ESPN Cover Story: Klay Thompson Debuts Today Across ESPN’s Platforms
ESPN Senior Writer Ramona Shelburne on Thompson’s Personal Journey Back from Injury to the NBA Finals
The latest ESPN Cover Story featuring Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson debuts today across the network’s digital, linear and social platforms. ESPN Cover Story is the sports fan’s monthly ticket to the biggest stories on the most captivating athletes – told with inside access, bold reporting and unforgettable visuals.
When the Warriors look back on the run they’ve had one day, Thompson’s Western Conference Finals Game 6 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 will be one of the many moments that is front of mind. Experience something like that and you’ll spend the rest of your life chasing it again.
When the injuries took basketball from Thompson, they also took that feeling from him, from the team and from the game. Not being able to move through it was terrible. He needed to find another way. He read a lot during that time and did whatever he could to occupy his mind. He even bought a 37-foot fishing boat and learned to sail it himself. Something he’d always wanted to do. He would go out on the water, not to escape, but to process everything.
It’s been nearly three and a half years since Thompson’s NBA Finals Game 6 injury and about two years since another significant one in a pickup game at a gym in downtown Los Angeles. He has made it back from both of those and even contributed to the Warriors fourth NBA title in June. Thompson has always known how to create the feelings he needs through movement, music or speaking something into existence. The injuries changed the way he did that, but not his spirit.
For this ESPN Cover Story, senior writer Ramona Shelburne talks with Thompson about his personal journey back from injuries to the NBA Finals with the Warriors, how that time away has shaped his approach going forward and life outside of basketball.
The ESPN Cover Story: Klay Thompson video feature will air across SportsCenter, along with a full digital package on the ESPN App and original storytelling across social.
More information on ESPN Cover Story can be found here.
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Media Contacts: Michael Skarka [email protected]
