Klay Thompson Team USA 2014 Update: Potential Injury Risk And Growing As A Player (Photo: LetsGoWarriors Instagram)
QUEST MULTIPLEX, CHICAGO, IL — Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is continuing his pursuit of making USA final 12-man roster for the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
After a few days away from the public eye following the injury to Paul George in the Blue-White Showcase scrimmage, players were once again available to speak at practice in Chicago.
Klay spoke about George’s injury for the first time at Team USA Practice in Chicago last week, and said while the potential risk for injury is scary, there’s only so much you can do to prevent getting hurt.
“It’s really tough to see what happened to Paul. He’s a good kid, great friend,” Thompson said. “I don’t think it’s too risky, though. I think it was a freak accident.”
He said he thinks injuries can happen anytime, anywhere, so getting on the court for Team USA is definitely worth it.
“You play pick-up in the summertime, you take that risk of getting hurt playing pick-up,” said the Warriors shooting guard. “We play an 82-game season too, so whenever you play you’re taking a risk and I don’t think this is a bigger one.”
Asked if players think about getting hurt in the back of their mind, Thompson said it’s not a luxury athletes can afford, so they have to move past the fear.
“You can’t. You don’t. When you get on the court, all you’re thinking about is playing basketball.”
While George’s injury has set a serious tone over Team USA in recent days, Thompson is still accomplishing what he came to do: help Team USA win games and improve on his skills.
Warriors teammate Stephen Curry said Thompson has come to camp and proven he’s one of the best young guards in the NBA.
“Everybody here I can learn something from,” Thompson said, “Shooting with Kyle (Korver), he’s one of the few in the NBA that’s mastered moving without the ball, so I was trying to shoot with him, see what I can learn.”
He said a lot has changed since he was a part of the USA Select Team two years ago, who were used in practice and scrimmages with the eventual Gold Medal-winning USA Olympic team.
“We’re like the older guys now, we got beat up when we were on the select team,” Thompson said, “I was a young rookie and going against the Olympic team was an amazing experience. 1-10 on that team would lock you up and be in your chest.”
He said he always seems to get something out of the experience, no matter the level of competition.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of USA Basketball the last few years and I feel like I’ve gotten better with every experience,” Thompson said, “My game has grown a lot just being here.”
[NOTE: Caleb Nordgren contributed to this report.]
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
