"I'm still just scratching the surface of what I can become" - Klay Thompson reflects on his return to form after a 40-point barrage
The Golden State Warriors ended their regular-season on a high note as Klay Thompson scored a season-high 41 points to lead the Warriors to a 128-107 victory against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Klay shot 55.17% from the field, and 50% from the 3-pt line to register his third-straight game with 30+ points, a first in his career. Jordan Poole added 22 points and 5 assists in the winning effort.
Klay Thompson now averages 20.4 points for the season. In a post-game press-conference, Klay reflected on his journey back to the court:
"I pat myself on the back, because when you go through the injuries I did, there's some really slow days, there's so many tedious excercises, just building up your muscles again to be able to do what you love"
"It was a challenge something I never had to do before, so to do it twice...it's aspiring for myself and it just makes me wanna keep going because I'm still just scratching the surface of what I can become"
Klay gave himself a (literal) pat on the back for averaging over 20 PPG this season 🤣 https://t.co/4kRKbPCD7u
The Warriors meet the Denver Nuggets (48-34) in the first-round of the playoffs, starting Saturday.
What does Klay Thompson's return mean for the Warriors contention?
The majority of the people who watched the Warriors-Pelicans game last night believe Klay Thompson is back. In his last six games, Thompson has averaged 29.6 points per game, on 42% from the three-point line and 46.7% from the field.
Four of Klay Thompson's last six regular season games
-37 points on 14/26 FG
-36 points on 14/28 FG
-33 points on 12/22 FG
-41 points on 16/29 FG
In the absence of Curry, Klay stepped up and his performances led the Warriors to victories in three of the Warriors' final five games. Stephen Curry's return to GSW will be finalized literally by game-day. Steve Kerr on Sunday commented on his return:
"We'll see how everything goes with Steph next week. There is a chance he could be ready for Game 1, there is a chance he might not"
'It's literally going to be a day-to-day thing as it unfolds this week. We'll know a lot more after the next few days when he's ramping up his work."
While Draymond Green was healthy and playing with Curry earlier in the season, the Warriors were considered the best team in the NBA, with Curry having an MVP season. So, adding another splash brother to that duo probably makes the league very, very nervous.
If Klay is even 80% of the game 6 Klay we know him to be, the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks will have another formidable title contender to go past.