Golden State Warriors: Is Klay Thompson A Star?
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson is often overshadowed by Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, but is he a star in his own right?
On a team with the reigning league MVP and a walking triple-double threat, it’s easy to be overlooked.
When discussing the remarkable success of the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, the majority of the praise is attributed to the dynamic duo of baby-faced assassin Stephen Curry and loud-mouthed Swiss Army knife Draymond Green.
One player in particular has become the somewhat forgotten third leg of the Warriors’ lead trio, despite being recognized as one of the game’s premier scorers and two-way players.
That player is shooting guard Klay Thompson.
While Curry and Green raked in the attention and accolades, Thompson quietly had another solid year as Golden State’s second-best scoring threat and one of the NBA’s greatest three-point shooters. The other half of the Splash Brothers averaged 22.1 points per game on shooting splits of .470/.425/.873 while earning another All-Star nod alongside Curry and Green.
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Yet, despite having the best season of his career and one that would earn most players an All-NBA nod, Thompson continued to fly under the radar.
However, now that Curry has gone down to an MCL sprain, Thompson has been thrust into the role of the team’s go-to offensive threat — and so far, he’s delivered.
In three playoff games without Curry, Thompson has led the Warriors in scoring with 27 points per game while shooting 52.1 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three. This includes a 27-point performance to close out the Houston Rockets and a Game 1 showing against the Portland Trail Blazers where Thompson erupted for 37 points, five assists and five rebounds.
Performances like these — and his absurd 37-point quarter against the Sacramento Kings — hint at immense star potential. But is Thompson a star?
He certainly has the capabilities to be one.
Aside from his backcourt partner, Thompson is a bonafide scorer in his own right and arguably the league’s best long range sniper as his 22.1 points per game were good for 12th best in the NBA and his .425 clip from distance was tied for sixth. Thompson also has served as the Warriors’ primary perimeter defender, often taking on the assignment of guarding the other team’s best player.
While these factors are certainly enough to register some players as stars, it hasn’t gotten Thompson recognition as such.
Perhaps it’s because Thompson, like many others on the Warriors roster, has bought into the team-first attitude Golden State’s success is built on and has shunned individual acclaim in the pursuit of championships. Maybe it’s because Stephen Curry is too colossal a superstar and Draymond Green too enormous of a personality for a quiet assassin like Klay to stake his claim to the limelight.
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Klay Thompson may not boast the star power of his peers, but he has undoubtedly cemented himself as one of the elite players in the NBA — and as one this Warriors team will be heavily reliant upon going forward to keep their championship aspirations alive.