Klay Thompson tore his left ACL on June 13, and he underwent surgery on July 2.
The Warriors star isn't expected to make his 2019-20 season debut until mid-to-late February at the earliest, and has some tough days ahead of him.
"My mindset, though, I'm still in like the grassroots stages of rehab," the three-time NBA champion told Marcus Thompson of The Athletic recently. "So it's, like, hard to envision even, like, running.
"I'll watch games on Hardwood Classic and it's like, ‘Damn. I was able to do that?' because of my knee right now. But I'll get back. I'll be even better. I really believe that. I've never been more motivated."
Yes, Klay. You were able to do stuff like this:
There's one player in the NBA who attempts this shot. His name is Klay Thompson pic.twitter.com/PaNC2MmmQO— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) July 31, 2019
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And when it comes to motivation, the two-time All-NBA selection is going to need a lot of it because the rehab process is not going to be fun. Klay is a pure hooper at his core, and not being able to practice when the Warriors open training camp next week will be difficult.
The frustration will grow even stronger when Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Co. take the floor for the first game in Chase Center history on Oct. 5 against the Lakers.
[RELATED: Klay tried to recruit KD back to Warriors with one message]
"Honestly, we'll see in two weeks when I see my teammates out there playing," the five-time All-Star told The Athletic. "But, as of right now, it's easy to lock in and focus on my rehab every day because that's all I have. I don't have games. I don't have to go to the arena.
"But when that starts, I know it's going to be a very tough challenge. It's going to be really hard."
And the Warriors know it's going to be really hard to hold down the fort without him.
