It has been a long, long journey for Klay Thompson to get back to the NBA playoffs.
After 941 days and over 1 million minutes away from an NBA court, Thompson returned to the Warriors on Jan. 9. Now, after 32 games and 941 minutes back, he and the Warriors will make their grand postseason re-entrance Saturday when they face the Denver Nuggets at Chase Center.
These Warriors are a different team than the one that took the court during Thompson's last playoff appearance in the 2019 NBA Finals. It's a younger and less experienced team, many of whom will be getting their first taste of playoff basketball Saturday.
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Thompson, who still is stung by the Warriors' collapse in the 2016 NBA Finals, has shared a message from late NBA legend Kobe Bryant to get his young teammates in the proper postseason mindset.
"It still hurts," Thompson told reporters Thursday about the 2016 NBA Finals. "But you have to lean on those experiences. There's a clip of Kobe Bryant -- the late, great Kobe Bryant, rest in peace to one of the greatest to ever play -- of him in the 2009 NBA Finals, and he's at a press conference and somebody asks him why he isn't happy, and he's just incredibly lasered in and talking about the job not being finished.
"So, I try to show young guys that clip and show them how even-keeled he was and how he had his eyes set on something bigger than just a 2-0 lead."
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Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters Tuesday he would rely on Thompson, Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala to prep the inexperienced Warriors for the playoff grind ahead before offering his own advice to the young Dubs.
“Turn off your phones, don’t listen to the media, get your ticket requests in now – have somebody handle that," Kerr said. "It’s important this time of year to really lock in on your job and keep things as simple as possible. Easier said than done. There’s a lot of attention, a lot of hype, a lot of focus and you can’t get wrapped up in the judgment and the criticism that’s coming because we’re all under the spotlight. We have a job to do and it’s just us. We have to compete together and collaborate and figure out how to win a game, how to win a series, and keep moving forward. Try to just keep the focus on us."
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As for Thompson, his NBA return was filled with highs and lows, much like the Warriors' season.
But the 32-year-old sharpshooter found himself down the stretch and enters the playoffs on a blistering stretch, averaging 30.8 points per game with shooting splits of 48.0/45.0/87.5.
After grinding through two grueling rehabs, Thompson is laser-focused on getting back to the stage he and the Warriors know very well.
"A lot of ups and downs for myself this season," Thompson told reporters Sunday. "I stuck with it and I will continue to do that. I have some great momentum going into the playoffs. I can't wait. I'm so excited for the playoffs. Haven't watched the last two years because it was painful, so to be back and be a part of it. I get geeked just thinking about it."
It has been almost three years since the Warriors played under the bright playoff lights. They bottomed out, retooled, recalibrated, and now return with something to prove and a lot left in the tank. And they don't plan to let off the gas until the job is finished.