Report: Klay Thompson cleared for full practice, expected to return on the week of Christmas

The Golden State Warriors received good news on Sunday regarding shooting guard Klay Thompson. According to an article by Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Thompson has been cleared for full practice and is projected to return sometime during the week of Christmas.

Klay’s return to the court will be the perfect present for the Warriors and all their fans. The five-time All-Star has been ramping up his basketball activity recently and has reportedly looked good after a week of 5-on-5 scrimmages.

From The Athletic:

Those viewing his recent workouts and scrimmages report encouraging shades of the Thompson of old — the shot as deadly as ever, the big guard physicality still a part of his game, though fatigue sets in quickly.

Despite all of the progress, Thompson is still only a year removed from his Achilles injury that he suffered last November. The Warriors have opted to bring him back slowly, citing the Brooklyn Nets’ cautious approach to Kevin Durant’s Achilles injury as a model for Thompson. The Warriors have the luxury of bringing him along slowly due to their abundance of depth on the roster as well as their fast start to the season. Realistically, this is the right move long-term, and it seems like Klay is on board with it too.

More from The Athletic:

“I’ll be honest, I don’t expect to come back balls to the wall, 38 minutes a night, guarding the best player, running around 100 screens,” Thompson said in March. “But I’m going to get to that point. I guarantee that.”

Head coach Steve Kerr has emphasized that he wants Klay’s first game back to be at the Chase Center. This shows how important he is to the organization and allows the home fans to give him his proper praise for all the work he has done to get back on the court. The Warriors have three home games during the week of Christmas including the Christmas Day matchup against the Phoenix Suns. Whichever game they decide to bring him back, expect the Chase Center to be rocking and filled with emotions from the team and fans everywhere.