Warriors Players 'Felt Strange' About Klay Thompson's Return, Says Steve Kerr

Klay Thompson did not fail to deliver in his epic Golden State Warriors return.

After a total of 941 days , Thompson finally made his debut this season and started for the Warriors on Sunday, January 9 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The five-time NBA All-Star seemed to have just picked up where he left off and finished the game with 17 points in 20 minutes of basketball.

As expected, Thompson got Chase Center lifted off the ground as the electricity inside the arena was indescribable.

The entire Warriors squad was thrilled to have one of their best players back but moments before tipoff, Dubs coach Steve Kerr admitted that along with the excitement and all, there was a “strange” feeling as well.

“It feels surreal, honestly,” Kerr told NBC Sports. “Having our coaches’ meeting and actually talking about Klay. It felt great, but it felt strange. It’s been so long. I think the players felt it, too, in our (pregame) walk-through.”

“It was almost surreal,” he continued. “He’s finally back. The day’s finally here.”

Kerr earlier confirmed that he would start Thompson for obvious reasons.

It is yet to be determined whether Kerr will let the sharpshooting guard exceed 20 minutes in the next games.

"Klay is Klay. So we'll start him and we'll play him however many minutes that first game," the coach said last week. "My guess is 15 to 20 minutes and then we just build him up from there and work around him."

"There's a good chance that we will rest him on back-to-backs," he added. "It's all going to depend on how he responds to his early minutes and what Rick [Celebrini] is telling me. But I think there is a good chance we will keep him out of back-to-backs to start, but we don't know that yet."

Thompson’s first 20 minutes of game time was ultimately a success. It was a collection of highlight-worthy plays that will be part of Warriors history.

Atop from scoring the team’s first two points with a sensational floater, Thompson also threw it down hard on the Cavs and drained three of his eight signature beyond-the-arc shots.

Speaking after the game, Thompson addressed the “love” he received in the night he will “never forget.”

"I was nervous to start, but I'm just so grateful to be out here—and the love I received pre-game, the video tributes, it was special. It's a night I'll never forget and it lived up to all the hype," Thompson said postgame. "There were still four or five shots I should have made, but I'm just happy I'm here and can say that."