ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed the worst fears of all basketball fans today – Klay Thompson is out for the season with an Achilles tear.
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Into his 10th season as a professional basketball player, Klay was ruled out of the entirety of the 2019-20 season with an ACL tear. He’d only just begun oncourt practices in late September. He picked up this Achilles tear while playing pickup basketball in order to prepare for the upcoming season.
Where does this injury leave Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors?
The Warriors were expected to be the biggest threats to the Lakers’ chances of repeating their 2020 championship. Many believed that a full-strength Golden State had the offensive potential to overrun the Lakers. But with him out for the season now, this has put paid to their chances of pulling it off.
Klay has had some horrible luck with injuries over the past 17 months. The freak injury he suffered against the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals interrupted the greatest shooting performance by any player at that stage, bar none.
Also Read: Klay Thompson injury: Klay forced out with a knee injury, returns to court to take free throws
The shooting guard is the ultimate 3-and-D player in the NBA. Klay had the ability to guard most elite offensive players in the league. The Warriors used him as one of their bodies on both LeBron as well as Kyrie Irving in the 3-year period from 2014 to 2017.
Thompson holds the records for most 3-pointers made in an NBA game with 14, as well for most points in a single quarter at 37. At his hottest, nobody can match Klay’s microwave scoring ability. The guard scored 60 points through just 3 quarters against the Pacers in the 2016-17 season.
The Warriors would have been looking forward to trot out a lineup of Steph, Klay, Wiggins, Draymond and Wiseman this season. Instead, they’re going to have to be content with a low playoff berth, or face not making the playoffs at all. Klay was their best two-way player by far.
