The Warriors are nearly midway through their second season without Klay Thompson.
The beloved Splash Brother is making progress as he returns from an Achilles injury that wiped out his 2020-21 campaign right before it started. His father, former NBA player and current Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Mychal Thompson, recently shared a Klay health update with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Kerith Burke.
“All that he can do right now is just pool therapy, walking, stuff like that,” Mychal Thompson told Burke in an interview that will air Sunday during "Warriors Pregame Live."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“He’s not going to be cleared to do any basketball activity for probably a couple months yet. It takes time with the Achilles. You’ve got to strengthen it and walk and get the tendon all [strong], but he’ll get there.”
Thompson missed the 2019-20 season recovering from an ACL tear, so he has done this drill before. But his dad, who sat out the 1979 NBA season with a broken leg, knows that doesn’t make it any easier.
“You can just see that he is just seething over there on the bench that he can’t help his team,” Mychal said. “He wants to be out there so bad. Next year when he comes back, guys who had to sit out a year or two, they will never take playing for granted again.”
RELATED: Why Myers compares Wiseman to Klay in one area
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are still eight-plus months away from their 2021-22 season opener, but all of Dub Nation is hoping Klay's back by then. For now, he’ll remain the team’s top bench supporter and moonlighting reporter.
“He’s doing much better this year because he’s around the team,” Mychal said. “Being away from the team, you feel isolated, you don’t feel like you’re a part of it. Even though he’s not playing, just being on the bench and supporting the guys, he feels like he’s a part of it."