Three years. Three long years.
The course of the Warriors franchise was changed forever on the night of June 13, 2019. In the third quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors, Klay Thompson collapsed on the floor and clutched his left knee. The grimace on his face told the story. He would make a brief but momentous return to the floor to knock down two free throws. Thompson even dropped back on defense for a possession before the Warriors fouled and he headed back to the locker room at Oracle Arena, in the final game at the storied building.
It'd be the last we saw of him in an NBA game until Klay Day on Jan. 9. A torn Achilles in 2020 – which occurred oh-so close to opening night – turned a 17-month rehab into a 31-month grind. Dub Nation pulled for Klay every step of the way along that 941-day odyssey, which has given him a grateful perspective of it all.
Klay lives in the moment and isn't a prisoner of the past, especially that dark day in 2019. He had no idea that Monday served as the three-year mark of his knee injury.
"To be here again, I wouldn't change anything," Thompson told reporters Sunday. "I'm very grateful and everything I did to that point led to this, so I would not change a thing."
When the Warriors host the Boston Celtics Monday night for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Thompson said he has no plans to sit and reflect on that 2019 injury.
"Maybe for a second," Thompson said. "But when I step on that court, I want to win by any means necessary. I don't care how ugly or pretty it is. Let's just win and protect our home court. I'm not going to sing Kumbaya or anything. I just want to freakin' win."
Beloved in the Bay Area since he was drafted in 2011, Thompson's legend has only grown since his injury and subsequent return. During his lengthy rehab, Klay would often keep his mind right by taking his boat out on The Bay. Once the Warriors returned from Boston this weekend, Klay spent Saturday soaking in the ocean.
He posted this very on-brand Klay pic to his IG story with the caption, "The ocean heals the mind, body & soul."
Captain Klay might have to do some work to get Draymond Green in the Bay with him.
"I'm not a hop-in-the-ocean in San Francisco or anywhere around San Francisco type of person," Draymond said, "but I absolutely do love the ocean. It's definitely refreshing. That's his safe haven, and he enjoys that. It's absolutely great to see him indulging in what he enjoys and what helps him be him."
Klay and Draymond will also be connected by the evening of Jan. 9, also known as Klay Day. While everyone was fixated on Thompson during pregame warmups, Draymond felt a tweak in his calf. Draymond made a ceremonial seven-second start with Klay to get in the official box score. After further examination, the Warriors found out Green had a lower back issue that kept him out for two months. After Draymond returned on March 14, Steph Curry's foot was injured five quarters later.
Those bumps just made the 2021-22 Finals trip all the more sacred and special. The team also endured a league-worst 15-50 campaign in 2019-20 and was bounced from 2021 in the play-in game. But Green doesn't find any need to reflect on the night of Klay's injury, and how far the franchise has come since.
"It's unnecessary," Green said. "We're here in this moment. There's no need to talk about something that's unfortunate that happened three years ago. We're here in this moment. We're going to stay in this moment. We're going to think positive thoughts and we're going to move forward."
In this moment, Thompson's shooting stroke is starting to heat up. After struggling through the first two games of the series, he averaged 21.5 points and 4.5 3-pointers while making 39.1 percent of his 3-point attempts (9-of-23). He might still be taking too many off balance field goal attempts, but that Killa Klay instinct lives on. With 4:24 left in the fourth quarter Friday, he hit a go-ahead 3 that put the Warriors in front for good.
"We're still here," Thompson said. "We're knocking on the door of another championship."
What's remarkable is the evolution of his defense over the past four months. In the Finals, he's had some great glue-like possessions on his man and shown the same two-way prowess he prided himself on before his injuries. The addition of Andrew Wiggins to the wing defense has only made his life easier.
The Warriors have a new look in 2022 but the goal remains the same: "championship or bust" as Klay said earlier this season. He also claimed to feel "big 2015 vibes" after the team went down 2-1 to the Celtics in the series. In 2015, of course, the Warriors went down 2-1 before rattling off three straight wins to get their first ring.
With another win Monday night, Golden State would have a chance to win the title Thursday night. No one in Boston wants to see Game 6 Klay.
"To think it's three years ago and all that we've been through, all that Klay has been through personally since that time, and to be back here, it adds a sense of gratitude of being back on this stage," Curry said. "That chapter will always be part of our journey, for sure. That's something we'll probably talk about for a very long time. Hopefully we can get this job done and pay homage to that three-year journey actually leading to something truly special."
