Watching Klay Thompson play on television is one thing, but seeing his famous jumper in person is a whole other experience, one of the newest members of the Golden State Warriors found out.
Lottery pick Moses Moody opened up this week about meeting Thompson and getting to see his game in person for the first time. As the No. 14 overall pick noted, it was quite an experience.
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An Impressive Jumper
“Man, it looks different in person, that was obviously my first time seeing it,” Moody said of Thompson’s jumper. “But watching that repetition, that exact same shot every one, I mean I sat there and watched him shoot for 20 minutes, and it didn’t touch the rim a lot, I can tell you that.”
Thompson has been working his way back from a second major injury in the span of a little more than two years. After losing the 2019-20 season with a torn ACL, he missed last season after an Achilles injury suffered just before the start of the season. He has been able to get back into the gym in recent weeks, sharing some videos of his smooth jumper.
As Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told The Athletic back in July, Thompson hasn’t been able to progress to contact drills, and would need some time before he got back into action.
“Not full contact yet. But starting to really get movement on the court. He’s still aways away from actually playing basketball in a 5-on-5 setting,” Kerr said. “But there’s a big step with the Achilles when you can actually start running again. It’s a huge psychological boost. The rest of the body gets going, you start feeling the soreness and aches and pains that actually feel good when you’ve been out for a while. He’s at that point.”
Thompson will likely not join his new teammates on the court until at least a few weeks after the season has begun. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reported that the Warriors are expecting him to return for the team’s Christmas Day matchup against the Phoenix Suns.
Moody Meeting Teammates
Moody and fellow lottery pick Jonathan Kuminga have had the chance to meet some of their other new Warriors teammates. Veteran Mychal Mulder spoke to Kendra Andrew of Grant Liffman of NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dubs Talk Podcast, saying he made a point to travel to Las Vegas to watch them compete in NBA Summer League. Starters Steph Curry and Draymond Green made appearances in Vegas as well and were impressed with what they saw in the new teammates.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said they even earned some good reviews from Curry, who is not always quick to praise.
“But talking to Curry and Draymond, Steph kind of elbowed me and said, ‘This kid’s pretty good.’ And these guys don’t compliment easily. They’ve seen a lot,” Myers said in an appearance on 95.7 The Game.
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