Prophet Klay: Warriors can turn Thompson’s early-season prediction into reality

SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Curry wants to make Klay Thompson a prophet.

Back in November, Thompson, still months away from his long-anticipated return to the court, confidently proclaimed that this season was “championship or bust” for Golden State.

The statement was sensible at the time. The Warriors had the hottest start in the league, posting an 18-2 record.

“We weren’t even whole,” Thompson recalled after practice Wednesday. “I envisioned us as all the pieces in the puzzle together, and I thought we could attain greatness.”

But as the season went on and injuries piled up, doubts started to penetrate that notion the Warriors were back.

Curry, Thompson and Draymond Green played only 11 minutes together in the regular season as the Warriors lost more than they won after the All-Star break, including a stretch near the end of the season with seven losses in eight games.

Thompson himself faced skepticism on whether he could return to the elite two-way player he was prior to his pair of career-altering injuries once he was cleared to play in January.

But the Warriors persisted, won their final five games of the season and finished with the third-best record in the league. Now, with the NBA Finals starting Thursday at Chase Center, Golden State is just four wins away from making Thompson’s prediction a reality.

And while the Warriors have been here in six of the last eight years, the veterans are relishing this moment.

“To be back for a sixth time, it’s incredible. It’s even incredible just saying that,” Thompson said. “I never really thought that was a possibility my rookie year, and it’s just great. I’m just going to enjoy every second of this and play as hard as I can, and you can walk away with no regrets.”

Everything the Warriors went through over the last three years – from injuries that led to them finishing with the worst record in the league two seasons ago to playing through a global pandemic – was done “with this as the ultimate goal of getting back on this stage, the chance to play for another championship,” Curry said.

“Klay coming off of an unreal rehab journey. Broke my hand. Draymond was injured with a bunch of different stuff. We had a lot of young guys coming into the fold and trying to reclaim our chemistry as a core,” he continued, “but also get those guys up to speed in how they can help us and help impact winning.”

The Celtics and their top-notch defense are a mighty obstacle the Warriors will have to overcome. The unit, which has posted the best defensive rating in the league since the new year, is held down by Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Robert Williams.

Green, one of the league’s best defenders, shared his admiration for the Celtics’ defense, which has held opponents to an average of 101 points per game this postseason under first-year coach Ime Udoka.

“There’s not a guy who comes on the floor who isn’t giving 110 percent on that side of the ball,” Green said. “You have to give a lot of respect to Ime. That’s not a much different squad than we’ve seen the past few years… Yet more has been required of them, and they have answered that bell.

“You have to give a lot of credit to Marcus Smart, who is their leader on that side of the ball. In order to have everyone come in and play, there has to be some leadership there that’s holding that all together, that’s holding somebody responsible.”