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Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors is set to return near Christmas 2021 and the Splash Brothers will reunite in the Bay Area. His mere presence on the court is going to uplift the entire team and electrify the Chase Center crowd as fans will watch him step on the hardwood after nearly two years away.
Andre Iguodala's re-signing and Thompson's return has triggered phrases like "The Dubs are back" but realistically, the Golden State Warriors will need a lot of factors to go in their favor if they want to compete for the 2022 NBA championship. Evidently, the biggest 'What if' is Klay Thompson. The sharpshooting marksman, who once dropped an NBA record 14 threes in a game after barely dribbling the ball, is returning from two catastrophic injuries. It is unlikely that he will return to his past All-Star self right away and fans will have to be patient.
So let's take a look at 3 realistic targets for Klay Thompson as he gets back to NBA action after back-to-back season-ending injuries.
#1 Klay Thompson plays 30+ games
Klay Thompson is the ultimate Warrior who loves to play the game of basketball. He doesn't shy away from pain and plays through minor injuries. In fact, these past two years, not being able to play basketball has been more painful for him than the injury recovery itself. Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry will attest to the fact that it is impossible to keep him away from the court.
Golden State Warriors reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area, Kerith Burke, reported on Klay Thompson's recovery, saying:
"Klay Thompson says he misses playing in front of fans, making threes, playing alongside Steph, he misses Draymond getting in people’s heads."
However, as much as Klay misses the NBA and the NBA misses him, it is not realistic to expect him to play all 82 games. Even entirely healthy stars don't play 82 games, let alone someone who is coming off an Achilles injury.
Kevin Durant suffered an Achilles injury in the same NBA finals series in which Klay Thompson tore his ACL. Kevin Durant returned after 18 months and still missed nearly half the season due to random injury management. He played just 35 games in the 2020-21 NBA season, 48.6% of the season. Additionally, John Wall returned to NBA action after nearly two years away and even he missed almost half the season.
We can expect similar numbers from Klay Thompson, who will be returning after almost 13 months. He will return around Christmas 2021 so he is missing nearly 30 games anyway. And then after his return, we can expect him to miss roughly 20 more games due to injury management as well. ]Klay Thompson playing 30+ games will be a huge win for the Golden State Warriors and a much more realistic target for the shooting guard.
Also Read: Who is Klay Thompson’s girlfriend, Laura Harrier?
#2 Klay Thompson averages 30+ minutes per game and shoots 40%+ from three-point range
Klay Thompson is one of the rare players who have never shot below 40% from beyond the arc. That's eight straight years shooting 40% or more from deep. For context, Damian Lillard is often compared to Stephen Curry in shooting and he has shot over 40% just once.
Klay Thompson's game is not predicated on athleticism but rather his sniper-like shooting. Even though he is coming off an Achilles injury, we don't expect his efficiency and marksmanship to take a hit. He is a jump-shooter and will continue to shoot lights out.
Moreover, as far as his minutes are concerned, he is expected to notch up the same times as before. Surely he will be on minutes restriction at first but will eventually get into rhythym to complete games. If we look at Kevin Durant and John Wall again, we will see that even though they played just half the season, they both averaged roughly 32.5 minutes per game. Thompson averaged 34 to 35 minutes per game as an All-Star, but even 30+ minutes from him is a huge deal.
#3 Klay Thompson averages 18-20 points per game
Klay Thompson is a career 19.5 points per game scorer and hasn't averaged less than 20 for his last five seasons, ever since he became an All-Star. Although we all want him to hit the ground running and immediately make the Golden State Warriors title-contenders, Thompson will need to pace himself.
The most realistic expectation from him is averaging around 18 points per game with a chance of touching 20. Andrew Wiggins will still continue to be the second-best scorer and share most of the scoring burden with Curry. Wiggins and Curry were the highest scoring duo in the NBA last season.
If Klay Thompson comes back around Christmas and gives even 18 points per game, the Warriors will find themselves right in the middle of playoff contention.
Also Read: Orthopedic specialist analyzes Klay Thompson's recent shootout video to determine his recovery
