Klay Thompson officially diagnosed with concussion, out indefinitely
The Warriors’ guard is still recovering from a nasty blow to the head.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson has a concussion after all, the Warriors announced Friday. He will not return to the court until he goes through the NBA's concussion protocol, so there is currently no timetable for his return. This throws his status for Thursday's Game 1 of the NBA Finals in doubt.
Update: Coach Steve Kerr believes Thompson will be ready to go when the Finals begin:
Warriors coach Steve Kerr says "all is going well" with Klay Thompson (concussion) and he is expects him to be ready for start of NBA Finals
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) May 30, 2015 The concussion diagnosis came after “extensive examinations over the last two days,” the team announced. The league’s concussion protocol requires a player to pass several exercise tests symptom free before he can return to game action. The team’s physician makes the final call to let a player return, but he must consult with a league doctor before finalizing that decision.
Thompson suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals when Rockets wing Trevor Ariza kneed Thompson in the head after biting on a pump fake.
Thompson was quickly diagnosed with a right ear laceration and was immediately cleared to return to the game, which was a stark contrast to the longer evaluation Stephen Curry received after his fall in Game 4. But blood poured out of Thompson's ear just as he was about to check in, forcing him back to the locker room for stitches. By the time Thompson returned, the Warriors had sealed the victory.
Yet concussion symptoms started to manifest themselves after the game. Thompson failed to hear a reporter’s question in his damaged ear, then vomited and couldn’t drive on the way home, according to his father. Initial tests thereafter were negative, Thompson’s agent told USA Today’s Sam Amick. However, that was pending a visit to a neurologist Friday morning. It appears that’s where the concussion was officially diagnosed, though the Warriors did not confirm that.
This is not the first time the Warriors cleared a player to return to a game, only to have him develop symptoms later. The Warriors allowed Harrison Barnes to return to a playoff game in 2013, saying he passed concussion tests. He was later diagnosed with a concussion, though he didn’t miss any games because the Warriors had been eliminated.
See More:
