The Golden State Warriors have been patiently waiting for Klay Thompson to get back up to speed and make his 2021-22 season debut. The organization took another step on Sunday to signal that the five-time All-Star is moving in the right direction.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater, the Warriors have assigned Thompson to the team’s G league affiliate in Santa Cruz. He’ll be able to get increased practice reps there as he continues to get into shape before returning to Golden State’s top roster.
Another step in Klay Thompson’s return process: The Golden State Warriors assigned Thompson to G League Santa Cruz for increased practice reps, sources tell me and @anthonyVslater.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 28, 2021
The update is a positive sign for the Warriors, who shared earlier this week that the team recently brought in players to scrimmage against Thompson. However, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr revealed that he and the medical staff still don’t have an exact return date planned for the 31-year-old sharpshooter.
Instead, the organization will wait to see how these next few weeks go in regards to Thompson’s conditioning and endurance before giving a more accurate timeline.
“We don’t have a target date,” Kerr said of Thompson’s impending return, per Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle. “What we have is a number of weeks ahead of us where we’re going to for certain let it play out. … I would think that, within a few weeks, we’d be able to sort of get a target date.”
Each and every week, it sounds like Thompson is progressing, which is a good sign considering he hasn’t played in an NBA game since the 2019 NBA Finals. Back-to-back serious injures have held him out for over two full seasons, so the Warriors are being cautious to prevent another setback from taking place.
Golden State has fared just fine with Thompson, starting off with an NBA-best 17-2 record. If the 31-year-old can shoot well from beyond the arc and still defend at a high level once he returns, the Warriors will be among the presumptive favorites to win the NBA Championship.
Stay tuned for further updates on Thompson’s status as they become available.
The post The Warriors Have Announce Big Klay Thompson News appeared first on The Spun.