The championship window for the Golden State Warriors has officially slammed shut after a report on Thursday that Klay Thompson suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.
Thompson will be forced to miss two consecutive seasons after suffering a Torn ACL in June of 2019 during the NBA Finals which cost him the 2019-2020 NBA season.
After suffering two catastrophic injuries in 16 months time, the career of the “Splash Brother” is in serious jeopardy.
Expectations were very high for Golden State this season before the news surrounding Thompson as the team looked to rebound after what was a lost 2019-2020 season.
Golden State finished with the worst record in the NBA last season (15-50) due in large part to two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry only being able to play five games due to a hand injury.
Many people around the NBA were interested to see whether Golden State could turn back the clock a few years and if the trio of Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green could make the Warriors a threat once again in the loaded Western Conference.
Now, with the injury to Thompson, Golden State will be forced to scratch and claw into the playoffs, not be on the path to possibly play for a fourth Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In Wednesday’s NBA Draft the Warriors selected center James Wiseman second overall out of Memphis. Wiseman is an enigma of sorts because the big man only played three games during the 2019-2020 college basketball season.
With such a dearth of experience at the collegiate level, Wiseman will be hard-pressed to be a consistent contributor for the Warriors this season.
Curry will have an immense amount of pressure on him this season as he tries to will the Warriors back to NBA relevance. Curry’s running mate this season will be former top overall pick Andrew Wiggins out of Kansas.
Wiggins was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, but he never suited up for the team as Wiggins was shipped off to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves as the centerpiece of the blockbuster trade that brought Kevin Love to Cleveland.
Wiggins has struggled to live up to the hype during his six seasons in the NBA. Wiggins averaged a respectable 19.4 points-per-game last season in only 12 games for the Warriors after being acquired in early February.
Wiggins will have immense shoes to fill this season.
Just 24 hours ago the Warriors thought they could be in the conversation for an NBA title. Now the Warriors hope that Curry can play at a high enough level to keep the team in the NBA conversation at all.
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