Even in the era of load management, Golden State Warriors All-Star Klay Thompson had missed no more than nine games in a season prior to tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Although the injury is expected to keep the sharpshooter sidelined for several months, Thompson remains optimistic about returning to the court before the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
"That's my goal," Thompson said, according to the Los Angeles Times' Arash Markazi. "I doubt I'll be back before the All-Star break, but I want to be back this season.
"I feel good. I'm going to come back 110 percent."
When Thompson does return, he'll be entering an entirely new NBA landscape. The departures of ex-teammates Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins mean the Warriors are far from championship favorites after capturing the title in three of the last five seasons.
"My season is obviously going to start a little differently," Thompson said. "I'm going to be on offseason mode for a little bit until I can run again. With Kevin leaving and DeMarcus leaving and losing Andre (Iguodala) and Shaun (Livingston), the parity in the league is back. Everyone was trying to catch up to the Warriors the past five years, but now teams have closed the gap, if not taken that leap, so for us, getting D'Angelo (Russell) was huge because in my absence, he's a proven All-Star and a 20-point guy and (a) great playmaker."
The Warriors added Russell via sign-and-trade with the Brooklyn Nets after losing Durant's elite scoring. Golden State is still expected to have one of the league's most formidable offensive trios upon Thompson's return.
Thompson has missed just 25 combined games in his eight-year career and has made five consecutive All-Star teams.
