A review of Thompson's 6 major records 29 minutes and 60 points, 37 points in a single quarter is a miracle
Because of two serious injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament tear in his left knee and the tear in the tendon of his right foot, Thompson was reimbursed for two consecutive seasons. After a long wait of two and a half years and more than 900 days, the Warriors will finally welcome back a healthy Klay Thompson. If nothing else, Thompson will make a comeback to the Warriors' home game against the Cavaliers on Jan. 10.
Thompson soon returned, but a very real problem was in front of Thompson: How much success can Thompson recover after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee and then a torn Achilles tendon that is rare in history?
From an empirical point of view, authoritative medical experts are not optimistic about the prospects of Thompson's serious injuries. But from a realistic point of view, the progress of medical treatment and rehabilitation, and the strong performance of Kevin Durant after his return from a serious injury to the Achilles tendon, gave Thompson confidence. After his comeback, Thompson's challenges are unprecedented, because his position and role are not the same as DeMarcus Cousins and Durant. Only time will answer what Thompson's future holds.
Does a cruciate ligament tear have a big impact?
In Game 6 of the 2019 Finals, Thompson landed unsteadily on the ground while countering the basket, causing the front cross cruciate ligament of the left knee to tear.
The anterior cruciate ligament is one of the most important ligaments in the knee joint, and its main function is to ensure that the knee joint remains stable during movement. A torn anterior cruciate ligament is largely treatable surgically, and the recovery period is long (usually up to 11 months, with the rare exception of J.J. Hickson, who spent 7 and a half months), and the NBA has experienced such injuries.
It is true that some players have declined after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but Stanford University released a study in 2021, which concluded through a study of 97 players and a comparison of as many as 50 data (scoring, efficiency, etc.) that players who suffered a serious injury to the anterior cruciate ligament would not be significantly affected after their comeback, and some players returned from such injuries to perform better than players of the same type who had not suffered such injuries.
"Players who have suffered a severe injury to a torn pre-cruciate ligament can come back to their previous level and perform similarly to those of the same type of player who have not experienced such an injury, which surprises us, but it also gives us and the players a super motivating effect," said Kevin Thomas, a medical expert.
The report had not yet been released when Thompson suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but based on past cases, the Warriors and Thompson were still confident enough to expect Thompson to return in blood, because the anterior cruciate ligament was not an injury that would ruin a player's career, let alone Thompson did not rely on athleticism to play. The Warriors gave Thompson plenty of time to recuperate, and in the 2019 offseason, Thompson underwent surgery, and then in the 2019-20 season, the Warriors did not let Thompson appear, and he rested for more than a year and a half.
After Thompson's surgery, a medical expert named Hewitt said that according to his research, players who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament should rest for two years and are likely to be injured again if they rush to make a comeback. However, Hewitt's research results are inconsistent with mainstream opinion, Thompson did not listen to his advice, and in the 2020 offseason, Thompson began to prepare for a comeback. In late November 2020, Thompson suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury during a training session and was once again reimbursed for the season.
How big is the impact of a serious Achilles tendon injury?
What really frustrated Thompson's prospects was actually a serious Achilles tendon injury. Numerous studies have shown that serious Achilles tendon injuries are the "killer" of professional players' athletic careers.
According to a 2013 study, the average age of players who suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury was 29.7 years old, of which 7 ended their careers after serious Achilles tendon injuries, 11 returned to play only 1 season, and only 8 returned to play more than 2 seasons. Those players who returned from injury returned with an average of 55.9 games missed, and the efficiency of players fell by 4.57 in the first season and 4.38 in the second season.
To put it more in layman's terms, NBA players will have a very obvious decline in attendance, playing time, and performance after suffering a serious injury to the Achilles tendon.
In 2020, the Journal of Orthopedics in Sports Medicine also did a study with consistent conclusions.
In the past 10 years, the most affected by the serious injury to the Achilles tendon is probably Kobe Bryant, whose attendance has plummeted after his comeback, while his competitive status has declined significantly, ending a sharp decline in efficiency. According to research, players who suffered serious injuries to the Achilles tendon will have a decline in basket finishing efficiency, foul rates, and defensive performance due to the decline in athleticism.
Of course, Thompson's style of play is different from Kobe's, which is compared to Wesley Matthews, who is close to his style. Matthews was an excellent 3D player before the Achilles tendon injury, but after suffering a serious Achilles tendon injury, Matthews' offensive efficiency plummeted, and he defended a RAPM value of +0.59 in the three seasons before the injury, but after the injury, Matthews' defensive RAPM value fell to -0.88 in three seasons.
Therefore, according to medical research and historical experience, Thompson will most likely become a role player whose efficiency value is lower than the league average after his return, and his defense is likely to degenerate due to the decline in lateral speed and explosiveness. When Thompson degenerates from a top-of-the-line 3D player to a role player with a single role, with difficult attendance and a high risk of injury, his value is bound to plummet, especially given that he has two years left on his contract at the end of the season and an annual salary of more than $40 million.
Can Durant miracles be reproduced?
Although insiders are generally not optimistic about Thompson's prospects, no one dares to say that death is directly "sentenced to death" to Thompson's career, and American experts generally add a precondition of "based on past experience and historical precedents".
The reason why they dare not make up their minds is that There is no precedent for Thompson's situation, and medicine is constantly improving, and Durant, who also suffered a serious injury to Achilles tendon tears, has shown great courage to subvert cognition after his comeback, and no one dares to say that Thompson will definitely plummet after his comeback.
There are very few players who have suffered two kinds of serious injuries in their careers, such as anterior cruciate ligament tear and a torn Achilles tendon, and the only players who can be found before Thompson are Cousins, Emmanuel Davis, and Jerome James. These three players are not comparable to Thompson, Cousins is a heavy-weight inside player who suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury before suffering a knee injury. After his comeback, Cousins' athleticism plummeted. In addition, Cousins had bad luck and caught up with the popularity of the small ball era. As for Davis and James, the two suffered serious Achilles tendon injuries before the end of their 34-year-old careers.
Durant's perfect comeback is the key to Thompson's confidence in his future, and Durant's attendance in his first season after his comeback has indeed been affected, but he still plays a player efficiency of 26.4, even higher than the last two seasons with the Warriors. This season, Durant has averaged 37.1 minutes per game and is still at an elite level with a player efficiency of 25.3. It seems that projection stream players are much less affected by serious Achilles tendon injuries, and modern medical and sports science advances have made injured players recover better than before.
Thompson has never been a player who plays by athleticism, and his scoring is mainly derived from no-ball offense, and his career three-point shooting rate has reached 41.9%. Injuries may hurt his athleticism and lead to a decline in his defensive performance, but injuries can't take away his 1.98m height, natural shooting skills and exquisite running position. Thompson may not be able to improve some of his stats after a serious injury like Durant, but even if he can only play the Warriors' Joe Harris and Duncan Robinson, he can help the Warriors fight for the championship while ensuring that he has a long career.