Klay Thompson On Injury Return Date, Praises Kevin Durant

Klay Thompson is facing a long spell on the sidelines after the Golden State Warriors shooting guard suffered an ACL injury during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals against Toronto Raptors, who went on to win their first title in franchise history. The 29-year-old hopes he can return at some point during the 2019-20 campaign but admits it looks unlikely to happen before the All-Star break.

"I knew I did something. But I've never had the severity of an ACL injury or an injury that bad," Thompson told ESPN's Cari Champion on Thursday. "So me, personally, I didn't think it was that bad, initially. My adrenaline was so high being Game 6, whatever. I thought I sprained my knee; that's all I thought it was.

"But when I went back to the locker room, it swelled up a lot, didn't feel right. It's just not a good feeling when you feel helpless and the team's out there competing."

The Warriors guard is not willing to rush his return despite wanting to return to the court this upcoming season. He is willing to follow the prescribed timeline for an ACL injury to heal as he is keen on having a long career in the NBA and play until he is “39 or 40”.

"I've heard varying opinions about, especially medically, I don't want to rush it 'cause I want to play until I'm 38, 39, 40 years old," Thompson said. "That's my plan, especially because the way I can shoot the ball. I would love to see the floor this season. I don't know when that is."

The Warriors had no doubts about retaining Thompson, who became a free agent this summer. They offered him the full five-year $190 million extension, which the player admits was humbling in the face of such a serious injury. And Thompson made it clear that he had no doubts about signing the deal.

"So it was humbling, but the Warriors showed their loyalty and their respect for me, offering me that five-year deal," the guard said of his new $190 million contract. "Jumped on that as soon as I could, just because the history with this team and the franchise it would be so hard to leave. And the feeling of, you know, unfinished business, getting that close in the Finals, or to the fourth championship -- tasting it -- just being out of reach.”

Thompson also spoke about former teammate Kevin Durant, who suffered a ruptured Achilles during the NBA Finals, which will now see him miss the entire 2019-20 campaign. The shooting guard admitted that losing their best player did affect the outcome of the finals and also praised the small forward, who has now left the Warriors and joined Brooklyn Nets.

The Warriors guard has no doubt that Durant will make a successful return from his injury and get back to playing his best basketball that saw him win two NBA Finals MVP awards in 2017 and 2018.