Perhaps no other team in the league is more versatile (when healthy) than the Golden State Warriors. Their success these past five years has been truly unprecedented, winning 73 games in a season, making five straight Finals appearances, and winning three titles against the best player in the world (LeBron James).
No doubt, a huge part of the reason for their success involves their backcourt stars, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. While Curry’s talents are no mystery, his impact on the game is virtually indescribable.
As for Klay, he’s talented enough on his own, but he also makes the perfect partner for Steph — and in a chat on 95.7 The Game, via Brian Witt of NBC Sports Bay Area, Jerry West revealed why.
“But to me, the perfect player — and he wasn’t as far along in his career when this trade had been talked about — the perfect player for Steph was Klay,” West said.
“He never seeks the spotlight. He just plays the game. And he has gotten better and better, and frankly, he’s one of the most underrated players in the league who gets not as much love as he should get. The decision was made not to trade him, and you’ve got the best basketball backcourt in the game today in those two. And also, an incredible complimentary player to Steph in his own right — as good as Steph in another way, the totality of his game. He’s getting better, too.”
While Klay is known for being a knockdown shooter, it’s his dominance defensively and his movement without the ball offensively that makes him so lethal with Curry.
His humility has allowed for a seamless duo and they have the success to show for it.
Indeed, this is the type of backcourt every team in the NBA is trying to replicate. So far, nobody else has really had any luck.
