Klay Thompson still making 'good progress,' on track to return for Warriors early this season

The Golden State Warriors still expect that Klay Thompson will finally be able to rejoin the team this season after missing two years with back-to-back brutal injuries.

Thompson, the team said in a statement on Monday, “has made good progress during his rehabilitation over the course of the summer” and should return this season.

Thompson tore his left ACL during the 2019 NBA Finals with the Warriors, and spent the entire offseason recovering. Thompson then tore his Achilles last November while rehabbing his ACL, and missed the entire season.

The team hasn’t said specifically when Thompson will be able to play again, but rather that a specific date would be determined based off his recovery. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said that the team is currently targeting a date on or around Christmas. He will start participating in controlled drills at training camp, but isn’t quite ready to join practices fully, the team said.

Thompson averaged 21.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game during the 2018-19 season, his eighth in the league. The 31-year-old is set to enter the third year of his five-year, $189.9 million deal with the team this fall.

James Wiseman also on track after surgery

The Warriors also said that center James Wiseman is making “good progress” after he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in April.

In similar fashion, the Warriors didn’t say specifically when Wiseman would be able to return but that they expect him to participate this season at some point. He will begin full jumping in mid-October, and is expected to participate in individual drills at training camp before he can join practices fully.

Wiseman, who the Warriors took with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft, averaged 11.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 39 games last season.