Klay ruled out for rest of season, expected to be ready for training camp

The Golden State Warriors have ruled Klay Thompson out for the remainder of the 2019-20 season and expect him to be ready for training camp in late September, the team announced Thursday.

Thompson hasn't played since tearing his left ACL during Game 6 of last year's NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.

The 29-year-old said in August he was aiming to return at some point after the All-Star break. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr poured cold water on that possibility in October, however, stating Thompson was "unlikely" to play this season.

"This is what I expected from the beginning given the severity of the injury," Kerr told reporters before Thursday night's game against the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. "And the normal timetable (for recovery), and so here we are. It's no surprise."

USA Basketball recently named Thompson one of 44 finalists for the 2020 U.S. Olympic men's team. His recovery is progressing well and he remains in contention for Team USA's 12-man roster for the Tokyo Games, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times.

Kerr, an assistant on U.S. head coach Gregg Popovich's staff, didn't rule out the possibility of Thompson suiting up for the national team this summer.

"It's not off the table," Kerr said. "It's still a possibility. We haven't really discussed it. I think the (Olympic) team meets in July, so it's still quite a ways away. But it's really not anything we're discussing at this point. It's still a possibility ... obviously his health is the No. 1 concern, and so we'll kind of cross that bridge when we come to it."

Thompson averaged 21.5 points on 46.7% shooting across 78 appearances in 2018-19. He's established himself as one of the NBA's most prolific 3-point marksmen since entering the Association in 2011, drilling at least 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc in each of his eight seasons.