Warriors' Klay Thompson Diagnosed With Concussion, Must Be Cleared to Play

Uh-oh. Statement from the Warriors, as reported by various media:

Following extensive examinations over the last two days – including neurological tests earlier this (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. He will be evaluated daily and there is no timetable for his return.”

Game 1 of the finals versus LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers is six days away, on Thursday starting 6 p.m. PDT.

Thompson's injury occurred when the side of his head unhappily met the knee of Houston forward Trevor Ariza in the semifinals, Wednesday night. He reeled to the floor, clutching his head and rolling over, then lying on the court for a minute before being removed from the game. He later received stitches on his ear. The slow-motion replay in the clip below should be enough to make even Cleveland fans queasy.

As recently as last night, more optimistic reports about Thompson's condition were floating around, perhaps based on familial wishful thinking.

"Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is feeling better and on track to return for the NBA Finals next week after taking a knee to his head from Trevor Ariza that caused 'concussion-like symptoms,' "AP reported. "That's according to Thompson's father, former NBA player Mychal Thompson. He told The Associated Press on Thursday night that his son's energy was up and his appetite was back, but he still needs to pass the league-mandated concussion protocol."

Thompson told AP that his son had vomited a couple of times after the game, but that he anticipated he'd be cleared to play after a neurological test today.

Incorrect.

You can read a summary of the NBA's official concussion policy here. Note the following:

Return-to Participation Decisions:

Once a player is diagnosed with a concussion he is then held out of all activity until he is symptom-free at rest and until he has no appreciable difference from his baseline neurological exam and his baseline score on the computerized cognitive assessment test.

The concussed player may not return to participation until he is asymptomatic at rest and has successfully completed the NBA concussion return-to-participation exertion protocol.

Return-to Participation Protocol:

The return to participation protocol involves several steps of increasing exertion -- from a stationary bike, to jogging, to agility work, to non-contact team drills.

With each step, a player must be symptom free to move to the next step. If a player is not symptom free after a step, he stops until he is symptom free and begins again at the previous step of the protocol (i.e., the last step he passed without any symptoms).

While the final return-to participation decision is to be made by the player’s team physician, the team physician must discuss the return-to-participation process and decision with Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, the Director of the NBA’s Concussion Program, prior to the player being cleared for full participation in NBA Basketball.

It's important to note that there is no timeframe to complete the protocol. Each injury and player is different and recovery time can vary in each case.