Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry are no longer teammates, but that doesn’t mean the former has stopped thinking very highly of the Golden State Warriors superstar. Following the Dallas Mavericks‘ 111-107 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday, Thompson was asked about Reed Sheppard being called “Cocaine Curry” by fans, and he made it clear he doesn’t like that nickname.
“I think Reed is a great shooter,” Thompson said. “I don’t think anyone should ever be in the same sentence with Steph, though. That’s crazy. That’s a little crazy.”
Chopped it up with Klay Thompson for his thoughts on another shooter — Reed Sheppard.
I brought up Reed’s nickname, “Cocaine Curry”..
Klay Thompson was disgusted.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/nQv4us2jQW
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) February 1, 2026
No one should indeed be mentioned in the same sentence with Curry, the greatest shooter by far in NBA history. That said, this is all in good fun, and it wasn’t Rockets fans who actually came up with this nickname. Sheppard revealed during All-Star weekend in 2025 that he first heard it during his time at Kentucky.
“I heard it at Kentucky last year,” Sheppard said. “I don’t know when, but it was like in the middle of the season or something. So we thought it was funny.”
That nickname certainly wasn’t being heard a lot during Sheppard’s rookie season. The Rockets had selected him with the third pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, and he didn’t make much of an impact in 2024-25.
Sheppard finished the campaign with averages of 4.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game. He was being looked at as a bust, but is faring much better in his sophomore campaign.
Sheppard is putting up 12.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in 2025-26. The 21-year-old is shooting 39.0% from three on 6.2 attempts per game, which is quite impressive at this stage of his career. He should only get better with time.
This game against the Mavericks wasn’t Sheppard’s best, though. He had just six points (3-8 FG), one rebound, one assist, two steals, and one block, but did outplay Thompson. The veteran only had nine points (3-9 FG) and two rebounds in the loss.
Thompson had a rough start to this season, but he has actually played better in 2026. He averaged 13.1 points on 43.6% shooting from beyond the arc in January, and you wonder if any contending team looks into acquiring him before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
We’ll see Thompson in action next when the 19-30 Mavericks take on the 31-18 Boston Celtics at American Airlines Center on Tuesday at 8 PM ET.
