NBA Injury Report: Is Klay Thompson Playing Tonight Against Minnesota Timberwolves? | 1st March 2022

A lot of hype was generated around the Golden State Warriors coming into this season. And it was not just because they had managed to build depth in their roster by incorporating younger talent. Rather, the imminent return of one of their All-Stars, Klay Thompson.

In an era of superstars switching teams whimsically and teaming up with other superstars to ‘chase rings’, the Warriors have managed to retain all three of their championship pieces. Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Stephen Curry are the original pieces of the Golden State Warriors dynasty.

The homegrown All-Stars delivered the first of their 3 NBA Championships won between 2015-18 in 2015. Further on, they were aided by Kevin Durant for the back-to-back 2017 and 2018 NBA Championships. But their 2019 championship run was thwarted at the final stage by more than just underperformance. 

After Herculean efforts to stall the Golden State Warriors’ imminent collapse against the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay Thompson succumbed to injury himself. With 28 and 26-point games in Game 4 and 5, Thompson was on a monster game in Game 6.  He had 30 points to his name in the third quarter, before he tore his ACL and had to exit.

Klay Thompson has not played a game since. But in a massive show of trust, the Warriors extended his contract to a 5-year maximum contract. He has rehabilitated behind the curtains all along.

The absence of Klay Thompson continues

Thompson made his highly anticipated second debut in a match against the Cleveland Cavaliers. He scored 17 points in 20 minutes to sink the Cavaliers 96-82. The returning superstar has played 17 games all season, not really finding any consistent match fitness or a rhythm.

But his touch of old has not gone missing. He has averaged 17.1 points, 3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. Including a signature match-winning effort against the Los Angeles Lakers where he scored 33 points.

However, Thompson has not played in the Warriors’ last match against the Dallas Mavericks and is set to miss their next game too. Klay Thompson will not play against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to illness and is listed out.