The Warriors they have lost Klay Thompson a second time and for a long period of time. If in 2019 it was a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee, in 2020 it was a tear in the Achilles tendon. The guard, who continues to have the record for triples in an NBA game (14), will not be able to count for Steve Kerr for the entire season to come due to a second serious injury.
It is a very big obstacle for the options of some Warriors hit by injuries in 2019/20, not only that of Thompson but those of Curry, Green or Looney, and that had marked the 2020/21 as a restart, already without Kevin Durant but with the number 2 of the ‘draft’ (finally, James Wiseman), to fight for the title.
The soul of that wardrobe, Stephen Curry, has spoken about the difficult situation. He has done it with Marc J. Spears in The Undefeated. The Warriors captain has given this interview to give his vision on how the loss will affect his team emotionally and athletically during the season:
“Getting that call was a punch to the gut. A lot of tears. You really don’t know what to say because a guy like him now has to go through two pretty serious rehab. But we have to be with him, support him. We hope he’s close, that he is stay connected with us and be part of what we are going to do ”
“You are sorry because he is a guy who has worked so hard to come back … And we were already training and two or three weeks later something like this happens to him”
“You have to see the big picture when something like this happens. Easier said than done, and more so spending so much time trying to rehab, but he has a lot of time left in his career. We will be with him.”
“He can come back strong. He’s a guy who loves this sport. He’s going to do whatever it takes to come back and be the same. That’s what we hope for and the confidence we have. Two and a half years of rehab is tough for anyone. , but we only hope for the best ”
“At first it’s going to be tough, sure. We’ve been waiting seven months to come back. Not seeing him on the court, at first, it will be strange, but I think we’ve done a very good job in the market with our draft picks and the group of free agents (Brad Wanamaker, Kent Bazemore and, in trade, Kelly Oubre) to put together a really strong roster. We will have to learn a lot very quickly and we will need the total commitment of everyone. We know how great Klay is, that Don’t get me wrong, but we can compete with anyone … We’re already listening to the conversations: ‘It’s the end for us. This year it’s the same. What are we going to do in the future?’ But we are at that moment in which it is even refreshing to be in that category among those who fight to beat the champion: we have to beat them and we are ready to do it “
