The image is burned into the brains of Golden State fans. It’s May 27, 2015. Oracle Arena is shaking because the Warriors are on the verge of their first NBA Finals trip in forty years. Then, everything goes quiet. Klay Thompson is on the floor. He’s clutching the side of his head, and suddenly, there it is. Blood. It wasn’t just a scratch; it was a steady trickle coming directly from his ear canal.
In the world of professional sports, "blood from the ear" is usually the universal signal for "something is very, very wrong with the brain."
Honestly, the Klay Thompson ear bleeding incident remains one of the most mishandled and confusing medical moments in modern playoff history. It wasn't just about a laceration. It was about how a championship-contending team and the league itself grappled with the terrifying reality of head trauma in real-time.
The Collision: Trevor Ariza’s Inadvertent Knee
It happened in the fourth quarter of Game 5 against the Houston Rockets. Klay did what Klay does—he used a pump fake to get his defender in the air. Trevor Ariza, a veteran known for his length and hustle, bit hard. He flew past Klay, but as he came down, his knee caught the right side of Thompson’s head with the force of a car crash.
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Klay went down hard.
At first, it looked like a standard "stinger." But when the cameras zoomed in, the broadcast team went silent. You could see the dark red stain spreading. For a few minutes, the basketball world collectively held its breath. Was it a burst eardrum? A skull fracture?
The Warriors’ medical staff rushed him to the back. Remarkably, they originally diagnosed it as a "right ear laceration." They stitched him up and, in a move that still baffles critics today, actually cleared him to return to the game.
The Return That Shouldn't Have Been
Klay came back to the bench. He was ready to check in. But then, the ear started leaking again. The stitches hadn't held, or the internal pressure was too much. He headed back to the locker room for the second time.
Luckily for the Warriors, Steph Curry and the rest of the squad closed out the Rockets 104-90 without him. They didn't need Klay's 20 points to finish the job. But the real drama started after the final buzzer sounded.
Why the Bleeding Was So Scary
Most people think ear bleeding is just a cut. In Klay's case, it was technically a laceration, but the location was the problem. When you take a knee to the temple area—which is what happened—doctors worry about the temporal bone. If that bone fractures, blood can leak from the ear. More importantly, that kind of impact almost always results in a brain bruise.
The Warriors' staff took a lot of heat for this. Doris Burke reported during the game that Klay hadn't even been given a concussion test initially because he "seemed fine."
Kinda crazy, right?
The Aftermath: Vomiting and the Neurologist
The "he’s fine" narrative fell apart about an hour after the game. Klay’s father, the legendary Mychal Thompson, had to drive his son home because Klay was too "woozy" to get behind the wheel.
It got worse. Once they got home, Klay started vomiting.
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"That's what you feel like when you have a concussion," Mychal told reporters the next day. He spoke from experience, having played in the "stone age" of the NBA where guys just played through "getting their bell rung." But this was 2015. The league had protocols.
The diagnosis was eventually changed from a simple ear laceration to a full-blown concussion. This put Klay’s status for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against LeBron James and the Cavaliers in serious jeopardy.
Navigating the NBA Concussion Protocol
To get back on the court, Klay had to be asymptomatic for 24 hours and pass a series of increasingly difficult physical tests.
- Step 1: Stationary bike.
- Step 2: Jogging and agility drills.
- Step 3: Non-contact team drills.
- Step 4: Full-contact practice.
The Warriors had a week-long break before the Finals started, which was basically a gift from the basketball gods. If Game 1 had been three days later, Klay Thompson doesn't play. Period.
He eventually saw a neurologist and was cleared just two days before the Finals opener. He went on to help the Warriors win the title, but the Klay Thompson ear bleeding moment remains a case study in why "visible" injuries can sometimes mask much deeper neurological issues.
Lessons Learned from the 2015 Incident
The NBA actually tightened up their protocols because of this. You can't just "look fine" anymore. If there is a blow to the head followed by bleeding from the ear area, the assumption is now a concussion until proven otherwise by a battery of tests—not just a quick conversation with a trainer.
If you ever see an athlete—or anyone—bleeding from the ear after a head impact, here is the expert takeaway:
- Stop the activity immediately. Adrenaline is a liar. Klay wanted to go back in, but his brain was literally shutting down.
- Watch for "delayed" symptoms. Klay felt "fine" for twenty minutes. The vomiting didn't start for two hours. Concussions are sneaky.
- Pressure is bad. The ear bleeding was a sign of trauma, but the internal pressure is what causes the long-term damage.
- Professional evaluation is non-negotiable. Do not trust a "clear head." Use a neurologist.
The Klay Thompson incident wasn't just a tough guy moment; it was a lucky escape. It’s a reminder that even the "Splash Brothers" are human, and sometimes, the best play is the one that happens in the training room, not on the court.
If you’re tracking player safety or just a fan of Warriors history, keep a close eye on how the league handles "inadvertent" contact today. The rules have changed specifically because of nights like that one in 2015.
Check out the official NBA concussion policy updates to see how far the league has come since Klay's scary night.