- Klay Thompson had one of his greatest games ever in Game 6 of the 2016 Western Conference Finals
- Thompson erupted for 41 points to lead the Warriors to a 108-101 win
- Thompson revealed that a speech from Draymond Green inspired that display
The legend of “Game 6 Klay” began when Klay Thompson had a performance for the ages in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals in 2016. Thompson helped the Golden State Warriors stave off elimination against the Oklahoma City Thunder that night, and he revealed he was inspired by Draymond Green’s speech prior to it.
“When I look back on that game, I think about losing Game 4, we’re down 3-1,” Thompson said. “And Draymond Green made one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard about how no one thought it was possible we could win 73 games and no one thinks it’s possible we could come back from this deficit. He said, ‘Let’s go shock the world.’ And that right there gave me a ton of confidence to just — I like to say ’empty the clip’ as a shooter.”
(starts at 0:36 mark):
Awesome stuff here:
Klay Thompson shares how a speech by Draymond after OKC went up 3-1 inspired his G6 performance for that series.
Then Looney goes through what makes him a great rebounder – including watching his teammates’ shots after practice for ball placement pic.twitter.com/XCxm7vD7cf
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) August 31, 2023
Green has always been the vocal leader of the Warriors, and he managed to push the right buttons to get Klay going.
Thompson had 41 points on 14-31 shooting from the field, and he was 11-18 from beyond the arc, as the Warriors won 108-101 in OKC to tie up the series at 3-3. They would then go on to win Game 7 to complete a historic turnaround from down 3-1.
Unfortunately, the Warriors then proceeded to blow a 3-1 lead of their own in the NBA Finals, as the Cleveland Cavaliers stormed back to win the series and the title in seven games.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njanF2mUtZM
Is Game 6 Klay A Real Thing?
While this game started the whole talk about “Game 6 Klay” the fact is he actually doesn’t perform all that better in them.
In his playoff career, Klay has averaged 19.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He has shot 43.6% from the field and 40.5% from beyond the arc.
Thompson has played in 15 Game 6s and in them, he has put up 19.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. He shoots 40.6% from the field and 43.1% from beyond the arc in them.
As you can see, there really isn’t much of a difference here. The 33-year-old has been more efficient from beyond the arc in Game 6s, and that’s just about it.
Joe Lacob Spoke About Klay Thompson’s Future
The Warriors signed Green to a four-year, $100 million deal this offseason, which meant both he and Stephen Curry will be with the team for a few more seasons at least.
Klay is now the only one of the Big 3 who faces a bit of an uncertain future, as he will be out of contract after this upcoming season. Warriors owner Joe Lacob is expecting Thompson to stay with them beyond the 2023-24 season and stated substantial discussions will take place soon.
The three-time All-Star averaged 21.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in the 2022-23 season and would be expecting a sizable offer.
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