Report: Warriors' Klay Thompson Feared to Have Significant Achilles Injury
The Golden State Warriors announced shooting guard Klay Thompson suffered an injury to his lower leg on Wednesday, and reports suggest it may be a season-ending ailment.
According to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, the Warriors "fear" Thompson suffered a "significant" Achilles injury. He will undergo an MRI on Thursday morning.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium first reported Thompson will undergo tests in order to determine the severity of the injury.
Charania noted Thompson was unable to put weight on his leg as he left the gym.
Thompson, 30, averaged 21.5 points on 46.7 percent shooting (40.2 percent from three-point range) with 3.8 rebounds per game for the Warriors during the 2018-19 season, his last full campaign.
Thompson suffered a torn ACL during Game 6 of the NBA Finals while driving for a layup late in the third quarter of his team's eventual 114-110 loss to the Toronto Raptors. He somehow knocked down his two free throws and stayed on the court for a few seconds before being taken out.
A postgame diagnosis revealed the torn ACL, and the ex-Washington State star was lost for the entire 2019-20 season.
That year turned out to be a lost one for the Warriors, who couldn't get anything going because of injury (e.g., Thompson and Stephen Curry, who was limited to five games with a broken hand) and departures (e.g. Kevin Durant, who helped the Dubs win two NBA titles in 2017 and 2018). They finished 15-50, which placed the Warriors last in the NBA standings.
Optimism reigned, however, with Curry and Thompson slated to return healthy and a lottery draft pick in tow. The team had also added Andrew Wiggins from the Minnesota Timberwolves to help a lineup that still had jack-of-all-trades forward and three-time NBA champion Draymond Green.
Thompson's injury is another unfortunate setback, however, as the shooting guard looks to work his way back into the lineup and enjoy a sustained period of good health.
He had not missed more than nine games in a regular season before the 2019-20 campaign.
If Thompson's injury extends into the regular season, which begins on Dec. 22, look for Curry and Wiggins to assume more usage and scoring responsibilities, with Damion Lee a candidate to replace Thompson in the starting lineup.
