NBA: After 941 days, Klay Thompson is celebrating an emotional comeback

Stand: 1:02 p.m.| Reading time: 3 minutes

IWhen he returned, Klay Thompson tried to stay cool. Inwardly, the NBA star stared at the floor when the hall spokesman introduced him as the last player in the starting five. It was only when the guard of the Golden State Warriors was asked to the floor in the Chase Center to thunderous applause from around 18,000 spectators that a grin broke on his face.

Thompson had waited two and a half years for this moment. Most recently, he was on the pitch in the 2019 NBA final. In game six of the series against the Toronto Raptors, the 31-year-old had torn his cruciate ligament after a foul in an unfortunate landing. Thompson suffered a setback during rehab, tearing his Achilles tendon in November 2020.

The five-time all-star was absent for 941 days, and San Francisco was accordingly emotional. Even while warming up, the fans celebrated Thompson for each transformed basket. His teammates wore different jerseys with his name from the Warriors period, which had been extremely successful before the injury, as a sign of support before the game. At the side of superstar Stephen Curry, Thompson made it to the finals five times in a row between 2015 and 2019 and won the championship three times.

17 points and a spectacular dunk

He directly showed that the graduate of Washington State University has lost little of his skills despite a lack of match practice. After initial nervousness with five missed throws from the first six attempts, Thompson got better and better into the game. In the end, the Warriors’ 96:82 win resulted in 17 points in 20 minutes of play. As a highlight, Thompson turned a spectacular dunk shortly before halftime, which finally put the audience in ecstasy. “It was unbelievable to look at,” said team partner Curry.

Thompson himself summarized visibly happily after the game: “It was a night that I will never forget and that lived up to all the hype. I am very grateful for our fan base. The love and the video messages that I received before the game, that was special. ”At the press conference, the guard kept looking at the statistics slip in front of him. “I didn’t hit as well as I wanted, but I’m just happy that I can look at it and read my name again,” he added.

Standing ovations after the substitution

In any case, the throwing rate and the two milestones (12,000 career points and 1,800 threesomes) that Thompson achieved were secondary. The end of his long period of suffering was in the foreground, for which Thompson was allowed to celebrate with standing ovations from the audience shortly before the end after his substitution. In the dressing room, he even received the match ball from Curry’s son Canon afterwards.

“I felt this energy when he was out there,” explained Curry, best thrower with 29 points, in the direction of Thompson. “I had to catch myself with his first four litters. Everyone went crazy. ”In the congenial duo with Thompson, Curry became known as the“ Splash Brothers ”.

In terms of sport, the comeback could therefore be a decisive factor for the Warriors on their way to winning the title. With 30 wins this season, the “Dubs” ranked first in the Western Conference, only the Phoenix Suns have won just as often.

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