Klay's presence ‘uplifting' for Warriors, D-Wright says

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Klay Thompson again is forced to watch his Warriors teammates from the sideline while he is rehabbing a torn right Achilles.

It’s the second consecutive season Klay is unable to play due to a major injury. But he has managed to find his way back around the team, which is a shift in energy for those around him.  

“It’s definitely sad as hell, you know former teammate of mine, a great guy, a great basketball player -- even better pro,” NBC Sports Bay Area analyst Dorell Wright told Grant Liffmann on the latest Dubs Talk. “Just the fact that man, it’s the second year in a row he has to deal with sitting there watching his brothers go out there and compete at a high level, and him being that competitive guy that I know he is, I know it’s just eating him up.”

During Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay tore his left ACL on a hard foul by Toronto Raptors guard Danny Green.

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The way Wright describes Klay is a sentiment with exactly how he handled the ACL injury. 

Klay exited the floor after telling coach Steve Kerr to simply give him two minutes, he would be right back. He sure was. 

Klay returned and knocked down two free throws with barely a limp. He would end up missing the 2019-20 NBA season, but was on the bench at Chase Center cheering on the Warriors while he rehabbed his knee.

The five-time NBA All-Star once again is back around his teammates.

"The fact that he was able to get back around the guys, his bros, it's definitely uplifting because you know what he's going through," Wright said.

RELATED: What Klay texted Kerr during Warriors' Opening Night loss

Kerr called it a “terrible run of luck,” but it’s more than that. His former teammate Kevin Durant also said he got a sense of how much he missed the game, but did say he was surprised with how high of spirits Klay was about a week after his recent surgery.

"I know he's gonna come back and have a remarkable second half to his career,” Durant said.

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