Klay Thompson Should Give Warriors Huge Boost this Season

Klay Thompson has been out the last two seasons due to a torn ACL and Achilles injury, but he should still give the Golden State Warriors a huge boost this upcoming season.

Stephen Curry was tasked with carrying a lesser talented Warriors team than we’ve seen in the past few years, but to Curry’s credit, he was able to lead them to eighth place in the Western Conference, albeit they missed out on the playoffs for a second consecutive season after losing to the Memphis Grizzlies in the play-in tournament.

Obviously, they were without Thompson, who is a more than integral part of what the Warriors have built over this past decade.

Thompson looked great in practice

Thompson hasn’t been on the court in any setting recently, but with training camps now starting up and Thompson past his injuries, it seems like he hasn’t really missed a beat.

“Klay looked great,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Shooting the lights out. His team won the daily shooting competition. And he was smiling, laughing, joking around, it was really fun to see the old Klay back.

Everyone’s excited that Klay is out on the floor. He basically did every single thing in practice today. We didn’t scrimmage, we didn’t have any live contact, but Klay is just so happy to be playing and we’re all so happy to see him part of it. So just a really good first day, first couple of days, and good energy as we start to get rolling.”

Thompson’s off-ball shooting will open things up for the Warriors again

It’s good to see one of the best 3-point shooters in league history get back into the swing of things, as when he and Curry are healthy, they make Warriors basketball so much fun to watch.

Opposing defenses always have to be on the lookout when Curry and Thompson have enough space. If they decide to double Curry, then Thompson can easily get open and knock down the catch and shoot triple. He once scored 60 points while just taking nine dribbles the entire game, ya know.

Because of Thompson’s off-ball shooting skills, that allowed the Warriors to go out there and sign Kevin Durant to an already stacked team, as the fit was seamless from day one.

Thompson is that rare superstar that doesn’t need the ball in his hands all of the time and can just camp out from behind the arc and let it fly once he gets the ball in his hands.

Don’t be fooled, though. Thompson still has the ability to put the ball on the deck and drive to the hole to get his shots at the rim. That’s what makes him dangerous as well.

With the Warriors a completely different team now, it’ll be up for Thompson to embrace a larger role similar to the one he took on before Durant. He’s still likely a few months away, but with everything Kerr said, it seems like Thompson is ready to reclaim his status as one of the best shooting guards in the league.