After two years and a half, Klay Thompson is back on court.

It was the sixth game of the NBA Finals between Golden State and Toronto Raptors, June 13th 2019. In the third quarter of the game Klay ran into a counterattack and went for a dunk. Danny Green stopped him with a foul. But the biggest concern was his landing on the left foot. The arena went silent. Klay needed help walking off the court to a dressing room, but halfway there he turned around. He still had 2 free throws to shoot. He sank them both for his 30 point performance that ended two minutes before the end of the third quarter. He wanted to play, but Steve Kerr said enough. Since Klay Thompson left the floor, we waited 941 days for the day of his return. The day has finally arrived. This week’s blog is dedicated to a three-time NBA Champion and one of the most beloved basketball players in basketball history.

Klay Thompson was born with a basketball in his crib.

His father was Mychal Thompson, a member of ‘’Showtime’’ Lakers and the first pick of the 1978 draft. He spent his college career at Washington State University, where he was selected into the Pac-12 starting first team twice. Before that he was breaking shooting records at high school. The shooting and defense were his specialties. At the 2011 NBA draft he was selected 11th from the Golden State. After the draft the rumors started that Warriors star Monte Ellis is gonna be traded. That happened a year later in 2012. That is also the year that the basketball world found out who Klay Thompson is and who he can become. Under coach Marc Jackson he got even better in defense and his shooting was still great. After he was not selected to a rising stars game, the breakthrough happened. He started scoring on average 5 points more, putting up 20% more rebounds and assists and had risen his shooting average. Before that he was playing 17 minutes per game, after the decision he was getting 30 minutes of play time. After that he had his scoring record with 26 points and at the end of the year he was selected into the first rookie team, the rest is history.

‘’They are the best duo of all time’’ in 2013 their coach Mark Jackson was clear when he was asked about the Curry-Thompson duo. At first basketball fans did not believe him, but soon they saw what he was talking about. Unfortunately Jackson was not there at the Warriors break through. Maybe the average 18.4 point, 3.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists  does not sound impressive, but klay was rising. Same year the Warriors lost in game 7 of the playoffs against the ‘’Lob CIty’’ Clippers, but the talent was there and the future was promising.

Klay Thompson z enim od treh pokalov, ki jih je osvojil z Bojevniki (vir: NBA.com)
Klay Thompson with one of 3 NBA Championship trophies (source: NBA.com)

The future has brought 3 NBA Championships and a record regular season with 73 wins and only 9 loses. Klay was one of the mostar important pieces in franchise success. Here are some of his most remarkable awards:

  • 3x NBA Champion (2015, 2017, 2018)
  • 5x NBA All-Star (2015-2019)
  • 2x All-NBA Third Team
  • 1x All-Defensive 2nd Team
  • 1x 3-point shooting Champion (2016)
  • 1x NBA All-Rookie 1st Team
  • 1x World Champion with Team USA (2014)
  • 1x Olympic Champion with Team USA (2016)

In the NBA finals against Toronto he tore his ACL and he went on a path of long recovery. Scoring two free throws and running back on defense, we thought that the injury was not that bad. Coach Steve Kerr pulled him out of the game and the doctors took a look at the knee. ‘’Klay Thompson has torn his ACL’’ the NBA was in shock. How would the Toronto finals series end if injury would not have happened? Nobody knows. But we do know that Klay is an amazing basketball player. Some even go as far as claiming that he is the best shooter of all time and we can’t blame them.

Klay Thompson se je vrnil po 941 dneh (vir: NBA.com)
Klay Thompson has returned after 941 days (source: nba.com)

Klay Thompson’s return was magical.

During his ACL rehabilitation he ruptured his Achilles Tendon. His rehabilitation that started in june 2019, has in November 2020 been prolonged. Another year has passed and we waited for his return day by day. On November 28th he joined G-League team Santa Cruz Warriors. On the 8th of january this year on his iconic jacht he announced his return to NBA courts. His first game after a long absence was in front of the home crowd against Cleveland. Klay has returned and lifted up the entire arena and entire basketball world. In 20 minutes of game he scored 17 points and helped his team to a win. With a Slam Dunk he lifted up the entire arena. His 12th thousand career points and a new 3-point, with which he scored his 1800 3-pointer. After 941 days we can finally say: ‘’Klay is back!’’ And the basketball got back the small part that is making her wholesome and beautiful.

60 points in 29 minutes

Maybe one of the greatest moments in NBA history. Only 90 seconds and eleven dribbles were needed for Klay to score 60 points. He had the 6th usage rating on his team. For the moment to be even more amazing, we can compare it to other 60 point games from the past. LeBron had the ball in his possession for 390 seconds, Carmelo ANthony 240 seconds and Kobe Bryant 400 seconds. So Klay’s 90 seconds is one of the craziest data from his career, trailed by 2 more. Did you know that in 48 minutes of play in this tempo he would score more than 100 points?

  • Field goal percentage: 21/33 – 64 %
  • 3 point shot: 8/14 – 57 %
  • Free throws: 10/11 – 91 %
  • Assists: 1
  • Rebounds: 2

37 points in a quarter

Klay Thompson has played the craziest 12 minutes in league history, looking only at points scored. In the 3rd quarter of the game against Sacramento there were 9:49 minutes left in the quarter with the score tied at 58. And then it began. 37 points in a quarter breaking the Carmelo Anthony’s (2008) and George Gervin’s (1978) rekords with 33 points. Not missing a single shot, Klay sank all of his 13 shots and the quarter ended with 97:73 for Golden State. He finished the game with 52 points, in this legendary quarter he scored 9 three pointers.

  • Field goal: 16/25 – 64 %
  • 3-point shot: 11/15 – 73 %
  • Free throws: 9/10 – 90 %
  • Assists: 5
  • Rebounds: 2
  • Blocks: 2
  • Steals: 4

14 3-pointers in one game

29th of October 2018 in a game against Chicago he scored another record that cemented his spot as one of the greatest 3-point shooters of all time. In the first half he scored 10 3-point shots and ended the game with 14. 14 3-pointers is also the record that is still standing and probably won’t be broken for some time. He crowned the amazing game with 52 points. If we add the fact that he played only 27 minutes, his spot in greatest 3-point shooters of all time is guaranteed.

  • Field goal: 18/29 – 62 %
  • 3-point shot: 14/24 – 58 %
  • Free Throws: 2/2 – 100 %
  • Rebounds: 5
  • Steals: 1