Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson returned last season from a two-year hiatus due to injury. Thompson’s return came after he missed time with a torn ACL and Achilles’ injury.
At least initially, the four-time NBA champion found himself on a minutes restriction as the Warriors looked to ease him back into the lineup.
Thompson, 32, averaged a mere 25.2 minutes in his first 17 appearances of the season. Thompson proceeded to play north of 33 minutes in his final 17 regular-season outings, averaging 23.2 points in the process. He was not on a restriction as Golden State ran through the Western Conference Playoffs and earned its fourth title in eight years.
That’s why it’s such a surprise that Thompson has been limited to open the 2022-23 season. In fact, he’s averaging just 23 minutes per game.
Apparently, this isn’t sitting well with the future Hall of Fame guard. Ahead of their game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Thompson has been frustrated over the minutes restriction.
“I feel good, but I still know I have another level to get to. I think it will happen sooner than later,” Thompson said Tuesday morning ahead of the game against Phoenix on Tuesday.
Right now, it does seem that the minutes restriction is impacting Thompson some. His numbers are down clear across the board.
- Klay Thompson stats (2022-23): 14.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, 41% shooting, 35% 3-point
Even after returning from a two-plus year absence last season, Thompson averaged 20.4 points on 43%/39% splits. He’s also seemingly frustrated over his performance thus far this season.
“I’m such a perfectionist, I want to be great right now,” Thompson said. “But I got to realize, man, it’s a long season. I’d rather peak come playoff time rather than early November or into January.”
Golden State is much deeper this season that previous iterations of this dynasty. That includes the recently-extended Jordan Poole coming off the bench. Perhaps, the Warriors believe it makes sense to get the veterans some rest earlier in the season while preparing them for a long run.
What we do know is that Golden State will need Thompson to be playing north of 30 minutes and averaging 20-plus points when it counts during the spring. What happens in late-October matters little for this guy.
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