Philadelphia 76ers guard Danny Green couldn’t wait to see Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson back on the court after over two years away from the game due to recovering from a torn ACL, followed by a ruptured Achilles a year later.
The origin of Thompson’s 177-game absence occurred in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Warriors and Toronto Raptors. Green was a member of that Raptors championship team, and he was whistled for a foul after he attempted a chase-down block on Thompson. The collision caused the five-time All-Star to land awkwardly on his left leg, tearing his ACL.
"If I can take that play back, I would,” Green told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night. “No one wants to see a great player go down, and no one wants to be the cause of that. It wasn't intentional. I’m glad that he’s back. The game has missed him.”
Green, a three-time NBA champion, said he felt bad about his role in Thompson losing significant time. Initially, there was a sizable sector of Warriors fans who believed his contact with Thompson in the air was a dirty play.
“When it first happened, I thought I blocked the ball,” Green told Yahoo Sports. “I thought it was a clean block and then he went down, I was like, ‘Man, he’s hurt. Let me make sure he’s OK.’ Some of the guys on the sidelines were upset. A lot of fans were upset. Obviously, I got a lot of backlash for it. But I'm trying to make a clean play on the ball, and I just wanted to make sure he was good. And then he came back on the court to shoot his free throws, and that's when I thought he was fine.
“I didn't know that he tore anything until after the game, which was a tough blow. It was tough to hear what was being said, but I didn't look at myself as the victim. My concern was for him. Their fans are great fans. They’re going to encourage their team. And anybody that tries to hurt or do anything to the other 10 or 13 players, they're gonna fight for them. So, I got some heated emotions from some of the fans, but every time I've spoken about the incident, I've stated that it was not purposeful at all.”
“For him to get back, it took a lot of persistence, man,” Green told Yahoo Sports. “It took resilience. He's a great player, so I never doubted that. He’s a true warrior, no pun intended. A lot of people, including myself and the fans, are excited that he’s back. We’ve all been looking forward to seeing Klay be the Klay that we have known him to be.”
Klay Thompson returns: Danny Green on his role in ACL injury (Yahoo! Sports)
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