November 27, 2021, Chase Center, San Francisco.
The Game between the Warriors and Trail Blazers is over, with the MC on the scene saying thank-you words in the loudspeaker, the players shaking hands and hugging each other, and the fans starting to leave.
But one person didn't move.
He sat on the bench, elbowed on his knees, covered his head with a towel, and sat there until more than half an hour later, when the pitch full of human voices gradually returned to calm.
Some fans who refused to leave the stadium were shouting his name while responding to the urging of the security guards, but he remained indifferent.
After a while, Warriors coach Steve Kerr came out, stood next to Klay and patted him on the shoulder, and a few minutes later, Curry and Green came out and sat down next to him and talked to him for a long time, and then the three of them returned to the locker room together.
Fans saw that the man who had removed the towel from his head, his eyes were red, seemed to have just cried.
Crying, not because the team lost, this game the Warriors won a good time, Curry contributed 32 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in this game, Green also had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 12 assists, after playing nearly 20 games, the Warriors only lost 2 games, unexpectedly holding the crown of the Top West firmly in their hands.
Crying, just because he also wants to fight with his teammates and enjoy the victory together, but he can only wear a suit and sit on the bench to watch the game.
He had had enough of such a life.
Let's rewind the time to June 14, 2019, when the Warriors and Raptors were playing the G6 game in the Finals, during an offensive round of the Warriors, Klay Thompson's fast-break dunk was broken by the opponent with a foul, and then he fell to the ground in pain, and everyone gathered around and helped him back to the bench.
Thompson endured the severe pain and said to Steve Cole, "Give me two minutes and I'll be back later." ”
After two tough free throws, Clay trotted all the way back to the dressing room and was never seen again.
After the game, he was diagnosed with a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Maybe for some people, not working, but being able to get a high salary, such a day is simply not too good - after Klay was injured, the Warriors did not abandon him, but signed a 5-year, 190 million contract with him, which allowed Clay to directly lie down and make money.
But Clay is not a person who enjoys his success, he feels the respect of the Warriors for him, and he wants to recover as soon as possible and step on the court to play for the Warriors.
However, life is always full of all kinds of accidents.
After a season of cruciate ligaments, Clay was injured again before the start of the 2020-2021 season, and another major injury that could ruin a player's entire career – a torn right Achilles tendon.
Clay was injured during a training session, which was a big blow to him, and during those days, Clay was extremely depressed, staying at home all day and unwilling to go out.
For a player who loves basketball and loves to run, injuries will always be their biggest enemy, and this time, Clay was cut down twice in a row by the enemy.
Fortunately, with the support of friends, family and teammates, Clay survived and began to devote himself to post-injury rehabilitation.
But whenever he saw his teammates fighting on the field, saw their excitement when they won, and their lows when they lost, the feeling of not being able to participate still made Clay uncomfortable.
Although he is always said to be Buddhist, Clay is not an emotionless robot, how many times has he been sad to cry alone behind the scenes? No one knew anything but himself.
And now, he has finally returned to the game of his dreams.
Of course, we also know that Klay Thompson, who was 29 minutes and 60 points, may never appear in the game again.
After all, he was too badly injured.
A torn cruciate ligament is a terrible injury, Rose was a wind-chasing teenager before the injury, but after the injury almost lost the ability to move, since then reduced to role players.
But for Clay, a player who rarely dribbles and basically catches the ball and shoots, it is not a fatal injury, but unfortunately, Clay then experienced a torn Achilles tendon.
Players with torn Achilles tendons have basically been greatly affected, as strong as Kobe Bryant is not in a better state than a year, and the only two players who have recovered are Wilkins and Durant.
Even if Clay recovers as well as Durant because of the development of modern medicine, Clay still can't withstand another bottle of poison - time.
Klay Thompson was only 29 when he last appeared in the NBA, and now he's 32 years old in less than a month.
The peak of the general player's physical function is 28-31 years old, and then it will start to decline every year, and it is true that there are many players, such as Paul, James, etc., but these exceptions do not represent anything, they are not old, but they have changed their playing style, or more experience to deal with problems on the field.
What's more, Paul and James have not missed many games, and have always maintained a good state of play, but Clay has missed more than 900 days of games.
Not alarmist, in today's game, Clay shot 7-of-18, cut 17 points, shooting less than 40%, 8 three-pointers, and only 3 hits.
Admittedly, for a person who has not played for a long time, such a performance is enough, but we can still see that it is not only the feel of Clay that affects him, but also his body - his body has visiblely declined, the movement rate has slowed down significantly, there have been some uncoordinated mistakes on the offensive end, and the oppressive defense that used to be like a dog skin plaster is gone, and it is easy to keep up with people, which also causes Clay to easily send fouls.
Thankfully, of course, Clay's offensive skills haven't been discarded, and Whether it's a breakout throw, a back-up shot or a three-pointer, Clay is still extremely skilled.
From the first game, the offensive end is getting more and more adapted, constantly rising attributes, and the defensive end is constantly declining attributes, which is likely to become clay's future development trend.
Clay may change from a super 3D player with good offensive and defensive skills to an epic shooter with strong and weak attacks, becoming a real pure scorer, except for scoring, other assists and rebounding data may be few.
But this does not mean anything, in this stage of Clay's comeback, it is for Clay to find the state of the game, the star's immediate combat strength is very important, but the ability to adjust is equally important, after stepping on the field for a long time, Clay has to do a lot of things, such as adapting to the current rhythm of the game, such as adapting to the team's tactics, such as adapting to the playing style of some new teammates, of course, the most important thing is to protect yourself.
The dunk during today's game, to be honest, scared the uncle a lot, although it was very shocking, but as a player who has just returned from a major injury, he can avoid this kind of fierce action as much as possible, and wait until the body is completely rusty, and then it is not too late to buckle.
Of course, this dunk also indicates that Clay has crushed the heart demon, after all, the first injury is because of the dunk, for this moment, he has waited too long.
The season is still very long, there is enough time for Clay to find himself, and the Warriors' record is also very stable, and there is enough confidence for Clay to keep shooting, shooting, and shooting again.
Clay's comeback at this stage, the biggest bonus for the Warriors is not his stats, not that he shot a few three-pointers, but morale.
The Warriors were tired during this time, curry also had a state of ups and downs, and this period, Klay's comeback, let the Warriors return to a state of excitement, after all, the return of a former All-Star player, for the team's strength bonus is definitely unabated.
If Clay really gets back to his former form, not to say 100 percent, even if it's only 90%, 80%, or even 70%, then the Warriors will once again enter an invincible state, and they can also shout the slogan of "Warriors Championship".
To be honest, today's debut is not perfect, just with an emotional factor, so that many people feel that as long as he plays, it is enough, but as the game is played more and more, people will be more and more demanding of him.
But I believe that this man will definitely be able to break everyone's doubts in the future.