The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

What most analysts originally considered too long a break between the NBA Conference Finals and the Finals turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Bahamian Klay Thompson as he recovers from a concussion.

Thompson, the All-Star guard for the Golden State Warriors, suffered the injury Wednesday night when took a knee to the head by Houston Rockets forward Trevor Ariza as the Warriors advanced to the Finals with a 104-90 win. They will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the best-of-seven series starting on Thursday night (June 4).

Thompson finished with 20 points but did not return to the game following the incident. He went on to pass the NBA’s concussion protocol and was ruled eligible to return to the game.

His father, Bahamian basketball icon Mychal Thompson - former No.1 overall pick and two time NBA champion - discussed his son’s condition on ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” radio show yesterday.

“He was pretty woozy last night I had to drive him home, he wasn’t able to drive himself home. When he got home he threw up a couple times and he started feeling a lot better. After a couple days off he thinks he’ll be fine. The trainers and doctors I’ve talked to said right now he just needs to shut it down and pick it up in two to three days,” he said.

“He’ll be fine, I bet by Sunday he will be feeling a lot better.”

It was the second head injury for the Warriors in as many games after Stephen Curry’s scary fall in game four of the series which the team ruled as a contusion.

Thompson played college basketball for three seasons at Washington State University before being selected by Golden State with the 11th pick of the 2011 NBA draft. In a breakout season this year alongside Curry, he set an NBA record with 484 combined three-pointers in a season as the pair were given the nickname the “Splash Brothers”.

Thompson was named an NBA All-Star and selected to the All-NBA Team in 2015.

Always a strong presence in the Bahamas, both Mychal and Klay are frequent participants in the annual Jeff Rodgers Summer Basketball Camp, while Klay’s brother Mychel was a member of the Bahamas’ national team at the 2014 Centrobasket tournament.