Report: Klay won't return before Christmas for Warriors originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Klay Thompson's return for the Warriors nearing, the five-time All-Star won't make his return for Golden State until after Christmas.
The Athletic's Shams Charania and Anthony Slater reported Thursday, citing sources, that Thompson won't return for the Dec. 20 game against the Sacramento Kings or the Dec. 23 game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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The Warriors want Thompson's first game back to be at Chase Center which means he won't play on Christmas when the Warriors visit the Phoenix Suns. That means the earliest Thompson could return would be Dec. 28 when the Warriors host the Denver Nuggets.
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Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers told 95.7 The Game on Tuesday that Golden State has not yet determined an exact date for Thompson's triumphant return.
“All is well,” Myers said (h/t Alex Espinoza). “I’m excited for it to happen, too. We haven’t even decided internally when it’ll be. We’ll talk to [director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celibrini] and Klay. But the good news is, there’s a light. If you’re in this tunnel, it’s been a long tunnel for Klay and you can see this light. As the closer we get, like you guys, I want to see him so bad, for our team, for many reasons, for him.
“As it gets closer, I kinda get more patient. Maybe it’s just me, personally, because I know it’s coming. I’ve seen him scrimmage. It’s really good. I’ve seen him build endurance and I’ve seen him from two weeks ago or three weeks ago to a few days ago and I see him getting better, getting stronger. I see the purpose of all this. When he gets back, we need that.”
Thompson has reached the final stage of his rehab and now it's just about getting the star shooting guard back into game shape. Thompson's presence was missed Tuesday night when Steph Curry broke Ray Allen's record for most career 3-pointers. While that night was special, there is a feeling that Thompson's return could top it.
“Last night was unbelievably special,” Kerr told 95.7 The Game's Damon and Ratto" on Wednesday. “I think Klay’s return will be even more so when he comes back – whenever that is the next few weeks. Can’t wait for that to happen.”
