NOVEMBER 19: Thompson has suffered a season-ending Achilles tear, a source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
It’s devastating news for the Warriors and for Thompson, who will miss a second consecutive season with a major leg injury and will be looking to return in 2021/22 at age 31 after not having played a game in about 28 months.
The Warriors will likely apply for a disabled player exception, which would be worth the amount of the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception ($9.3MM).
NOVEMBER 18: The Warriors fear that Klay Thompson has suffered a “significant” Achilles injury, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). According to Haynes, Thompson is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his injured right leg on Thursday.
As we relayed earlier this evening before the draft got underway, Thompson suffered the lower leg injury during a workout in Southern California today. He has been sidelined since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, having suffered a torn left ACL in that game, but had been on track to return to the court for the Warriors to start the 2020/21 season.
If Thompson suffered an Achilles tear or another major injury, it’s possible he’ll miss his second consecutive full season, which would be brutal news for both him and the Warriors.
Several members of the Warriors organization are headed to Los Angeles to be with Thompson for his MRI tomorrow morning, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link). The club is still hoping for the best, but fearing the worst.
The Warriors should have clarity on the severity of Thompson’s injury before free agency begins on Friday, so that news may impact how the team approaches its offseason. Golden State has a $17MM+ trade exception and the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception and may need to prioritize a wing if Thompson won’t be available anytime soon.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
How long are these recoveries usually?
A year. Took Kobe almost 18 months
Thats not true. Unless the 1 was a typo. When i saw you say 18 months i decided to google his achillies injury because kobe was a beast and so if it took kobe 18 months then it would take most normal humans 2 years. The google results said 6-9 months was the estimated timetable but then it said kobe “shattered” those estimates. He tore his achillies on april 12th, 2013 and then played his first game december 8th, 2013 against the raptors. So 4 days short of 8 months. But he wasnt even able to start working out for 6 months. Since this injury happened in november, if next year the nba returns to their normal schedule then its fair to guess klay will miss all of this season and possibly the start of next season. Because klay will have not played an nba game in 2.5 years, id bet the warriors would be extremely cautious with him and wouldnt be surprised if he was held out to at least christmas of 2021 heading into the 2022 calendar year
Way to get the facts right. That man was trying to say it took Kobe 18 months. SMH
I wonder how long it’ll take him to come back from the helicopter crash
Sources say he should be ready for the opening tip
Usually about a year or so, which means he might not even be back for the start of the 2021-22 season. Maybe some time in 2022.
Not official yet. Can you relax man. It’s a career here. Relax show some class
Knickerbocker Al even though that was directed at someone else, i see what you are saying but do you really think klay thompson or anyone close to him is reading this article? Hoops rumors is here for us to speculate on articles. Yes you are right it isnt official but its being widely speculated by well respected journalists that it is a torn achillies so i think its ok for others to speculate on an estimated timetable
No one said his career was over. He still has 4 years left on his contract and you least of all don’t need to be telling others to show some class. No matter what your personal feeling towards others are here.
it’s official
Yep, official end on Warriors dream to win the title this year.
That was quite a dream. I have nothing against Thompson, but I can’t stand the Warriors “fans.” Sucks for Thompson, though.
Fillin’ the same.
Homer 32 year Warriors fan here. This is bad news but not the end of the world. Thompson may never be the same but the team will move on. The Warriors are more than just one guy no matter how important they are to the team and to Steph Curry’s game.
There are NBA players available that are very good who Golden State can plug into the off-guard spot. They could apply for the injured player exception above, or they have that trade exception to use until Monday 17 mil. They can find an awesome starting shooting guard I’m sure.
Thompson is a huge part of the Warriors success but injuries happen and we move on. I feel for him and I know he’s super disappointed but knowing his attitude and wor ethic he’s going to get right back after it.
As usual, your comments are amusing.
Yeah it’s possible to feel bad for Thompson while also being happy that obnoxious posters like Strike Four are probably devastated.
Main focus should be set on guy playing good D, not necesserarly offens, because this is what they have already. Covering curry’s weaknesses – that’s what they need to adjust now if they want to stay in the game.
Damn. Smh. That’s awful
Best of luck to him in recovery.
Unfortunately, I don’t think he’ll ever be the same player again. Age is not on his side.
On the other hand look on Nique – he came back after torn tendon and scored almost 30 pts/game in 1992-1993. And he was 32-33 at this point.
Different time and a player with an entirely different skill set. His injury wasn’t on the back of an ACL tear and recovery.
wow what terrible luck. i can only hope the best for him. this changes everything in the West. GSW seemed like they had the best shot at dethroning the Lakers. that’s taken a huge hit with this news
I don’t think even with klay they would’ve dethroned the lakers.. they don’t have the size or the depth to contend with lakers.. lakers may lose rondo and green but Matthews will replace greens three point shooting and defense.. I think ibaka and Mathews will be signed, Kcp will reup and cousins will replace javale..kuzma will be traded and markieff will be back.. team will be even better next year
Yeah Warriors wouldn’t have been a threat to the Lakers. I still think it’s only the Clippers, but they may be a mess, too.
I’m not convinced clippers will be better.. part of what made them good was their bench depth.. Harrell will be gone and shamet was traded. Who knows if Kennard will be better.. jackson probably gone and same with Morris.. but they did fire doc so that may make them better..
Oh I don’t they will be more of a threat than last season I just think they will still be the biggest threat in the West next season.
Agreed, but kind of a drag we won’t get to find out.
Objectively, I can agree. I just really don’t like the Warriors fan base. I do appreciate the way Curry and Thompson play, though.
I like the idea of seeing them compete against Lebrun and Davis.
The Lakers should have the West regardless. Bucks and Heat have a puncher’s chance, depending on how their rosters are filled out.
I agree…the Lakers have done pretty well since they rid themselves of Jim Buss. That guy was killing them.
Team sanctioned pick up game? If not, can they void his deal? Asking for a friend.
Insurance will cover most of it I would imagine like how they have been with John Walls injury and whatnot, But I doubt they do him dirty like that and try and keep money from him if he got hurt doing something unsanctioned.
Doubt it. They still owe him $167M over the next four years. Yikes.
Insurance does cover some of it. If it’s career ending. Covers whole thing. All contracts NBA it’s business lol. Gotta say bro. You have consistently been the “glass half empty” on this board. Now that we know it’s real. Money shouldn’t be a topic. Unless it’s for who they are signing.
You have always talked up Warriors. To support your shooting threes Rockets mentality. Now it’s about their spending. Warriors not cheap like Rockets. And they will be chasing the West. While the Rockets are chasing the lottery. Have some faith bro
Wow, and just like that the warriors and rockets windows closed.
Lol how do you figure?
Achilles injury is the worst outcome for a basketball player. Usually come back 75/80 percent of what you were hes I’m wrong side of 30. Stephs had fair share of injuries through this career. They are stuck with draymonds and wiggins horrid deals and added a mediocre center in the draft.
Rockets as we know are blowing it up and are likely to trade harden and westbrook because them together has no chance of winning. As proven this year.
ill agree, the rockets never really had a legit shot IMO, GSW did. the Warriors window is gone for another year. i could see them making a run when he comes back in ’22, but even then thats if his Achilles somehow responds better than 80%. this really could be the end of their title contending days led by the brothers splash.
Tatsumaki is obviously very biased, does anyone unbiased actually consider draymonds contract “horrid? Personally when i think of “horrid” contracts of recent years i think of luol deng, chandler paraons, timothy mozgov etc. guys making 10+ mil a year and dont even play. If you want to name good players who are getting paid too much then id say chris paul and john wall have the most “horrid” deals of potential all star players. Draymond green helped his team make the finals 5 straight years, i feel like that is worth any contract they gave him. How do you honestly expect any franchise to just say “we can afford to pay you, but would rather go in a different direction” what kind of message does that say to the fans who are invested in that player, have his jersey, their kids know him and the guy draws attendance. And then what kind of message does that send to the other players on that team and across the league who they might try and recruit? “Yeah come help us win, and then when it comes time to pay you, we will replace you for younger talent”
Damn man, your bias runs deep. Your logic doesnt even make sense, its like you are running a dynasty fantasy league
Wiggins has a really bad contract, ill give you that. But when you figure where they got that contract from (durant for russell, russell for wiggins) you can see why they did it. Draymond though, come on. I wouldnt even say he has a bad contract. Its not a good one but its not bad either for everthing he has done and still brings to the team. Hard to put a price tag on being the locker room leader. (Although apparently the kings could 2 years ago when they traded away shumpert for a 2nd rounder and alec burks)
Just googled worst contracts in nba and read 4 different articles. Nowhere did i see a mention of draymond green.
Joakin noah, nichola batum, bisymock biombo are a couple other names that should be mentioned for “horrid” deals
How about blake griffin or kevin love just to name a couple other power forwards? Who would you rather have right now?
I think your article is old man. Biombo is a free agent and Noah makes like 6 million a year, I believe because the Knicks stretched his contract.
But still – he is overpaid. Nobody else would give him that kind of money because in other system he wouldn’t be so important as here.
Yes he is good defender but even elite defenders aren’t or weren’t paid that much (Bruce Bowen, Tony Allen etc.).
He’s very limited offensively and keeps shooting worse each season.
And he’s not typical playmaker like CP3 or Rondo. He just distributes the ball to shooters most of the time.
There is no way Klay’s contract is horrid. When GSW inked him they had no idea he’d suffer two devastating injuries. It’s not like they could say back in ’18, “Hey, Klay, you’re about to tear an ACL and Achilles, so we’re going to have to move on.” You work with the info you have.
This sucks for Klay this year. Long-term though I don’t think it cripples his game. He’s a shooter. He’s not a dribbler built entirely on speed and explosiveness.
Could affect his defense.
My bad, thought he meant Klay. Klay will be okay, though.
I’m hoping for Dominique-type of comeback for him.
Same goes for Optimus Dime… when he signed he was healthy & playing his usual unstoppable game… then got injured & all the guys here (except hiflew) seem to love bashing on him for that contract, that he earned & deserves… neither he nor WAS could or should think he was gonna be injured, right?
FanBoy Sunami don’t know ball. He’s the child that yells fires. Then tapes it to show everyone. Warriors still have moves to make. One guy is not a team. Although the Lakers would argue that. Warriors will still be there at the end in West. Wiseman is about to show what a real Center is all about. If there’s any team in NBA who loses their star. And you can kiss the season goodbye. It’s the Lakers. Karma is watching.
Simpleton al is the same guy that said clippers were winning west last year, you know how that turned out.
Lmao, the references he make offer little context or value, and it’s just a meme at this point. All year heard about getting another star instead Added a mediocre center I a weak draft. Saddled with almost no sense and aging core, warriors like al are done.
What reference? You lie and misrepresent the truth constantly on this board. I just gave you facts. That the biggest Warriors haters can understand. Yet you think it’s about you. Child you show your incompetence every time you answer me. You think this is personal. But Im doing a service to basketball by schooling you. Plenty of people had the Clippers. That’s suppose to mean something. Another cry for help maybe. Now by bashing a pick. And some lame theory of all yr you heard something about stars. Check your hearing lol. And you can’t be that freakin ignorant that you cant see them doing something. Wiseman is considered best prospect in this draft. By experts by NBA players by at least 80%. If you read and follow this draft from its outset. I don’t need them telling me. Cause I got my own eyes and skills. I don’t spew words like you do Brons draws. According to you Warriors will do bad cause you say they will. Wow and to think I could of just asked you.
All theat talk about who’s the best, pointless at this point, and it leaves out Denver, so invalid anyway.
First Boogie now Klay. This stinks.
Hope boogie can return to form and clay has something else wrong. But that kind of tear is usually pretty easy to see.
First was probably Wall with his home accident…
All in all it’s sad when good players suffer injuries not even participating season/playoff games.
Injuries in games are bad but that’s the risk you take.
Injuries in practices/home etc. are just sad.
Damn, huge blow to Klay and the Warriors.
I tore my left ACL in 2014 and my right Achilles in 2017. I am a few years older than Klay now (35). For what it’s worth, and I am an average Joe/weekend warrior, the Achilles was way harder/took longer to come back from.
How soon can GS get a injured player exception? I am sure there are a number of good players that may want to sign a one year deal with GS for half of Klay’s salary and then get back into next year’s free agency bonanza.
No one to speak of is a free agent, to be honest. Nothing that would move a needle in GS.
Prayers to Klay. He’s not only a great player, but a great representative for the Bay Area
Yep and who’s gonna cover now for curry’s lack of defense? That should be GSW biggest problem now.
Hope it’s not as bad as they feared. Gotta be devastating to be so close to returning from an ACL and then suffering another significant injury
THE DYNASTY IS DONE
No one happier than LBJ as his chase for more rings than the GOAT got easier. LBJ got lucky Denver beat Clippers and now this. LBJ smiling from ear to ear.
Shut up dude lebron is not a terrible person and would never wish injury on anyone. It’s not his fault clippers chocked.
You don’t think lakers wouldve beaten clippers.. guess will never know since clippers didn’t take care of their own business..lakers did.. lakers beat clippers last two times they played including in the bubble
curry and green gonna have to play this year. can’t wait 1.5 years more for klay.
Has any player missed back to back seasons before?
Demarcus cousins
Cousins didn’t miss back to back seasons. After tearing his Achilles during the ’18 season he played for the Warriors during the ’19 season, then missed last season with an ACL tear.
The only similar case that comes to mind is ’80s Lakers All-star guard Norm Nixon. During the summer of 1986 he tore his ACL while playing softball. When he was about to return during the fall of ’87, he tore his Achilles during a preseason game. He missed that season too.
After finally returning at age 33 in 1988, he played only 53 more games in the NBA then was out of the league.
John wall
Wall also didn’t miss back to back seasons, even though he hasn’t played in almost two calendar years. He played 32 games during the 18/19 season, then missed the 19/20 season.
How did you all not read the article?..it says he has blown his Achilles again…he recovered…and has now blown it out again…
Andre Roberson played in the Bubble, so I guess he didn’t technically miss back to back seasons. But it was basically two and a half years.
Bill Walton missed back to back seasons in 1980-81 and 1981-82. He also missed 1978-79 and played only 14 games in four consecutive seasons.
Joel Embiid also missed back to back seasons. But I’m not sure this counts here because he never played a game in the NBA before.
Jeff Ruland a fantastic All-Star center in the 80’s missed 4 consecutive years… when he came back was just a sad shadow of himself for a couple seasons playing only a handful of games!
Real sad story the guy was sooo very good!
That is why u don’t pay guys with major injuries that kinda money.
Klay was never injured prior to signing the contract, dude!
Got only prayers for Klay ….
Warrior have moves to make. They got another 9 mill to spend. First up is the 17 mill TE. I was them I go and get Gordon first. Then look to sign two MLE players. I offer Woods the 9.7 MLE for three yrs. Thise are two nice players to add. The plane doesn’t crash cause the pilot goes down. It crashes cause no one tries to fly it. I’m rooting for Warriors .
It’s like what happened to cousins just the other way around. Sucks hope he gets a good recovery and comes back
Harden for Wiggins, Wiseman, and mid level exception seems to be a workable deal for both parties.
Tough news! I’m disappointed I won’t get to see Klay shakes his head no after commiting an obvious foul
No kidding Jesse. I guess you’ll just have to watch the other 400+ NBA players do the head shake.
Respect for klay, wish you well
I wonder how long it’ll take him to come back from the helicopter crash