Klay Thompson had no interest in dapping up with Stephen Curry in the closing stages of Wednesday’s game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers. As Curry put his hand out, Thompson walked past him.
Klay: "Go shake Bron's hand since you wanna play with him so bad, nigga"
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
pic.twitter.com/yAdfAQZtcy
— EP (@epark1016) February 15, 2024
Thompson had just intentionally fouled Russell Westbrook when the Warriors were down 126-123 with just under 40 seconds remaining in the contest. There was no reason to do it at that point, and head coach Steve Kerr’s reaction to Thompson’s late-game mistake went viral as well.
I’m sure Thompson immediately recognized too that he shouldn’t have fouled. All the Warriors had to do there was force a stop and then potentially tie up the game on the next play. The 34-year-old was probably incredibly frustrated at that point, and you can understand Thompson leaving Curry hanging considering the circumstances.
This is not the first time he has done it, though. Earlier this season, Thompson kicked a chair at a Warriors assistant coach and ignored Curry. He was again clearly frustrated about something and didn’t want to hear whatever his fellow Splash Brother had to say.
I don’t think there are any issues between these two whatsoever, as this is all just Thompson not being in a good place mentally. With how much he has struggled in this 2023-24 season, the five-time All-Star has often cut a frustrated figure.
Against the Clippers, he ended up with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block. He shot just 4-14 from the field and 1-9 from beyond the arc as the Warriors lost 130-125.
Whether it was because of this big mistake against the Clippers or his continued struggles, the Warriors finally decided to have Thompson come off the bench against the Utah Jazz on Thursday. It was the first time he was going to come off the bench since March 11, 2012, and to Thompson’s credit, he put in an incredible performance.
Klay Thompson Shone Off The Bench For The Warriors
Thompson responded to the benching by going off as he recorded a season-high 35 points to go with 6 rebounds and 2 assists to lead the Warriors to a 140-137 win. You could very well make the case that it was his best game of the season, and afterward, Thompson spoke about finding out that he was going to come off the bench.
“Found out this morning, me and Steve had a good talk about it,” Thompson said. “You can do two things, you can pout or you can go out there and respond, and I thought I did the latter very well tonight”
Thompson realized he would still play significant minutes and had to just put his ego aside. He then thought of Manu Ginobili, who came off the bench for most of his incredible career with the San Antonio Spurs.
“I thought about Manu Ginobili,” Thompson continued. “That guy has four rings and a gold medal, and he came off the bench his whole career. And I don’t think anyone looks down on his Hall of Fame candidacy. He’s one of the greats and I mean I embraced it.”
"You can do two things, you can pout, or you can go out there and respond."
Klay reveals how he shifted his mindset in coming off the bench after a talk with Kerr 👏 pic.twitter.com/jC9XALO57c
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) February 16, 2024
Thompson admitted he deserved to get benched and he is now embracing that role. I think coming off the bench is what Klay is best suited to at this point in his career. He can give the Warriors, who are 27-26 on the season, a much-needed jolt offensively off the bench. While we won’t see too many performances like the one against the Jazz, we should see better displays than the ones we saw earlier in the season.
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