The Golden State Warriors will likely be without All Star shooting guard Klay Thompson for at least half of the 2019-20 season, but Thompson has no intentions of sitting out for the entire year.
“I feel good,” Thompson says, according to the LA Times. “I’m going to come back 110%.”
Thompson underwent successful surgery in July to repair his torn ACL, and the expectation is that it'll take approximately seven months before he's back in action. With that in mind, the Los Angeles Times' Arash Markazi reports that Thompson is now gunning for a return after the 2020 All Star break in February.
According to Markazi, Thompson says, “That’s my goal. I doubt I’ll be back before the All-Star break, but I want to be back this season.”
The Warriors recently agreed to terms with Thompson on a five-year, $190 million max contract. The five-time All Star, who will be 34 years old by the time that contract runs out, averaged 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season with Golden State.
Of course, next season will be a completely different ball game for Klay, as well as the rest of the organization.
“My season is obviously going to start a little differently,” Thompson said, per Markazi. “I’m going to be on offseason mode for a little bit until I can run again. With Kevin leaving and DeMarcus leaving and losing Andre and Shaun, the parity in the league is back. Everyone was trying to catch up to the Warriors the past five years, but now teams have closed the gap, if not taken that leap, so for us getting D’Angelo was huge because in my absence, he’s a proven All-Star and a 20-point guy and great play maker.”
The Warriors selected Thompson 11th overall out of Washington State in the 2011 NBA Draft, and he has earned two All-NBA selections, and one All-Defensive nod, to go along with three championship rings in his first eight seasons.