SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 96-82 Sunday night but that hardly mattered. What mattered was that No. 11 was back in the building and balling.
Sporting his headband and the clean white Warriors home jersey, Klay Thompson made his ballyhooed return to basketball.
From the moment the ran out of the tunnel from pregame warmups you could tell it would be a special night. The Chase Center crowd hung on every warmup shot, cheered every time he made a pregame layup and roared when his name was announced in the starting lineup. They gave him a standing ovation each time he went to the bench or went to the scorer’s table.
After 941 days of waiting, it was finally Klay’s night.
"It was a very special moment," Thompson said. "I'll never forget that, this night. I'll never forget the reception Warriors fans gave us, especially myself. Gosh, it was fun. And it was worth every single day of being away."
A torn ACL in 2019. A torn Achilles in 2020. Thirty-one months of grueling rehab later, and Thompson reached the finish line. Now the Warriors have a new race to run, another championship to chase.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn’t wait long to get Thompson involved in the action. The first play he called went to Thompson, who promptly dribbled the ball from the top of the key and drilled a floater in traffic for his first bucket. But Kerr revealed after the game that Thompson was actually supposed to pass on the play.
"The first play was not for him, but for him to catch it and move it on," Kerr said. "I shoulda known better. He just caught it and drove and scored. It was a phenomenal moment."
Klay really announced his return in the second quarter, when he threw down a one-handed hammer dunk. High-flying dunks have never been a huge part of his game and it would have been an impressive slam for pre-injury Klay. The context made it even more special.
"Even when he had perfect knees and Achilles, I don't remember him dunking like that," Warriors center Kevon Looney said.
Thompson said he didn't throw down any dunks throughout the past few weeks as he ramped up his rehab. So throwing it down in a game situation was extra sweet.
"When those lights are the brightest, I just felt bouncy," Thompson said. "It felt so good to throw that down. I did not expect that. I'm very pleased with my efforts tonight."
The Warriors’ next time down the floor, Thompson hit his first 3-pointer.
The Splash Brother is back. Nature is healing.
But perhaps Klay’s top moment of the evening came in the third quarter. After draining a three and forcing Cleveland to call a timeout with 9:10 left in the period, Thompson ran down to the other side of the court, his feet on the baseline, and let out a mighty roar.
Thompson finished the game 7-of-18, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range, for 17 points in 20 minutes. Thompson certainly had a quick trigger and didn't show any hesitation in his first game back. Klay settled for a steady diet of mid-range turnaround jumpers, lost his man on defense at times and got a bit jumbled on offense as well. But Kerr liked what he saw out of Thompson.
"He wasn't shy, was he," Kerr said. "Not that we would ever expect Klay to be shy. I was amazed at his poise out there and his confidence after being out for so long."
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After peeking at the box score and seeing Thompson took 18 shots in 20 minutes, Curry said, "That is so Klay Thompson."
More importantly, he’s got a tally under his “games played” column on Basketball-Reference now.
"I'm just so happy right now," Thompson said. "I did not shoot as well as I wanted to, but I'm just so happy I can look at the stat sheet and see my name there."
Once Klay got back to the bench for the final time – the same one where he sat in anguish for 35 minutes just a few weeks ago – the Chase Center crowd showered down cheers of “We want Klay! We want Klay!” After the game, Curry's son, Canon, presented Thompson with the game ball.
The Warriors can exhale. Klay is back and the dynasty window appears to be wide open.
"That was special," Thompson said. "I knew it would be electric tonight and I tried to visualize this moment for years, really. Gosh, it was worth every second. I'm just excited to kinda get it out the way now and I can get back in the rhythm of things."
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