A strange season for the Golden State Warriors ended with them failing to parlay an appearance in the play-in tournament into a postseason berth. The team tried to thread the needle between having a collection of veterans with championship experience and having a bunch of younger players who were new to the stage, and while they showed plenty of promise, they ultimately didn’t do enough.
A major reason for this was the season-long absence of Klay Thompson. The team’s All-Star wing expected to suit up this season after tearing his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals, but an injured achilles held him out for the year. In fact, Thompson explained that his inability to take the floor led to him struggling to watch these playoffs altogether.
“It’s hard for me to watch cause I know if we was there it’d be a different story”
Championship hunger for Klay after watching this year’s playoffs
(via @KlayThompson) pic.twitter.com/GJwY9oIuEN
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 2, 2021
“It’s hard for me to watch, to be honest, fellas,” Thompson said during an IG Live from a boat. “It’s hard for me to watch because I know if we was there it’d be a different story, but you gotta channel that energy into your workouts.”
Thompson went on to give an update on his recovery from achilles surgery, saying, “Rehab’s going very well, I had a great day today, made some huge strides. I got some jumpers up, it just feels good to get up and down the floor right now.”
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Thompson on the floor, and it’s certainly fair to wonder what the Warriors would have accomplished if he was able to play this year. Regardless, with him healthy and the various growing pains the team went through this season, the expectations will be high in Golden State when 2021-22 rolls around.