GOLDEN STATE – GSW stans can recall: In 2019, Thompson suffered an ACL tear in his left knee. Due to injuries, the Golden State Warriors have had players come in and out of the lineup throughout the whole season. This trend continued against the Orlando Magic on Saturday night. 

Andre Iguodala and Andrew Wiggins returned to the Warriors for their 115-101 loss to Orlando. Wiggins participated in the game for the first time in over a month after missing the previous 15 games due to an adductor injury and then an illness, while Iguodala made his season debut. However, one player left the lineup while those others entered it.

Due to left knee pain, Klay Thompson was declared ineligible for the game just before the opening tip. The news was alarming considering that Thompson tore his ACL in his left knee in 2019. However, the problem doesn’t seem to be very bad. Thompson felt some soreness during warm-ups, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr labeled the decision to sit him as “precautionary” after the game. He continued by saying he doesn’t think it will be a persistent problem.

When it comes to Thompson, it makes sense for the Warriors to take extra precautions because they obviously want to keep him healthy for what they believe would be another successful postseason run. Thompson has started in 31 of Golden State’s 40 games this season and has played with mostly good health. Thompson’s place in the starting lineup on Saturday night was taken by Donte DiVincenzo.

Thompson had been on a roll before missing the game against Orlando. In his previous three games, he had scored over 30 points, with his best effort coming on January 2 against the Atlanta Hawks when he scored 54 points. He shoots 38.6 percent from deep range and averages 20.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game this season. It will now be important to keep an eye on his condition going forward.

The good news for the Warriors is that Steph Curry is anticipated to play in a game again the following week. Curry’s comeback will be a huge lift for a Warriors club that has managed to stay right in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race despite his absence due to a shoulder ailment that has kept him out since mid-December.

Flashback to 2019’s ACL injury of Klay Thompson

On June 13, 2019, while playing the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of the 2019 Finals, Thompson, who was 32 at the time, tore his left ACL. A torn Achilles sustained in the fall of 2020 prevented him from playing NBA basketball for more than two years, so he ran back onto the court to make the free throws.

When asked about this solemn occasion after practice on Sunday, Thompson said, “You know, when you’re in the championship and you’re playing in front of our people, your adrenaline is so high that you kind of overlook everything that makes sense, and sprinting around on a torn ACL doesn’t make very good sense. So I didn’t believe it was that significant.” “I thought my knee might have sprained,”

I don’t want to leave these points on the board, I simply thought, man,” he continued. This is the championship round; I’m going to collect the 30-ball. In addition, I went to the back for a quick test, and the results indicated that I should definitely use crutches. 

In 2019, the Raptors needed Game 6 to defeat Golden State since Kevin Durant tore his Achilles in Game 5 and Klay Thompson was injured just over a quarter of the way through the championship game at Golden State’s storied Oracle Arena in Oakland.