Thompson Believes Warriors Would Have Won if He Remained Healthy

Klay Thompson feels he has some unfinished business to take care of once he returns for the Golden State Warriors from the torn ACL he suffered in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Leading up until the time of the injury, the lack of offensive weapons at the Warriors disposal (already left without Kevin Durant who tore his Achilles in Game 5) went onto cost them as the Toronto Raptors used a big fourth quarter to win the organizations first NBA championship. Immediately after suffering the injury Thompson told The Athletic that he felt something he has never felt before in his knee.

“I knew I hurt something, but I’ve just never done an ACL or any type of ligament,” Thompson said. “I’ve never torn nothing in my life. So, when I did that, I thought it might have been a sprained knee. Maybe I’d go back … I didn’t even think about it. I just heard that I had to go shoot the free throws and I literally just turned around and walked back like I had to.”

No one can ever question the toughness of Thompson who came back to score both free throws on a torn ACL. He would be taken out of the game only seconds later. If he hadn’t gotten injured, well, Thompson strongly believes that the outcome of the series would have played out differently.

“In my mind, yes, we would’ve won if I didn’t get hurt,” Thompson said.

Thompson is expected to return late into the NBA season as he continues to rehab his knee. With a contract extension in hand, the goal is to get back to where he knows the Warriors should be.

“That’s just the nature of sports, you know? What-ifs? It doesn’t matter. It’s if you do your deed or not. In my mind, I think we would’ve. But you never know. That’s the hard part you’ve got to accept. I look at all the guys who had bad luck getting injured against us the last few years, and I’ve honestly become so much more sympathetic. Yeah. That’s just the nature of the beast.”

The Raptors won game 6 of the NBA Finals by a score of 114-110, taking the series 4-2.