As the Golden State Warriors head into Christmas with a 21-4 record, they are yet to unveil their most anticipated weapon – Klay Thompson.

With Stephen Curry putting up MVP caliber numbers this season, Thompson’s return will only add more firepower to the Warriors offense, which ranks amongst the best in the league. 

Fans can only dreadfully remember the end of the 2018-19 NBA season when the Warriors were gunning for a three-peat against the Toronto Raptors. What followed was a historical win for Toronto, and a devastating injury for Thompson, whose season ended with a torn ACL.

As the NBA entered the 2019-20 season, two major things happened. First and foremost, the COVID-19 pandemic, which completely transformed the league by shifting from normal games with fans present to games being played in a Florida bubble with empty stands. Second, the Warriors did not make a finals appearance, let alone the playoffs, after five straight years in the NBA Finals.

After Thompson missed the entire 2019-20 season and Curry sat out for much of it because of a hand injury, the Warriors finished with an uncharacteristic record of 15-50. Despite looking to bounce back last season, the basketball gods had other things in mind for the Warriors.

Thompson re-injured himself by tearing his Achilles during a workout. As the Warriors headed into the 2020-21season, they would miss the playoffs once more, despite Curry putting up MVP numbers and carrying the team into the play-in tournament.

The last time Thompson was suited up, he was averaging 21.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in the regular season. During his last full season in 2018, he averaged around 19.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in the playoffs. His amazing shooting helped the Warriors win their three championships as he averaged around 16 points, according to statmuse.com.  

Let’s not forget Thompson’s defense. Being one of the very few “two-way” guards, Thompson earned his name in the NBA All-Defense Team in the 2018-19 season before going down with a knee injury. Thompson would usually guard the opponent’s best player unless it’s a big, in which case we have Draymond Green and his services

Despite Thompson’s massive impact on the Warriors and the league, it seemed as if everyone had forgotten about him when he was recently robbed of being on the NBA TOP 75 List. Thompson took to Instagram, to project his frustration. 

“Woke up this AM, still pissed about this stupid ass list. Ga damm I can’t wait to hoop again. Sick of the disrespect.”

As Thompson’s recovery progressed, he has been steadily asserting his presence on the basketball court. He was cleared to practice with the Warriors recently and was also seen to be practicing with the Warriors’ G League team in Santa Cruz.

Thompson’s time to return to the court has finally come. After missing two whole seasons of basketball, and being forgotten in the ever-growing list of superstars in the NBA, Thompson will return in early January, to wreak havoc on the league once again

With Thompson being a significant player, it’s not surprising to see that the Warriors were able to become a championship-contending team. While the Warriors did miss the playoffs for two seasons after his injury, they have begun to get back in their mojo with a talented roster and Curry deciding to dip his toes in the fountain of youth. 

So Warriors fans, consider Thompson’s return to the basketball court later this month as your holiday present, and hopefully they will be back to becoming the scrutinized villain of the NBA, as they were previously before.