Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson suffers right leg injury, will undergo tests, source says
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson suffered a leg injury during a workout Wednesday in Southern California, the team announced.
A source told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that Thompson injured his lower right leg and is expected to undergo testing in the next few days to determine the severity of the injury.
Thompson missed all of last season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors. The Warriors were optimistic that Thompson, who has spent more than a year rehabbing the injury, would come back at full strength for the 2020-21 season.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said recently that though the Warriors didn't clear Thompson, 30, to scrimmage during their team bubble in San Francisco, he was pleased with the way Thompson's rehab was progressing.
"It was great to have him out on the floor, in the locker room," Kerr said in late September during a video call with reporters. "Just his presence alone gave us a jolt of energy and excitement. Practice went well. This is the first practice coming off an ACL injury and a year-and-a-half absence, so I didn't expect him to be in top shape, in top form, and he was not, but he moved well, and it's a good first step."
Thompson's latest setback leaves more potential questions for a Warriors group that was confident it could contend next season in what is expected to be a loaded Western Conference race.
The Warriors selected James Wiseman with the No. 2 pick in Wednesday night's draft. The 7-foot-1 center played just three games for Memphis last season before leaving school amid an eligibility battle with the NCAA. But he worked out for the Warriors and was viewed as being better equipped than other top draft prospects to immediately help the Warriors return to the NBA Finals.
Wiseman, in his draft availability, admitted the news of Thompson's injury hit him hard.
"As soon as I seen [the news], it was kind of down for me, like emotionally," he said. "But the team, we got his back no matter what and he's going to be in great recovery. And from my perspective, I just can't wait to go in there and give my great contribution towards the team and just go in there and learn as much as possible.
"Just grow and adapt within that environment and just play my position. But all prayers be to Klay, my teammate, and he's going to be just fine."
Prior to the Wiseman pick, there was a sense of shock and disbelief throughout the organization after news of Thompson's injury swept across the league. The Warriors are hoping the tests on Thompson's leg come back clean so he can come back to the floor with longtime teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
