With each passing day, Klay Thompson moves closer to returning to the Warriors lineup. But the injured shooting guard took to Instagram on Thursday to ask Dub Nation for patience.
"Hey DubNation, it's coming. Just stay patient with me. These black uni's go hard btw," Thompson wrote, accompanied by a photo of him shooting recently at Chase Center while wearing the Warriors' new "Moments Mixtape" City Edition jerseys.
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Thompson hasn't played in an NBA game in 29 months, having torn his left ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals and then tearing his right Achilles on Nov. 18, 2020. But the finish line is in sight for the three-time NBA champion.
While the Warriors haven't set an official return date for Thompson, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that Klay could be back on the court before Christmas.
"I'm told if he continues on his current course right now in rehab, that a target date for his return will be set probably within the next couple weeks," Wojnarowski said on "NBA Countdown" on Wednesday. "And it could be --there's optimism it could be as soon as December 20, December 23. The Warriors have home games before Christmas, and so the plan for Klay Thompson is to continue to ramp up.
"The Warriors will go on a road trip in mid-December, and at that point, if Klay continues on this track, he'd go down and play with the Warriors' G League team. And the idea is, and the hope is, they'll have him back perhaps prior to Christmas."
Golden State Warriors
Thompson's impending return reportedly is creating buzz around the NBA as the Warriors are off to a league-best 10-1 start without him. Last week, Thompson joined ESPN's broadcast of a Warriors game and revealed that he has started to play 3-on-3 games, a huge step in his rehab.
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The anticipation is growing for Thompson's long-awaited return, and everyone, including Warriors CEO Joe Lacob, knows whenever that day comes, it will be emotional. But as Klay points out, patience needs to be exercised here. He is coming back from two major lower leg injuries and the last thing anyone wants is for him to rush back and aggravate either injury.
Soon enough, Thompson will be on the court at Chase Center draining 3-pointers alongside Steph Curry. For now, though, we will wait patiently.