Klay Thompson opens up on the Warriors' title hopes, missing 2 years with injuries

It’s been a tough couple of years for the Golden State Warriors. Watching Kevin Durant walk away in free agency and Klay Thompson missing back-to-back seasons with injuries cost them two years without making the playoffs.

Some people claimed the dynasty was over and that Steve Kerr’s team was never going to be a real contender again. Some urged them to break up their championship core and even trade Draymond Green away.

Now, the Dubs are back in the playoffs and ready to prove their doubters wrong, and a lot of that will have to do with Thompson’s health. With that in mind, he recently opened up about his past struggles with injuries.

NBA News: Klay Thompson Opens Up On His Two-Year Absence

“It’s a gut punch it was hard to accept for a few months,” Thompson said on Serge Ibaka’s ‘How Hungry Are You?’.“I learned there’s things in life you can’t control. It was hard. But I was very lucky… established player, in the middle of my career, I could make it up on the back end. I feel for these young athletes that go through this in their teenage years or right when they enter the NBA.”

Thompson Says The Warriors Can Win A Title Without Kevin Durant

When asked about their championship aspirations and how that could change without Kevin Durant on the team, Thompson was unbothered. Per him, most of their championship core is still there and they’ll always have a shot:

“Lucky for us, we still have the core of a Championship team from the past, being me, Steph, and Draymond,” Thompson said.“Won a lot of games together, we got some great pieces. I’m excited to play with Andrew Wiggins, I think he is an incredibly talented player. And then we got these young guys who I think we can rely on a lot. I really like our team.”

“Serge, I’m never gonna doubt us. I played a lot of 2K this past year, that’s how I get my fix in for basketball,” Thompson joked.“There’s a lot of similarities and I’m getting wins with the same roster. I’m just going to transfer that into real life.”

To be fair, it’s not like the Warriors needed Durant to win a ring, as they had already won and made it to back-to-back NBA Finals without him. So, while it won’t be as easy as it can be on NBA 2K, you have to like their chances if Curry comes back at full strength.