Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson, who had taken a knee to the head in Wednesday night’s series-clinching win over the Houston Rockets, was diagnosed with the concussion after seeing a neurologist Friday.
The team said Thompson has been ruled out indefinitely. He will not practice until he has been cleared.
“Following extensive examinations over the last two days — including neurological tests earlier Friday morning — Warriors guard Klay Thompson has been diagnosed with a concussion. He will not return to the court until he is symptom-free and cleared under the NBA’s concussion protocol guidelines,” the Warriors said in a statement. “He will be evaluated daily and there is no timetable for his return.”
Thompson threw up and experienced other “concussion-like symptoms” late Wednesday night after he was unintentionally kneed in the head by Rockets forward Trevor Ariza in the fourth quarter of Game 5, his father, Mychal Thompson, told ESPN.
Thompson was initially cleared to return to the game by team doctors. Thompson was originally diagnosed with a right ear laceration and needed stitches, though he never returned to the game. He started developing symptoms after the game.
On Thursday, Thompson’s agent, Bill Duffy of BDA Sports, told USA TODAY Sports that Thompson cleared the early round of tests and did not appear to have a concussion.
Duffy, who had defended the Warriors’ handling of the situation, wrote in a text message Friday: “(I’m) glad we got the full battery of tests.”
The Warriors beat the Rockets 104-90 in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals to advance to the NBA Finals to meet the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thompson could miss the start of the series against the Cavs when the series begins Thursday night in Oakland.