Tag: Klay

Klay Thompson releases short documentary with inside look into his knee injury rehab

Watch Klay Thompson’s short documentary that chronicles his journey while rehabbing his injured knee.

Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson gave fans a rare behind the scenes look into the injury rehab of an NBA All-Star.

The short documentary “Above The Waves” chronicles Thompson’s journey back to the court after suffering a torn ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals. 

After a montage of Thompson’s start in the league, the film fast forwards to the moment he injured his knee. The Splash Brother said he felt his knee shift when the injury occurred. 

The six-minute and 13-second documentary covers Thompson meeting with doctors, working out with physical trainers and the “psychological hurdles” of rehab.  

Along with snippets from game six of the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson is the primary voice in the film, with his father Mychal chiming in throughout. 

The documentary concludes with the statement, “Train the mind. The body will follow.” running across the screen.

Watch Above The Waves via Thompson’s partner Kaiser Permanente on YouTube: 

After ripping off 30 points in the first 30 minutes of game six of the NBA Finals, Thompson landed awkwardly after being fouled on a fast break with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter. The five-time All-Star was able to drill a pair of free-throw attempts before heading to the locker room. However, he missed the rest of the game as the Toronto Raptors were crowned champions in Oracle Arena. 

Before the NBA went on hold with 17 games remaining, the Warriors officially ruled Thompson out for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. 

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Mychal Thompson says Klay wants to retire with the Warriors alongside Steph Curry

According to his father Mychal Thompson, Klay wants to retire as a member of the Golden State Warriors alongside Stephen Curry.

In 2009, the Golden State Warriors selected Stephen Curry in the NBA draft, two years later, they added another shooter named Klay Thompson in the lottery. Over the next eight years, the duo of Curry and Thompson formed the iconic duo known as the Splash Brothers.

Accomplishments like All-Star nods, Most Valuable Player trophies, Three-Point Contest champions, All-NBA Teams, All-Defensive Teams and championship banners have all spawned from the tandem of Curry and Thompson.

While the NBA is on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the parents of the legendary Bay Area basketball pairing linked up on the “Raising Fame” podcast. Mychal and Juli Thompson joined Dell and Sonya Curry on their podcast to talk about the relationship between their sons.

According to the former first overall pick, his son wants to retire as a member of the Golden State Warriors alongside Curry one day.

Klay loves playing with Steph. He respects him so much. He talks about him all the time about how hard he works and how dedicated he is to the game and to his family. He’s said it to me in private, and he loves playing with Steph. He wants to retire as a Warrior, not in another 10 years. He wants to go into the Hall of Fame along with Steph. That’s how close he feels to him and how honored he is to play with him. They’ve formed a special bond.

Via the Raising Fame Podcast:

After leading Golden State to the past five NBA Finals, Curry and Thompson have yet to link up on the court in the 2019-20 season due to injuries. Curry returned from his hand injury to the Warriors for just one game before the NBA went on hiatus due to COVID-19. Thompson has been ruled out for the remainder of the season from the knee injury he suffered in the 2019 Finals.

The Splash Brothers will have to wait for the 2020-21 season to continue to build their Hall of Fame candidacy.

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Atlanta’s Trae Young has high praise for Klay Thompson’s defense

Trae Young listed Klay Thompson as one of his top-three defenders in the NBA.

While the NBA is on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, players across the league are turning to social media to fill their time. Whether it’s question and answer segments, watching old highlights, or discussing video games, the NBA hiatus has turned players from the court to their phones.

On Monday night, Atlanta’s phenom sharpshooter Trae Young spend time on Twitter doing a question and answer period with his followers. The first-time All-Star answered questions about his music, movies and his time at Oklahoma.

Young was asked about his top-three defensive players in the NBA and mentioned a member of the Golden State Warriors. The former lottery pick named Klay Thompson as one of his best defenders along with Kawhi Leonard and Jrue Holiday.

Via @TheTraeYoung on Twitter:

Before getting injuring his knee in the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson was named to the NBA Second-Team All-Defensive Team.

In Young’s first dance with Golden State in his rookie season, he was held to four points on 2-of-12 shooting in 27 minutes. In round two, Young dropped 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting.

Without Thompson on the floor due to injury in 2019, Young notched 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting. In three games against Golden State in his career, Young has only shot 2-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Once Thompson makes his long-awaited return to the court from his ACL injury, Young will have the chance to battle with Golden State’s Splash Brother again.

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Klay Thompson goes through non-contact drills at Warriors practice

Klay Thompson made an appearance at the Golden State Warriors’ recent practice.

The Golden State Warriors welcomed the long-awaited return of Stephen Curry against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. The Warriors have been without their two-time Most Valuable Player for the past 58 games due to a broken left hand.

In his first game in four months, Curry racked up 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 27 minutes against the Raptors. The addition of Golden State’s six-time All-Star provided a glimpse of the Warriors of old. The team launched a season-high 52 shots from beyond the arc with Curry back on the floor.

In Curry’s return, something was still missing for the Warriors. Golden State is still without the other member of the Splash Brothers, Klay Thompson. The Washington State product has been ruled out the entire 2019-20 season with a knee injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.

However, Thompson made an appearance at Golden State’s practice the day after Curry returned to the floor.

The injured shooting guard went through non-contact team drills with his teammates and coaches.

Thompson also spent time getting up jumpers in a shooting workout at practice.

While Thompson won’t play this season for the Warriors, he has yet to be ruled out from the 2020 Olympics. With training camp starting in July, Thompson was named a finalist for Team USA basketball. The next time Thompson suits up for game action could be in Tokyo at the Olympic games.

Klay Thompson stars in commercial based on his comeback from injury

Klay Thompson is featured in Kaiser Permanente’s “Rebound” commercial, based on his comeback from injury.

The Golden State Warriors are waiting for the nearing return of Stephen Curry after missing a majority of the 2019-20 season due to injury. However, once Curry returns, he will still be without his backcourt mate Klay Thompson.

Thompson has been ruled out for the season by the Warriors due to the knee injury he suffered against the Toronto Raptors in game six of the 2019 NBA Finals. The “Splash Brothers” reunion on the court will have to wait till next season.

Although Warriors fans won’t get to see Thompson lace-up in his No. 11 jersey anytime soon, they did get a glimpse into his injury rehab.

The five-time NBA All-Star is featured in Kaiser Permanente’s “Rebound” commercial, based on his comeback from injury.

Thompson narrates the commercial from start to finish:

You never plan for a setback. And it usually feels like the worst possible time. Then you realize, it’s motivation to come back even stronger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ckp8yK69QA

In the final seconds of the commercial, the screen reads “documentary coming soon.” In the future, fans may get a more in-depth look into what Thompson went through during the knee rehab that sidelined him for the entire 2019-20 season.

Steve Kerr says it’s ‘still a possibility’ Klay Thompson plays in 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Steve Kerr says it’s “still a possibility” Klay Thompson plays for Team USA in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The Golden State Warriors officially announced Klay Thompson would miss the entirety of the 2019-20 season due to a knee injury he suffered in the 2019 NBA Finals.

Thompson won’t play a game for the Warriors this season, but there is still a chance he could lace-up for Team USA over the summer. Thompson was named to the 44-man preliminary roster for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics edition of Team USA basketball.

Thompson’s chances of making the final 12-man Olympic roster hinges on the health of his knee. As the injured “Splash Brother” is progressing through his rehab, the possibility of Thompson playing in the Olympics hasn’t been ruled out.

Before the Warriors played the Houston Rockets, Steve Kerr spoke to reporters, offering insight on Thompson’s chances of making Team USA.

Via Anthony Slater of The Athletic:

It’s not off the table — it’s still a possibility. We haven’t really discussed it. I think the team meets in July, so it’s still quite aways away, but it’s really not anything we’re discussing at this point. It’s just still a possibility.

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, Thompson is still in contention for a roster spot on Team USA as he continues to rehab his knee.

If Thompson’s knee is fully recovered in time for Team USA’s trip to Tokyo, it’ll be his second appearance in the Summer Games. Thompson was apart of Team USA’s run to gold in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

Thompson tallied 9.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 21 minutes per contest in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Steph Curry to attend Klay Thompson’s Washington State jersey ceremony

When Washington State hangs Klay Thompson’s jersey in the rafters, his fellow Splash Brother, Stephen Curry will be in the building.

While the Golden State Warriors 2019-20 NBA season has been filled with losses and injuries, there’s still been special moments that have popped up along the way.

Draymond Green’s No. 23 Michigan State jersey was retired by the university earlier in the season. However, he isn’t the only Warrior who will see his jersey get pulled into the rafters this year.

Washington State will retire Klay Thompson’s No. 1 when the Cougars host Oregon State on Saturday night. Thomspon ranks third all-time in points (1,756) for Washington State and was named to the Pac-10’s first-team twice during his time in Pullman, Washington.

During Thompson’s special night, fellow “Splash Brother” Stephen Curry will be in the building for the ceremony. Janie McCauley of The Associated Press confirmed Curry will attend the jersey retirement at Thompson’s alma mater.

The Warriors will play the Orlando Magic at Chase Center in San Francisco on Saturday night, limiting Thompson’s teammate’s ability to show up in support for the Cougar alum’s jersey retirement.

Outside of Curry will be Zaza Pachulia and Mike Dunleavy will make the journey from Golden State to the Pacific Northwest for Thompson, according to McCauley.

A silver lining to Thompson and Curry both dealing with injuries at the same time will open the door for the former two-time Most Valuable Player to be in attendance for the ceremony.

Klay Thompson breaks out a familiar uniform for workout while injured

Klay Thompson is still injured, but his No. 11 Golden State jersey returned to court for a pregame workout.

It’s been over 200 days since Golden State Warriors fans have seen Klay Thompson’s No. 11 jersey on the court in action. A knee injury has taken Thompson away from the court for every single game so far in the 2019-20 NBA season. However, before the Warriors tipped off against the Denver Nuggets, Thompson was spotted working out at Chase Center in familiar attire.

Participating in a solo-shootaround, Thompson donned his No. 11 Golden State game jersey during his practice session. Thompson pulled out the Warriors throwback with “San Francisco” striped across the chest of the jersey for his workout. Along with the full uniform kit, Thompson wore a bright yellow headband to complete his outfit.

Thompson’s ACL evaluation is scheduled for the All-Star break. However, the All-Star shooter is progressing through his rehab and back around the Golden State Warriors on a more consistent basis as his recovery moves forward.

Thompson recently met with the media in San Francisco and spoke about his ACL rehab, saying he’s been working every day he could since the 2019 NBA Finals ended.

It’s been a long process – I haven’t stopped working since the third day after game six of the 2019 Finals – you might not see me a lot, but oh — I’m working.

Thompson backed up his words with his game-ready shootaround at Chase Center in San Francisco Thursday night.

With the Warriors struggling at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, expect Golden State to be patient with Thompson’s knee injury. There’s no need to rush the “Splash Brother” with the Warriors season turning into being about a high draft position instead of a playoff spot.

Yet, seeing Thompson back at Chase Center in uniform provides a breath of fresh air in a down season for the Golden State Warriors’ fanbase.