On Thursday, the Golden State Warriors made an official announcement that Klay Thompson would not participate in the entirety of the upcoming season due to his Achilles injury. According to the team’s statement, Thompson is suffering from a torn right Achilles tendon laceration. He obtained his injury during Wednesday afternoon’s Los Angeles pickup game, rendering him unable to participate in later plays. Thompson’s hiatus from the team could contribute to the Warriors’ struggles that they would encounter at upcoming games in the new season.
The Golden State Warriors are not the only ones feeling problematic about the situation – even Thompson himself is questioning himself behind the reason for his attained injury, which in turn is affecting his mental health. Along with taking a prolonged resting time after his knee surgery, Thompson would also take a nine 9 to 12-month rehabilitation period to improve his mental health. However, the therapy would not guarantee him a complete mental recovery.
During the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson obtained his torn left ACL injury. That time was when his team, the Golden State Warriors, went face-to-face against the Splash Brothers. 30-year-old Thompson was excited and giddy with his workouts thinking about the faceoff. Despite his obtained lesion, he still made an excellent recovery gameplay against them. The two basketball teams would eventually pit at each other again with the new season beginning on December 22 of this year, and Thompson, along with his backcourt partner, Stephen Curry, sensed that it’s time to settle their score against the Brothers.
The Golden State Warriors got informed of Thompson’s injury on Wednesday night, less than two hours before the official NBA draft would commence. According to insiders, many of the disclosed details are far worse than what the team relayed to the news media. Thompson’s lesion was more than what the Golden State announced as his “lower right leg affected.”
Due to the unfortunate last-minute news, the Warriors did not prepare a backup strategy for the NBA draft. They could have gotten someone else who could match Thompson’s high caliber of shooting hoops at the basketball court. However, current circumstances prove that almost impossible to attain. In the end, they proceeded with their idea to pick 19-year-old James Wiseman, a talented center, to their ranks as their draft’s overall No.2 choice. Despite the decision, the Warriors knew that it still wasn’t enough to fill their tactics’ gaping hole for the upcoming season. It left the team to adapt to the situation and move forward from there.
The turn of events could severely affect not only the Warriors’ management and fanbase but also fellow teammates Draymond Green and Stephen Curry. The three of them together proved as powerful forces enough to dominate an entire NBA season. However, with Thompson’s extended absence, it may make them question themselves if they could ever make it again to the top in future games. As of late, the only elite shooter left in the Warriors’ roster is Curry.
However, with Curry’s presence, the Warriors could hope and aim to dominate the new season. Additionally, the Warriors’ present majority owner is Joe Lacob, much to the relief of many of the team’s fans. Despite the San Francisco Department of Public Health declining Lacob’s proposition of allowing at least 9,000 fans into the Chase Center to watch the games, his idea still considers to be progressive, reflective, and thoughtful.
The team’s general manager Bob Myers also felt devastated by Thompson’s injury news. He was sitting beside Kerr and Lacob when he got the rest of the details, which made him pale from knowing the sudden information. He also expressed his hurt in learning that something that devastating occurred to an athlete as talented as Thompson. Despite trying to hold back his emotions, Myers spoke of his assurances during an interview. Myers stated that Thompson and the Warriors are going to be okay, and the whole team would always await his return for the next seasons to come.
