After suffering an ACL injury in the 2019 NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson has been forced to remain on the sideline for the entire 2019-20 NBA season. As much as the Warriors wanted to reclaim the championship title, they couldn’t rush Thompson’s return to the court, as it could have done more harm than good with his rehabilitation. Luckily, after being given enough time to recover, Thompson is currently making huge progress with his recovery.
In a recent interview with 95.7 The Game , which was posted on Twitter , Klay’s father, Mychal Thompson, shared some good news regarding his son’s injury. Though the Warriors superstar is highly unlikely to return to action in the 2019-20 NBA season, the elder Thompson confidently said that his son would be “ready to go at full speed next year.”
“He’s feeling good. He’s working out on his own. He’s doing all of his drills. He says he feels good,” Mychal Thompson said, as quoted by NBC Sports Bay Area . “He walks around without any kind of limp — no kind of soreness. He says he’s feeling great and he’ll be ready to go at full speed next year.”
Thompson’s injury is undeniably one of the major causes of the Warriors’ struggle this season. With Thompson on the sideline, the Warriors have noticeably weakened on both ends of the floor. After ruling the Western Conference for five consecutive years, the team has hit rock bottom. Before the NBA suspension due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Warriors became the first team in the league to be eliminated in the playoff race, and they are likely to win the lottery in the 2020 NBA Draft.
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With the improvement in Thompson’s rehabilitation, the Warriors aren’t expected to remain at the bottom of the league for long. After the huge disappointment of the 2019-20 season, the Warriors are planning to try the capture the Larry O’Brien Trophy once again with their championship core of Thompson, Stephen Curry, and Draymond Green.
New powerhouse teams may have emerged in the Western Conference, but as long as they have a healthy core of Thompson, Curry, and Green, the Warriors will become one of the top favorites to reach the NBA Finals. Aside from making sure that their championship core will be at full strength before the start of the 2020-21 season, rumors are circulating that the Warriors will also search for their fourth star in the 2020 NBA offseason.
If they get the number one pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Warriors will be in a strong position to engage in a blockbuster deal this summer. Some of the potential trade targets include Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards, and Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers.