Klay Thompson is going through it. He had the worst possible reaction for a prideful star athlete following his unexpected dismissal on Tuesday night: sympathy. Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns remarked that the Warriors guard was having a “difficult night” despite Thompson’s constant chirping.
For Thompson, who has been recovering since returning last January after missing two full years due to serious injuries, it’s been more like a difficult three years. After Tuesday night’s loss to the Suns, TNT’s Charles Barkley stated what was maybe quite obvious: Thompson (and Draymond Green) were obviously past their primes. Barkley claimed that although they weren’t done, the two were “slipping.” Father Time is pounding on the doors of a few of those players, I think when I watch the Warriors play, observed Barkley. “You may have noticed him saying tonight, “This little child is kicking my ass, and there is nothing I can do about it.” Klay Thompson was once the finest two-way guard in the NBA, but injuries have caused him to change and no longer be the same player. Is he done? No, I don’t believe he’s finished. He’s probably irritated because he’s slowing down and it’s catching up with him.”
These remarks were returned to Thompson, who had just played his greatest game of the short season on Thursday. He scored 19 points in 29 minutes as the Warriors defeated the Heat 123-110. He expressed his true passion when talking about Barkley’s remarks, stating they “broke my heart.”
His whole comment is shown below:
“Someone like Charles Barkley, with the influence he has, claims that you are not the same player you were before your injury. It’s like, “Oh, obviously. I tore my ACL and Achilles in back-to-back years and I still assisted a team in winning a championship, “Added Thompson.
“Man, I put in so much stinking work to come back to this point that hearing that stung. It’s difficult to express everything I had to go through to become the player I am today. Give me some freakin’ time to get it back; I played 57 games in three years. It was obvious when someone said, “Oh, he’s not the same as he was before the injuries ” I don’t know, hearing it really wounded my heart. Who goes through something like that and comes back? But you know what? I’m going to absorb that and use it as motivation to improve even more. I feel like I had a major impact on what we did the previous year, and I’m quite proud of it. I won’t use my ailments as a crutch, therefore. I intend to keep going and have a fantastic year. On that, bet.”
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