Klay Thompson signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks this offseason, ending a 13-year stint with the Golden State Warriors. He won four titles with the Warriors alongside career-long teammates Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, who revealed to ESPN that they’re still reeling from the loss of their teammate this summer.
Curry opened up on how different the practice facility feels without Klay there, frankly admitting that he never thought their union as a trio would ever end.
“[Klay] would usually enter the practice facility coming off of his boat. With his Dockers on, whatever outfit he had on. He just had a presence about him, a lightness when he came into the room. And his one-liners were always great. … [I’m] talking about him like he died, [which is] super weird.
“Life throws a lot of curve balls in sports. You’re used to seeing people change places and teams. [However] up until but a week before he decided to sign Dallas, we never really thought it was going to end.”
Klay had a five-minute phone conversation with Draymond Green a week before free agency, a shocking development for Green as Thompson never once tried making small-talk with his teammates in the 12 years before that.
Green knew at that moment that Klay had decided to leave the Warriors, with the shooting guard revealing later in the call that Texas was going to be his new home. Even though everyone’s been aware of Klay’s move, it didn’t sink in for Green until he came for media day and saw Klay’s longtime locker being occupied by two training camp invites.
“Oh wow! When I left this locker room, [that locker] was Klay Thompson. And then it wasn’t. It was those guys (Daeqwon Plowden and Jackson Rowe.). That’s where I was like, ‘Oh sh*t, this is real.'”
“For us, it’s when you get in the game. It’s when you hear the starting lineup called and before Steph is Klay’s name. And then all of a sudden, you hear a different name called.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr also thinks the emotional weight of Klay’s departure will be more notable for the franchise than any on-court changes, especially due to the signing of veteran shooter Buddy Hield as well.
“I don’t anticipate a really difficult transition basketball-wise. It’s more just the emotional void of Klay being gone after being so close to him and going through so much with him. That part is really sad. But you have to move on.”
Klay averaged 19.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists over 11 played seasons with the Warriors. He made five All-Star teams, two All-NBA Teams, and one All-Defensive Team.
Stephen Curry Wanted The Trio To Stay Together Forever
The Warriors trio of Curry, Thompson, and Green proved over the last decade that they are the defining trio of the modern era of basketball. Steph has dished 622 assists to Thompson on 3-pointers, the most by any duo in the past 25 seasons with Green’s 611 assists on Curry’s 3-pointers ranking second.
Steph got real about what they accomplished together and how he wished it could’ve lasted forever.
“You develop that chemistry over so many years and battles. The lights of the brightest in the playoffs and championships, we earned that level of trust in chemistry and expectation that if we got out there, if we were healthy, we had a chance to beat anybody. It’s a great feeling every time you got on the court. In the history of the league, it’s very rare that you get a core of three that stay together that long.
“The Spurs [trio of Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker are] probably up there, but just thinking about how iconic that trio, what we were able to accomplish. We wanted to keep it together for … forever.”
Nothing lasts forever, and Thompson will be a Western Conference rival for Curry and Green this season. The Mavericks will hope to replicate their Finals run, if not improve on it by winning the title and giving Klay his fifth ring, separating him from the four rings Curry and Green possess.
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