Klay Thompson was a full participant in the Warriors' first day of training camp Tuesday afternoon, marking the first time Thompson has done so since the 2018-19 season.
Thompson, who's working his way back from an ACL tear (in 2019) and an Achilles tear (in 2020), hasn't been cleared to participate in contact drills or five-on-five scrimmages yet, but the team didn't do either of those exercises on Tuesday.
"Everyone's excited that Klay is out on the floor," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "He basically did every single thing in practice today. We didn't scrimmage, we didn't have any live contact. Klay is just so happy to be playing and we're also happy to see him be a part of it."
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.
"Klay looked great. Shooting the lights out -- his team won the daily shooting competition. He was smiling, laughing. It's really fun to see the old Klay back."
Thompson and his new teammate Avery Bradley beat four other teams of four to take the first day's shooting championship, being awarded a WWE-style belt as a prize. The shots were all taken beyond the 3-point line, and stretched out to just beyond halfcourt.
Thompson regaining his shooting rhythm was never much of a concern for the Warriors. Instead, the area that they are looking for him to get back is his reaction time on defense. According to Kerr, Thompson is not physically limited in any movements, but working his way back into contact drills and getting his timing better will just take time. The Warriors do not want to rush him.
Everything Thompson did in practice was on par with what Kerr and the rest of the coaching staff expected him to do. Kerr says the team will scrimmage on Wednesday and Thompson will not participate.
Golden State Warriors
RELATED: Kerr unsure when Draymond will return to Warriors camp
During Warriors Media Day on Monday, Thompson said he's aiming for a return date in late November or early December -- just about one year after he tore his Achilles. Kerr said his return will happen at a home game.
But until then, Thompson will keep working toward the smaller milestones, the next of which is scrimmages, which Thompson says could happen in about four weeks.