Klay Thompson won hearts following a heartwarming gesture after the Dallas Mavericks’ recent defeat vs the Los Angeles Lakers.
Even the biggest superstars in the NBA always run the risk of shortening their careers if they are not careful on the hardwood. After all, numerous careers have been cut short due to injuries.
Many thought 4x NBA champion Klay Thompson would become another addition to that list when he tore his ACL in 2019 and his Achilles in 2020.
Thompson missed two-and-a-half seasons due to these back-to-back injuries, but upon his return, Klay helped the Golden State Warriors win the 2022 NBA Championship.
Thompson defied all odds when he returned to the NBA following his gruesome injuries. The man behind Klay’s miraculous recovery is Dr. Richard Ferkel.
Speaking of which, the 5x NBA All-Star recently made a heartwarming gesture for Dr. Ferkel after the Dallas Mavericks’ recent 107-99 loss against the Los Angeles Lakers.
“Without you, I would not have been the second leading scorer on a championship team. I can’t thank you enough, are you kidding me? I didn’t even think that was possible,” an emotional Thompson said.
Thompson won hearts as he gave his 2022 NBA ring to Dr. Ferkel. It was truly a great sight to see and showed how much Thompson respects him.
At 35 years old, Klay is still going strong and is undoubtedly the No. 2 option on the Mavericks post the Luka Doncic trade.
As for his performance against the Lakers, Thompson added 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to lead the Mavs to a win.
Before becoming a household name and recognized as the greatest shooter in NBA history, Warriors star Stephen Curry dealt with multiple ankle injuries.
So much so that the Baby-Faced Assassin was close to giving up on his career. However, Dr. Ferkel ensured that Curry’s career was revived with a delicate ankle surgery in 2012.
In Dr. Ferkel’s own words, Steph’s ankles had “crab meat” like scar tissue.
“To anyone else, orthopedic seafood might be revolting. To Curry, ‘it was good news,’ [Ferkel] says. ‘The least intrusive outcome,’” per, a 2016 ESPN article.
While Curry was still a bit cautious about his ankles over the next couple of years, he had a breakout 2014-15 season where he won the first NBA MVP and championship of his career. The rest, as we know it, is history.
It’s truly amazing how Dr. Ferkel saved the careers of two Warriors legends. If the surgeries had gone badly, the Dubs may never have dominated the 2010s as they did.
