It’s the question that has been on every Warriors fan’s mind for over two years: When will Klay Thompson return to the floor?
Thompson looks like he’s ready, warming up before games in full uniform, but has had his timeline pushed back throughout the season. Reports originally had Thompson returning before Christmas, but now it’s clear he won’t see the floor until after the new year.
Premier NBA news breaker Shams Charania joined Kerry Crowley and Marcus Thompson on KNBR Thursday, and predicted that Klay will make his return on January 9th vs. the Cavaliers.
“To my knowledge I don’t think they’ve pinpointed exactly which game,” Charania said. “It’s hard-pressed for me to see them bring him back on the 3rd, but I do feel like more and more every day as he continues to get each and every day of rest in, that January 9th game against the Cavaliers at home after a quick two-game road trip, that’s a game that makes a lot of sense.”
Charania says that Thompson actually was healthy enough to play before Christmas, but with the Warriors currently holding the best record in the NBA, Golden State is waiting until he is at a peak performance level before bringing him back.
“He could have played before Christmas, but the way that the Warriors went about his rehab and bringing him back, making sure he’s able to play at a peak level. He was doing scrimmages with the Santa Cruz Warriors and he was going five to seven minute bursts, but the Warriors wanted to make sure he was going full speed for 12 consecutive minutes or 10 consecutive minutes, because that’s the amount of time he might play on any given game when he does return.
“I don’t think they bring him back in that type of setting as far as throwing him out there and making him play 10 minutes straight, but just being able to get his body to that peak shape was very important for the Warriors process.
“I believe their next home game after the 9th would be the 18th. Could it stretch to then? Possibly, but Klay Thompson to everything I’ve been told, he’s been physically ready, even mentally ready, but to make sure he’s in peak position, I do think it’s going to come here sooner than later.”
Listen to the full interview below. You can listen to every KNBR interview on our podcast page at knbr.com/podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.
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