Klay Thompson has returned, and he has been on fire. The Golden State star returned to the court for the first time on January 9th after 941 days away from the game due to a multiple-season injury, and the impact of Thompson’s absence could be felt through the Warrior’s roster immediately.
But no need to relive traumatic experiences as we face the future of the Golden State franchise with both Splash Bros. healthy and beginning to play at their best. While Klay’s road to return to his prime is slowly but surely taking shape, we just received a glimpse into the vintage Klay that we could be getting relatively soon.
(Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
In last night’s win against the Sacramento Kings, Klay Thompson erupted, hitting seven threes finishing with twenty-three total points for the night. Klay Thompson’s performance, influenced by the fact that the Kings chose Jimmer Fredette over him at No. 10 overall while he was selected by Warriors No. 11 overall, allowed him to pass Kobe Bryant on the All-Time NBA career three-point list.
Having been an avid student of the Mamba Mentality and the late great Kobe’s basketball philosophy, Klay Thompson made sure to pay home to the iconic player and his daughter, both of who were taken from the world far too soon. “It’s always a huge honor. We miss him so much,” the Warriors star said. “He was one-of-one, and he’s my biggest inspiration for playing basketball. I really miss him and Gigi (Bryant).” While Kobe Bryant was still in the league, he made sure to push a particular group of players to the next level as he saw something in them; Klay Thompson was famously among the chosen.
Knowing how much Thompson worked to get healthy and back on the court for his team and how much he admired Kobe, his new record sits at a special place for him.