The Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson has suffered a huge blow after learning he will miss a second successive season through injury, according to ESPN.
The 30-year-old had already missed the whole of last season after tearing his ACL during the 2019 NBA finals. He suffered a separate injury while playing a practice game in Los Angeles on Wednesday, which was confirmed as a torn achilles, an injury that basketball players often struggle to recover fully from. However, ESPN reports that Thompson’s latest injury is not considered career threatening.
If, as expected, Thompson misses the entire season, he will have gone more than two years without playing an NBA game by the time he returns for the 2021-22 season.
“It’s one of those deals where you don’t really know until you know,” Warriors general manager Bob Myers said on Wednesday night before the full extent of Thompson’s injury was known. “You can be hopeful, you can be concerned. I’m probably all those combined, and until we know more tomorrow, I’ll just hope for good news.”
Thompson is a five-time All-Star and, with his fellow ‘Splash Brother’, Steph Curry won three NBA titles with the Warriors between 2015 and 2018. He also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2016 Olympics. The Warriors struggled badly last season without Thompson and Curry, who were injured, and in the absence of Kevin Durant, who left to join the Brooklyn Nets. The Warriors had the No2 overall pick in Wednesday’s draft and selected center James Wiseman.
Thompson is known for his excellent shooting as well as his strong defense. He is also a popular figure off the court thanks to his laid-back demeanor.
