Klay Thompson wants Charles Barkley to cut him some slack.The Warriors' 32-year-old All-Star still clearly recovering from injuries that sidelined him for the entire 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons used the Warriors' post-game pre s conference to fire back unprompted at the Hall of Famer and TNT commentator.Lots to unpack here so let's take it one step at a time.SIGN UP TO WATCH EVERY GAME ON NBA LEAGUE PASS: | On TNT's broadcast earlier in the week, Barkley sounded off on the Warriors, their older age and why the younger players in Golden State hold the key to defending the title."As much as I love Klay, he's slipping. Same thing with Draymond Green , they're not the same. In the Finals, you could see they are not the same guys Saahdiq Charles Jersey they were two or three years ago. So when I watch the Warriors, I say 'oh man, Father Time is knocking on the door with a couple of those guys.'""There was a time when Klay Thompson was the best two-way guard in the NBA and he's not the same guy."Chuck thinks father time is catching up to the Warriors. NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) Barkley, of course, has a long history of doubting the Warriors dating back to their first championship run in 2015. And there is certainly no love lost between Warriors fans and Barkley, who have a testy relationship to say the least.MORE: After Thompson scored 19 points in Golden State's win over the Heat on Thursday, he used the post-game podium to addre s Barkley's comments Deshazor Everett Jersey at length."It hurts when someone like Charles Barkley, with the platform he has, says you're not the same player as prior to the injuries you had. It's like, no duh, man," Thompson said. "I tore my ACL and my Achilles in consecutive years and still helped a team win a championship. I mean, that hurt hearing that. Because it's like, man, I put in so much freaking effort to get back to this point. Like, it's hard to even put into words what I had to do to be the player I am today.Klay Thompson closed his pre s conference with an unprompted response to a recent Charles Barkley comment that Klay was slipping Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) "I played 55, 57 games in three years, like, give me some freaking time to get that back. To hear someone say, 'Oh, he's not the same as he was prior to the injuries.' Like, duh. Who goes through something like that and comes back? Like, I don't know, it just hurt my heart hearing that. But, you know what? I'm gonna internalize it and it's gonna be fuel for me to be even better. I'm very proud of what we accomplished last year, and I feel like I was a huge part of it. I'm not gonna let these injuries be a crutch for me. I'm just gonna keep going and I'm gonna have a great year. Bet on that." Thompson bounced back from far greater adversity than one random Barkley comment on a Tuesday night in October. June 13, 2019:During the third quarter of Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Thompson attemptsto dunk the ball on a fast break, gets John Riggins Jersey fouled by Danny Green andlandsawkwardly with all of his weight on his left leg. He immediately reachesfor his left knee and is seen screaming in pain. June 14, 2019: that Thompson underwent an MRI following Game 6. The MRI confirmed that Thompson had suffered a torn left ACL. Feb. 20, 2020: that Thompson is "making good progre s" in his rehabilitation, but he will not play for the rest of the 2019-20 season. Golden State adds that Thompson is expected to be available for the team's training camp. Nov. 18, 2020: that Thompson suffered a leg injury during an offseason workout in Southern California. that Thompson suffered a torn Achilles. Nov. 25, 2020: that Thompson suffered a torn right Achilles and underwent succe Jahan Dotson T Shirts sful surgery in Los Angeles. Golden State notes that he is expected to mi s the entire 2020-21 season.Jan. 9, 2022:In his first NBA action in 941 days, Thompson finisheswith 17 points in 20 minutes of action in a 14-point win over the Cavaliers.For a full breakdown of his injury timeline including team updates, comments by Thompson and how it all impacted his new contract extension, . OK, so here's the part where we actually look at Thompson's play with the ma sive caveat that it's only been five games.So far this season, Thompson is averaging just 12.6 points per game on a career-worst 34.4 percent shooting from the field. Even if Thompson's scoring never returns to peak form and again, it's WAY too early to make that declaration one could reasonably expect that arguably the second-greatest shooter of all-time will bump that efficiency back up.One of Barkley's key points is how Golden State's hopes hinge more on the younger players than the likes of Thompson and Green. (Aside: no mention of Curry, who looks incredible and could very easily find himself in the MVP hunt come April.)Klay Thompson Since Returning From InjuryGamesPPGFG%3-pt FG%Mins PG2021-22 Reg Season3220.442.938.529.42022 Playoffs2219.042.938.536.02022-23 Reg Season512.634.431.023.6So far this season, Thompson ranks fourth on the Warriors in scoring behind Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole.He is logging just 23.6 minutes per game, understandably still ramping up yet neverthele s a figure which ranks fifth on the team.Barkley is, however, likely giving too much credence to the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick T Shirts Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody, both of whom have undoubtedly bright futures but are still lagging far behind Thompson when it comes to nightly impact.Yes, Thompson is off to a slow start. And yet judging by the player we saw in the Finals, it's more likely than not the slow start is only just that a slow start.Don't count out Klay Thompson.