2 min read • December 08, 2021
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Warriors all-star guard Klay Thompson has been scrimmaging and getting in pre-game work (in full uniform) as he gears up for a much-anticipated return from a Nov. 2020 ruptured right Achilles and June 2019 torn left ACL, over 900 days since he last played professional basketball.
Golden State and Thompson’s camp have targeted Dec. 20 or 23 as a potential return date for the 31-year-old, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Thompson, however, said as recently as Dec. 3 that he is not yet sure of the exact game he will return: “When am I gonna be back? Hopefully within the next few weeks, man, that’d be really nice. Maybe a month. It’s hard to gauge.”
The opinion of the ProBasketballDocs is that recovery from a ruptured achilles is a slow burn, and as the Warriors have been cautious and patient with Thompson thus far, we suspect an early January home game is a more realistic target date for a return, so as to ensure he is 100% prepared. While the 5-time all-star's stamina and defensive mobility will be limited early on – compared to his outsized competitiveness and anticipation to get back – his shooting shouldn’t miss a beat, and he will be able to contribute immediately upon his return. Additionally, while the knee is always of some level of concern, there is little risk of re-injury of either the Achilles or ACL.
As head coach Steve Kerr has highlighted, the biggest hurdle in coming back will be Thompson returning to game shape. While he will be back by early 2022, he will not be playing full minutes or be at full effectiveness, and we likely won’t see him begin to get back there until February. Luckily, however, as the Warriors are 20-4 and stand at 1st in the West while posting a +13 point-differential, they will be able to ease him in and absorb his potential defensive deficiencies with the likes of Draymond Green, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Andre Iguodala.
We have seen multiple modern-day players in their early 30s return from a ruptured Achilles tendon at a high level, most notably Kevin Durant, who suffered the injury in June 2019, and who by playoff time last year was able to shoulder a 40-minute workload while posting an impressive 34.3/9.3/4.4/1.5/1.6 line in 12 games. John Wall and Rudy Gay likewise both recovered recently from extended absences.
Despite vast differences in playing styles and roles, the one comparison for each of these players is an ease back into full workload: Durant played in only 35 of a possible 72 games in 2020-21, Wall only 40 of 72 – often going through spurts of 7-12 games played and 5 games off – and Rudy Gay 57 games at 21.6 minutes per.
As the Warriors are firmly in contention for a 4th championship in Thompson's 11-year career, they have every incentive to pace him in preparation for a deep playoff run.
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