Klay Thompson returns to Warriors practice ‘more motivated than ever’ with sights on NBA championship

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson wants you to think about it.

The actual date of his long-awaited return to the court remains an enigma, but it is close enough now that Thompson was a full participant in practice Tuesday, one day after he scrimmaged with teammates for the first time in two years.

At 15-2, the Warriors have the best record in the NBA, all while the league’s silkiest stroke has watched from the sideline. So, really, think about it.

“Our defense, I think it’s top-three in the league, as well as our offense. And I’m not even out there yet,” Thompson said while wrapping his knuckles on the table he was perched behind, antsy as ever, as he fielded reporters’ questions Tuesday. It took him a few attempts to jar the microphone loose from its stand, so he could freestyle in his first appearance at the podium since the beginning of the season.

If Thompson’s excitement was palpable within the dull, white walls of the Bill King Interview Room, imagine the spirit that infected the practice court Monday as Thompson competed with current teammates he’s only been able to observe.

“Let me tell y’all, he’s been real talkative,” said Kevon Looney. “Klay looks good, especially for somebody who’s been out that long. ... He looks like an NBA player who’s a top-notch athlete already. ... There’s a lot of joy, in the locker room and on the court. We’re just excited to see him take those next steps.”

All reports indicate Thompson’s shot is as smooth as ever. After practice Tuesday, Thompson said he was feeling great and — equally important — had no reservations about his body or the possibility of a third career-altering injury.

“I feel like myself,” Thompson said. “I’m knocking shots down. I’m playing defense. ... I anticipated coming back with not as much bounce, but I feel like I can get it back. Luckily for me, my game isn’t predicated on jumping 12 feet high. ... My game is based off skill, so I knew I could come back and still be really good.”

The hardest part of the past two-plus years, Thompson said, hasn’t been the work in the weight room — which, by all reports, has been relentless — but rather what he wasn’t able to do.

The perceived slight of being left off the NBA’s 75th anniversary team didn’t help. On Tuesday, he practiced in the blue No. 77 jersey he had made in light of the exclusion from the list of 76 all-time greats. He accompanied it with matching gold sweatbands around his head and left wrist.

“I think it was more mentally hard than it was physically,” Thompson said. “I can be in the gym all day. But having to sit there and watch, it’s not fun, especially for anyone who likes to compete and likes to win. ... Not being able to compete for the last two years, I just feel like I have a lot of pent-up energy, to prove not to anybody else but to myself that I’m still one of the best.”

Six months ago, Thompson was just happy to be able to run. Now, he’s faced with a new, more familiar challenge.

Fully healed from tears in his left knee’s anterior cruciate ligament and his right heel’s Achilles tendon, Thompson must now regain the conditioning of an NBA player. He hasn’t played a game since June 13, 2019, when his ACL gave out and he collapsed to the floor in the third quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

He will step up his intensity in bits and spurts until he feels he is ready to compete at the highest level in the world once again. Thompson remembers the player he was at the time of his injury and said Tuesday he has no intention of returning as anything less.

For now, that means scrimmaging in 4-minute quarters.

On Monday, that involved current back-bench Warriors such as Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and Juan Toscano-Anderson, as well as former teammates, such as Zaza Pachulia. Thompson was tasked with guarding Leandro Barbosa, whom he says hasn’t lost a step since he moved into a coaching role with the team.

Eventually, the stretches will grow to five minutes, then six and seven, all the way to 12 minutes at a time.

“That’s when I’m approaching game play,” Thompson said, “hopefully around a month’s time.”

“To me it’s just a feel thing,” he continued. “Knowing I will come back to a minutes restriction for a while, I don’t want to come back and be a shell of myself. Last time I was playing I was one of the best players in the world. ... It’s really hard to just put a date on it. Who knows when it could be, but it could be in the first half of the season, hopefully the first trimester.”

Thompson paused.

“That’s a word, right?”

Indeed, and an optimistic one.

The one-third point of the Warriors’ season comes Dec. 13 at Indiana. Given the Warriors’ guarantee that fans at Chase Center will be treated to his first game back, that pins Thompson’s return in a best-case-scenario timeline on either Dec. 8 vs. Portland or Dec. 20 vs. Sacramento.

Coach Steve Kerr refuted a report this week that the Warriors were targeting the week of Christmas for Thompson’s return.

He said Tuesday that Thompson’s timeline could clear up “within a few weeks” as he continues to get back in NBA shape.

“What we have is a number of weeks ahead of us for certain where we’re going to play it out and keep letting him scrimmage as often as possible so that he can build that endurance,” Kerr said. “It just takes time. It takes a while. Even though he’s playing full bore and he practiced full bore just now, he needs to keep doing this over and over and over again each day ... so we’re going to be very patient with Klay.”

Admittedly obsessed with stats before his injuries, Thompson said he has let go of shooting a certain percentage or scoring a set number of points. He described his newfound expectations for himself, or lack thereof, as a blank canvas.

But one thing is sure: Thompson expects to return to his old form, eventually.

Another: Two years away have made Thompson hungrier than ever.

Teammates and coaches have been quick to temper fantasies about what could be with a full-strength Klay Thompson acting as midseason reinforcement. But Thompson did little to quash expectations. After all, just think about it.

“I’m more motivated than ever as well. I want a championship so bad. More than anything,” Thompson said. “Really think about that.”