by Miguel Mike Medina
Klay Thompson is arguably the second-greatest shooter of all time and probably the best-shooting two-guard ever. No, he’s not better than Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade. From a shooting standpoint, he’s the best shooter as a shooting guard. He’s that lethal. He’s that gifted. He’s that special. There’s a reason why he has four championships on his resume. Golden State would’ve not won those championships without his contributions. After 13 seasons with the Warriors, Klay Thompson found a new home in Dallas, Texas. He joined a team that went to the NBA Finals. Thompson coming to Dallas is a brilliant business move on his part for a variety of reasons.
Klay has experience playing as the third option on the team. When Kevin Durant joined Golden State in 2016, Klay had to make some sacrifices. He went from being the No. 2 option to the No. 3 option and he was in his prime or entering his prime. It all worked out for the team. When Kevin Durant was there, they won two titles in three years. Klay is a super unselfish player, which is rare to find in this league. Not every top or elite player can accept a lesser role or give up fewer shots for the sake of the team.
Klay Thompson will bring championship experience to the Mavs organization. This is an organization that hasn’t won a championship since 2011. That’s the same year that Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving came into the league. Now, they will be paired up as teammates. The Mavs organization is hungry to win a championship and Klay wants to add a 5th ring to his finger. In addition, he will come into this season with a chip on his shoulder. Klay’s defensive presence is not the same as before the ACL and Achilles injuries, but he’s still a bad man who can catch and shoot and give your offense a boost. Thompson averaged 17 points last season.
Media members and sports fans are in disbelief that Klay chose Dallas over Los Angeles. It’s a no-brainer that Klay made the better choice and that’s Dallas. The Los Angeles Lakers organization doesn’t seem to have a direction and it wouldn’t make sense to play for a rookie head coach in JJ Redick. Klay was not going to join a team that will take their team to figure it out and it’s not going to happen right away. Mavericks Jason Kidd, on the other hand, has coaching experience and won a championship as a player with the Mavs. He knows what it takes to win. Klay and Jason will connect well as a player and head coach.
As for the Warriors, yes, they might be feeling bummed out that Klay left the franchise, but this is one of those cases where “you don’t know what you have till it’s gone.” Warriors knew what they had. To a degree, Klay wasn’t fully valued or appreciated compared to Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, or even Draymond Green.
This is Klay Thompson’s last hurrah. Which version are we going to get from Thompson? That’s a million-dollar question that we will have to wait and see. He’s not getting younger. Thompson is 34 years old. All we can hope is that he can stay on the court. Injuries robbed him of two seasons of basketball. The game is better and more exciting when Klay is on the floor. Like him or not, he makes any team better with his shooting ability and anyone would be lucky to have a Klay Thompson on their team.