NBA Rumors: Klay Thompson Might Have Suffered ‘Significant’ Achilles Injury Ahead Of 2020-21 Season
A number of reports suggested on Wednesday night that Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson might have suffered yet another serious injury after sitting out the entire 2019-20 campaign with a torn ACL in his left knee.
The first news on Thompson’s status came from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweeted that the five-time All-Star was set to undergo testing “within the next few days” after apparently getting hurt during a workout in Southern California. The veteran NBA insider added in a follow-up post that Thompson might have injured his lower right leg.
In a separate Twitter thread, Wojnarowski’s ESPN colleague Ramona Shelburne offered more details, writing that “everyone in Warriors land” was feeling “down” after learning of what happened to Thompson but remained optimistic that things would turn out better than expected. She added that the three-time league champion “felt pain” in his calf area after he landed on it.
An hour later, Yahoo Sports‘ Chris Haynes took to Twitter to provide an even more dire update on the situation.
“Yahoo Sources: The fear is Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson has suffered a significant Achilles injury. An MRI scheduled for tomorrow morning.”
As pointed out by SB Nation‘s Golden State of Mind, Thompson hasn’t seen action since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, where the Warriors lost to the Toronto Raptors and failed in their quest to win a fourth championship in the 2010s. The outlet speculated that if the 30-year-old is found to have injured his Achilles in a “significant” way, as Haynes noted, there’s a very good chance he might have to sit out the 2020-21 campaign as well and probably won’t return until “well into” the 2021-22 season.
“All in all, it could end up being two and a half years between on-court appearances for one of the most beloved players in franchise history. And just a horrendously unfair turn of events for someone who truly loves hooping.”
As shown on his Basketball-Reference player page, Thompson averaged 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three-point territory in 2018-19. That year, he also made All-Defensive Second Team honors to add to his two previous appearances on the All-NBA Third Team.
Thompson wasn’t the only Warriors starter who was mostly — if not entirely — absent due to injuries during the 2019-20 campaign, which saw the team finish with a league-worst 15-50 regular-season record. Two-time MVP Stephen Curry missed all but five games with a hand injury, though he was able to return to action just before the league went on a four-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
