next time Thompson will be able to join his teammates on the court will be Golden State’s preseason training camp. At the end of the Warriors offseason minicamp, Kerr said Thompson is “not a question mark” for training camp.

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Steve Kerr says Klay Thompson is ‘not a question mark’ for Warriors preseason training camp

After a positive return to practice for the first time since his injury, Steve Kerr said Klay Thompson is “good to go” for training camp.

After a 15 month layoff from the court, Klay Thompson punched the clock for his first official round of practices since injuring his knee in the 2019 NBA Finals. The Splash Brother was back on the court at Chase Center with his teammates at the Golden State Warriors’ voluntary offseason minicamp.

During his time in the Dubble, the Splash Brother checked off a handful of boxes when it came to his injury recovery. With two weeks worth of practices under his belt, Thompson is continuing to check off boxes in his injury rehab.

Following Golden State’s practices in the Dubble, Steve Kerr expects Thompson to be ready for training camp at the start of the 2020-21 season. In an appearance on The Athletic’s “The TK Pod” with Tim Kawakami, Kerr said Thompson’s knee is “fully healed.”

Kerr via The Athletic’s “The TK Pod:”

No, he’s not a question mark. The camp for Klay was really about just taking the next steps of his process. His knee is fully healed, the ligament is totally strong — this was more about Klay just kind of feeling the contact again.

Along with taking part in controlled 5-on-5 drill work, Kerr said the sharpshooting guard spent time in 1-vs-1 battles with newly hired assistant coach Leandro Barbosa.

He took part in a lot of 5-on-5 controlled drill work, and he didn’t play in the 5-on-5 scrimmages just because we wanted to be really deliberate with what he was doing — the movement, figuring out where he needed to strengthen his legs and his hips, that kind of stuff. So, Klay and Rick [Celebrini] worked really closely together. Leandro Barbosa and Klay played 1-on-1 pretty much every day, which was really helpful for Klay. There was just kind of the next logical step for him in his in his rehab process but, he’s definitely going to be good to go once camp starts.

During the minicamp, the Golden State Warriors shared a pair of videos from Thompson’s workout in the Dubble. Along with knocking down some of his signature jumpers, the five-time All-Star threw down a fierce one-handed jam at Chase Center.

Via @warriors on Twitter:

As his injury continues to progress in a positive direction, the Warriors can turn their attention to building the team around Thompson. Before they’re on the court at Golden State’s preseason training camp, Bob Myers and Kerr will have the opportunity to tweak their roster at the NBA Draft and the free agency window.

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Steve Kerr takes playful dig at Rockets when talking about the Warriors offense for next season

Although they’ve gone through a wave of departures and additions, Steve Kerr says the Warriors won’t be changing their offensive attack.

On Monday, the Golden State Warriors wrapped up voluntary offseason minicamp inside their San Francisco “Dubble.” After an extended layoff from practice, the Warriors spent the last two weeks working out as a team at Chase Center.

Although Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were absent from minicamp due to family reasons, Klay Thompson made his first official appearance on the court at practice after missing the entire season due to the knee injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.

While Thompson has been rehabbing his ACL injury, a lot has changed in Golden State. Along with the arrivals of Eric Paschall, Marquese Chriss and Andrew Wiggins, players like Kevin Durant, Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala and DeMarcus Cousins are no longer in Steve Kerr’s rotation. On top of the roster changes, Thompson’s fellow Splash Brother missed 60 games with a hand injury in 2019-20.

However, the movement in the Bay Area isn’t going to force Steve Kerr to make dramatic changes to his offense around Curry, Thompson and Green. In an interview on The Athletic’s “TK Show” with Tim Kawakami. Kerr said the Warriors wouldn’t be “reinventing the wheel” with their new personnel in town.

When talking with Kawakami about Golden State’s offense, Kerr took a dig at the Houston Rockets’ playing style. 

Via The Athletic’s “TK Show“

We’ve stayed in touch, and I’ve spoken with both those guys on the phone, and I think they have a pretty good feel for what we’re trying to do. We’re not reinventing the wheel, but we have very different personnel around those guys. We’re still going to be the Warriors. We’re not going to all of a sudden, turn into the Rockets and change our offense and have one guy go high pick-and-roll, 70 times a game.

…But, We got to be ourselves. And what makes Steph [Curry] and Klay [Thompson] the players they are is the combination of what they can do on and off-ball— that’s what moves defenses. And what makes Draymond [Green] special is his ability to distribute from either the four or the five spots — to have playmaking at that level really.

Listen to Kerr’s full interview with Kawakami here.

Along with the currents changes to the lineup, the Warriors still have the NBA Draft and the free agency period to add to their roster. In November, Kerr and Bob Myers will be on the clock with the No. 2 overall selection in the NBA Draft. Following draft night, the Warriors will have the option to use a $17.2 million traded player exception and their $6 million mid-level exception.

Despite a new look in 2020-21, Kerr isn’t going to mirror the Rockets’ isolation heavy attack. However, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Rockets could be in for some changes of their own next season. After moving on from Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets are in the market for a play-caller on the sidelines.

Although there will be changes on both sides next season, the core of Golden State’s rivalry with Houston is still in place. While it could look different, whenever Curry and Thompson lace up against Harden and Westbrook, it’s must-watch theater.

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Klay Thompson participates in ‘controlled scrimmage’ at Warriors offseason minicamp

During the Golden State Warriors offseason minicamp, Klay Thompson advanced to ‘controlled scrimmages’ in his comeback from a knee injury.

The start of the Golden State Warriors offseason minicamp has seen the return of a familiar face at the practice facility. After missing the entire 2019-20 campaign, Klay Thompson joined the Warriors on the practice floor at Golden State’s offseason minicamp.

During camp, Thompson will go throughout group workouts with his teammates at Chase Center for the first time since tearing his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals.

According to Steve Kerr, the Warriors are “taking it really slow” with Thompson’s return to practice. During the Warriors scrimmage at camp on Tuesday, Thompson spent time working with new assistant coach, Leandro Barbosa. Although he didn’t participate in Golden State’s official team scrimmage, Kerr said the Washington State product took part in drills that included a “controlled scrimmage.”

Kerr via Warriors SoundCloud:

Klay [Thompson] didn’t scrimmage. He did everything else in practice. When we started to scrimmage — a short burst series of quick games, he went and worked with LB [Leandro Barbosa]. We’re trying to get him really more 1-on-1 work, and specific work to the rehabilitation process that exists for an ACL. So even though his injury is fully healed, the ligament’s fully healed — because he hasn’t played 5-on-5, he’s just got to work on certain muscles, certain movements and that sort of thing.

We’re taking it really slow with Klay. He’s basically taking part in all of practice other than the scrimmage. We did other drills that were live. We did some defensive drills, 5-on-5, more of a controlled scrimmage that he took part in. But at the end of practice scrimmage, we had him doing some 1-on-1 stuff with Leandro. That is the preferable sequence right now.

Although it’s a positive step for Thompson to be back on the court, there’s no urgency to rush him back at this point in the offseason. As the sharpshooting guard continues to knock the rust off, the Warriors can work him back at a steady pace during their extended offseason.

With the Warriors practicing in their San Francisco “Dubble” through Oct. 6, there’s still an opportunity for Kerr to run Thompson out for his first live 5-on-5 work since game six of the 2019 NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

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Klay Thompson makes return to Warriors practice for first time since suffering knee injury

For the first time since suffering a knee injury in the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay Thompson made his return to the court at Warriors practice.

For the first time in 15 months, Klay Thompson is back on the court at practice for the Golden State Warriors. The five-time All-Star shooting guard was kept out of the entire 2019-20 season with a torn ACL he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.

Thompson was absent from the first practice at Golden State’s voluntary offseason minicamp as he finished the NBA’s testing protocol. On Friday, the sharpshooting wing made his long-awaited return to Golden State’s training ground.

Over Golden State’s extended offseason, Thompson has been working out in Southern California. Prior to the start of offseason minicamp, Thompson was training at Chase Center with Golden State’s assistant coach Chris DeMarco. Friday served as his first chance to join the court with his Warriors teammates.

The Golden State Warriors Twitter account shared a photo of Thompson getting some shots up inside “The Dubble.”

Via @warriors on Twitter:

In a conference call with Bay Area media, Steve Kerr called Thompson’s return “a sight for sore eyes.” The Golden State Warriors coach said day one was “a good first step” for Thompson.

Via Warriors Sound Cloud:

Number one, it was great to see him — a sight for sore eyes… It’s been a long time coming.

It was great to have him out on the floor, in the locker room. Just his presence alone gave us a jolt of energy and excitement. And then, practice went well. This is the first practice coming off an ACL injury and a year and a half absence, so I didn’t expect him to be in top shape, in top form — and he was not, but he moved well, and it’s a good first step.

Watch a video of Thompson going through drills inside The Dubble via @warriors on Twitter:

Despite Thompson’s appearance at practice, he will have to wait for a reunion with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Thompson’s fellow Splash Brother and Green are listed as doubtful for Golden State’s voluntary minicamp due to family reasons.

Thompson and his teammates will continue working out at San Francisco’s Chase Center until Oct. 6.

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Steve Kerr says Klay Thompson ‘looks great’ in pre-offseason minicamp workouts

After watching him train at Chase Center, Steve Kerr says Klay Thompson “looks great” prior to the start of the Warriors offseason minicamp.

For the first time in 15 months, Klay Thomspon is expected to make his long-awaited official return to the Golden State Warriors practice facility. After going through a tedious recovery process from the knee injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson is slated to join the Warriors on the floor at their voluntary offseason minicamp.

Prior to the start of minicamp, Thompson was working out at Chase Center in San Francisco. According to Steve Kerr, the five-time All-Star was training with Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco.

Although he missed the first day of camp while he goes through the NBA’s coronavirus testing protocols, Kerr said the Washington State product “looks great.” In an after practice interview with the media, Golden State’s coach revealed Thompson is “anxious” to get back on the court to play.

Via Warriors Sound Cloud:

Yeah, he’s doing well. He worked out here at the facility for several days in a row, maybe four or five days in a row with Chris DeMarco and Chris gave me really positive updates. I was here for a couple of those days and got a chance to see him, and Klay looks great, and he says he’s anxious to play, so we’re excited about that.

Not only will Thompson have the chance to knock off the rust before Golden State’s preseason training camp, the sharpshooting guard can also grow familiar on the court with players like Eric Paschall, Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins and Marquese Chriss.

After he goes through the league’s testing protocol, Kerr expects Thompson to join the Warriors in camp sometime later in the week.

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Mychal Thompson says Klay is ‘fully healthy’ and practicing at ‘full speed’ in offseason workouts

Mychal Thompson provided an update for Klay’s recovery, saying the Golden State Warriors shooting guard is practicing at “full speed.”

While a small handful of teams are still busy with the NBA playoffs inside the Orlando Bubble, the Golden State Warriors are already preparing for next season.

After his injury from the 2019 NBA Finals held Klay Thompson out of the entire 2019-20 season, the sharpshooting guard has been working towards his long-awaited return to Steve Kerr’s rotation. In June, the guard was medically cleared to train without restriction on his surgically repaired knee.

During Golden State’s extended offseason, the three-time champion has been working out in Southern California. On Sunday, his father, Mychal Thompson, provided an update on his offseason training. In an interview with Amin Elhassan and Jason Jackson on Sirius XM’s NBA Radio, Thompson said his son is “fully healthy” and practicing at “full speed.”

Via @SiriusXMNBA on Twitter:

He’s doing great, man. He’s playing, going full speed, and is back to being a basketball player fully healthy. So, he’s feeling good. And I’ve been watching him work out, and I’ll tell you one thing, crazy to say, but his shot looks even better, and which should be expected because that’s all you could do for so long is just go out and shoot, shoot, shoot until you are fully healthy, until you get that full clearance, but he is ready to go. If the season were to start at a normal time, he’d be out there with Steph and the boys again…

Steve Kerr has come up and watched him work out and watched him scrimmage. So yeah, they’re back to playing, he’s back to playing and doing all the natural things — moving laterally like he did before the surgery…

Once the Warriors are cleared to host in-market group workouts during the offseason, Thompson will be able to join Steph Curry, Draymond Green and the rest of his Golden State teammates on the practice floor for the first time in months.

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Having Thompson fully healthy in the offseason’s early stages will give him more time to work with Golden State’s new arrivals Andrew Wiggins, Eric Paschall and Marquese Chriss.

Getting their five-time All-Star shooting guard back healthy is a significant box the Golden State Warriors need to check off before making their climb back into the playoff picture in 2021.

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