Report: Warriors targeting Christmas return for Klay Thompson

The Warriors are aiming to have Klay Thompson back in the lineup for their Christmas Day game in Phoenix, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said Friday during an appearance on "The Jump" (video link).

According to Shelburne, Dec. 25 is a “conservative target” for Thompson, but the Warriors will exercise plenty of patience with a star player who hasn’t seen any NBA game action since June 2019.

“He could come back a little bit before (Dec. 25), but in terms of getting his conditioning right, they’re targeting the Christmas Day game against the Suns,” Shelburne said. “I know that sounds a little late to people, but he was injured on Nov. 18, so this is 13 months from an Achilles injury.

“… If he does well and his conditioning is up and he feels like he wants to come back earlier, he will,” Shelburne continued. “… (But) you need time to build your conditioning back up when you miss two NBA seasons.”

Thompson suffered a torn ACL during Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals on June 13 and missed the entire 2019-20 season while recovering from that injury. Just when he appeared to be on the verge of returning to action last fall, he tore his Achilles tendon in November, resulting in another lost year.

Thompson, 31, is one of the Warriors’ most important two-way players, providing elite shooting and floor-spacing on offense while often handling some of the toughest assignments on defense. Having a fully healthy and effective version of Thompson back on the court will be crucial if Golden State hopes to contend for a title again in 2022, so it makes sense that the team would be careful not to rush him back for early-season games in October and November.

Until Thompson returns, the Warriors figure to lean more on free agent additions Otto Porter, Nemanja Bjelica and Andre Iguodala to provide outside shooting and to defend wings and forwards.