‘We must be behind him’

The NBA world finally let out a collective breath when word got out that Clay Thompson would miss the second season in a row with a new Achilles tendon injury.

Among them were his longtime colleague, friend and “Splash Brother,” Stephen Curry.

“He’s the best 2-guard in the league,” Curry said in an interview with Mark Spears Failure. “It’s definitely a gut punch to get that call. A lot of tears. You really do not know what to say because such a person now has to go through two pretty serious rehabilitations. But at the end of the day, we need to have his back. We hope it’s a part of what we do. “

Thompson, 30, missed the entire 2019-20 season after tearing up his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals. He has recovered from that injury and is ready to return to the Warriors lineup this season, but suffered an Achilles tendon rupture during a workout on November 18. He is expected to fully recover in the 2021-22 season, but will be suspended for more than two years by that time court.

“You feel for a man who has worked so hard to get back to court from two to three weeks [training camp] And something like that happens, ”said Curry, who was limited to just five games with a hand injury last season. “You have to have a big picture mentality when things like this happen. It was a lot easier than going through a lot of rehab, but there was still a lot of time left in his career. We’re all going to be there. “

After appearing five times in a row in the NBA Finals, including three wins, the Warriors survived last season following injuries to Thompson and Curry and the departure of Kevin Durant. This off-season, the club made some changes to the list, with Center James Wiseman second overall in last week’s NBA Draft. Wiseman, along with recently acquired veterans Kelly O’Brien, Brad Vanmaker and Kent Bazmore, need to give some more depth as they look to see the Warriors bounce back in 2020-21.

There will be more than seven months between the Warriors final game and their next games in late December, but Curry is hopeful his campaign will improve their game on his team court.

“It’s hard at first, for sure. We’ve been waiting seven months to get back there,” Curry said. [Thompson] On the court, at first, it would be weird. But we made a really good list with James and our draft picks in the off-season and in the free agency pool. We have to learn a lot very quickly and we need full commitment from everyone. “